I use a homemade balsamic dressing for most of my salads but you very easily can use any store-bought dressing whether it is italian, , balsamic, sesame-ginger, or whatever you are in the mood for.
ready for that first bite? 
this was dinner tonight with grilled tuna
light and fulfilling salad as a meal or as a side for grilled fish or chicken
- wild rice, cooked to pkg instructions 1 c. rice/1 3/4 c. water
- 2 celery stalks. sliced thin on diagonal
- 1 mango, peeled and diced
- 1 small carrot, julienned
- 1/2-1 cup cashews, roasted and salted
- 2 cups kale, cut into small pieces
- balsamic dressing
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Prepare wild rice according to pkg instructions. Instead of salt and butter or oil, I add a chicken bouillon cube for flavor. You can also use a vegetable bouillon cube for vegetarian version.
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Once cooked, transfer to a shallow wide dish and spread into thin layer to cool.
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Meanwhile, prepare all the other ingredients.
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Once rice has cooled ~30 min or so, add in the carrot, celery, mango, kale, cashews, and drizzle with the balsamic dressing and toss together. Start lightly with the dressing and taste as you go. If it is too dry or you just want to add more dressing, add to your liking.
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May be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for a few days. Great for a lunch or quick dinner. Can be eaten at room temp or heated in oven or microwave.
- I make a homemade balsamic dressing but you can use whatever dressing you like.
- For variety, you could use a ginger sesame dressing, oil and vinegar. It depends what you are in the mood for.
- Maybe even butter and parmesean cheese with some herbs and lemon for a summery salad.
- If you don’t like carrot, mango, celery, kale, cashews you can easily substitute other vegetables, greens, and nuts. I would be careful to avoid anything that is too watery which will dilute the salad such as cucumbers unless you remove the seeds.
