A couple days ago, I was watching my favorite Diner’s, Drive-Ins, and Dives when Guy Fieri happened upon a joint known as Phat Bites in Nashville. The owner there made a salad that she calls Long Life Salad and I knew I had to recreate it the moment Guy Fieri proclaimed he loved it. Mind you, I’ve never been to Nashville, there is no recipe posted (although hundreds of requests after that episode), and I only watched the making of the salad once. This, ladies and gentleman, is my own adaptation of this salad, seeing as how I’ve never even tasted the original. Maybe I should have an attorney write some fine print in here somewhere, but I’m not trying to steal someone else’s thunder.
When I saw this salad, my first thought was “please don’t let that be kale.” My first impression of kale wasn’t a good one, but I decided to give it another chance to redeem itself. Congratulations Kale! You are now on the list of super foods I will eat! On that note, I think the key to having kale not taste like garbage is dressing it properly and letting it absorb the other flavors. Hence, the reason why I made the dressing first, dressed the kale with it, and left it to hang out overnight.
Be forewarned: this is a 2 day process to make this salad. I do solemnly swear, however, you will be richly rewarded with not only an amazing salad, but a powerhouse of nutrition! Bonus: you will have more than enough to pack lunch for a week! I’m not promising a longer life here, but certainly a healthier one…
For the dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemons
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon 21 seasoning from Trader Joe’s (or all purpose seasoning)
Whisk all ingredients briskly until smooth.
In a large bowl with lid, toss 1 package organic Tuscan Kale with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Meanwhile, cover 1 cup red spilt lentils with water and soak overnight. I use my crockpot and turn them on low the next day for a couple hours.
For the salad:
I package Kale, dressed in lemon dressing overnight
1 cup red lentils, soaked, cooked and rinsed
1 cup organic Quinoa
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups raisins
1 cup pistachios (meats only)
2 cups fresh mango, chopped
On the second day, assemble the salad by tossing the above ingredients with the kale. Squeeze with fresh lemon juice if desired 😊
Once in a Blue Moon 17 
Thanks for sharing this. I watched DDD and immediately beagn to search for the recipe, can’t wait to try it!
I hope you like it, but please remember it’s my own version and not meant to be exactly like the salad from Phat Bites 😊
I JUST saw the episode and quickly came here to search for it and stumbled upon this recipe. Her dressing was orange and lemon peel along with the juice of both and coconut oil. She did stream in a liquid oil as well. She had Christmas beans, navy beans, black eyed peas (I think), orange lentils, quinoa, pecans, craisins, mangoes, plums, raisins, Kale, S&P, and I think one more ingredient that I’ve missed. I have to admit, I found her recipe to be tedious but great if making a huge batch. Your recipe appears more realistic for a Household of 4 or less.I would probably add some dried blueberries and dried cherries as well, but thats because our family enjoys that. Thank you for posting your variation!
Hi Jennifer! Thanks for paying better attention than I did and yes, my own version is simplified compared to hers. There was a little much protein for my taste with all the beans, plus the quinoa and lentils. You could really substitute a lot of the ingredients in here to suit your own taste and the dried blueberries and cherries sound amazing! Let me know how your version turns out 😊
Thanks so much for the recipe. I buy my kale unpackaged at the market, so I am wondering about how much kale is in the package you refer to.
Hi Julie- it’s about a 6 oz. package of Kale which I know is more than a bunch. I would probably use two bunches of Kale for this recipe. Let me know how it turns out for you 😊
I will make this and use macadamia nut or avocado oil in place of a junky oil like safflower, corn, soybean, sunflower or canola.
I’ve also used coconut oil which as just as delicious 😊
I was wondering about how the kale holds up with the dressing on it. I’m thinking about having leftovers for several days.
Kale is actually better the longer it’s able to absorb the flavors! It doesn’t wilt like lettuce and it makes this the perfect salad for weekday lunches you can make on the weekend 😊
Boy was I glad to see these comments. I was watching DDD too and though oh I will catch the recipe next time, not realizing it was an old repeat. I glad to Jennifer has a great memory. I knew it was a couple of beans but couldn’t remember any beans except for the Christmas beans. I did remember she used lemon and orange peels with coconut oil. I probably will not use all the items but I’m looking forward to playing and making my version. It’s amazing how a salad looked so good and healthy. I will let you know how my version turns out.
YouTube has the video but doesn’t list the ingredients. It looks delicious and I plan on trying it 🙂
I hope it turns out delicious Crystal! 😊
I saw this same episode and am delighted to discover your recipe! I cannot wait to try it 🙂 May I reblog? 🙂
Sure! Thank you so much! 😊
Thanks for posting!!! I’ve been thinking about that salad for a few days now. I can’t wait to try your recipe…
I’m making it as we speak 😀
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’m making it this weekend and wonder do I cook the Quinoa or add to salad raw?
It needs to be cooked. I used the Trader Joe’s frozen quinoa which is precooked, but regular quinoa would need to be cooked first! Enjoy 😊
Awesome!!! I just watched this episode again. And was saying ugh, I should write this down! So glad to have found you on Google with your version!
I’m so glad you found it too and I hope you enjoy the salad 😊
Just caught the episode tonight (canada time -smile) can’t wait to put all the comments tonight and make it for the week-end yeah ! For our team -Christine , Winnipeg mb canada
Enjoy to my friends in Canada! 🍁
Hello everyone here. I want to thank the person who posted this recipe, as I am having so many health problems, so I will start to eat more healthy. I didn’t see the show, but today my co-worker told me about the show, so I started to look on the internet and found this recipe. I will probably use more beans, as I need to for my health, and will change a little bit, but thank you for sharing with us, especially that you are in Canada, as myself 🙂
You’re so very welcome Elena and even though I’m not in Canada and far away from Nashville where the recipe originated, I hope the salad recipe helps you to search for better health. Live well and eat well 😊
So I live in Nashville and am 5 minutes from Phat Bites. I’m eating the salad now as I search for a recipe! Enjoyed reading the tips.
Lucky you! I hope you enjoy this version as much as the real thing 😊
For the beans, if you start with a dry soup bean mix you will get many of the beans listed.
You’re right about the dry soup mix, however most mixes have a lot of seasonings/salt/peeservatives which may change the flavor of the beans. As always, adjust to your own preferences! 😊
The soup mix – just don’t add the spice packet. My question is, is it 1 cup of COOKED quinoa? Or is it raw? I’ve never worked with quinoa before so not sure. Just watched this last night and was thrilled that you posted this! Thank you!
You’re welcome Susan and yes, cooked quinoa. It is much like cooking any other grain and just needs boiling water. You can also buy frozen quinoa that’s already precooked 😊
FOOD NETWORK is airing that episode again on ‘DD&D'” episode name “Soup, Salad and Seafood”
Thu, January 22
11:30|10:30c
Fri, January 23
2:30a|1:30c
i like the idea of the dry bean mix. that kitchen was making industrial size
Thanks for the heads up! I always know when that episode has aired because I get tons of hits! The dry bean soup is a great idea – just find one where the seasonings are separate 😊
here is the video. i dvr’d it and then filmed with my camera it and uploaded to youtube. see link. all rights reserved Food Network. no compensation received.
This recipe sounds great! No doubt much better than the actual Long Life salad that I rushed out to try when my mom told me about seeing Phat Bites on the TV… It was LOADED with PRUNES! Super sweet and very sticky.. I will try this recipe, but probably not go back to Phat Bites.. I’m talking, a ridiculous amount of prunes… Kroger’s Superfood Salad is awesome…
Thank you Brandy! I didn’t realize there were prunes in the original version, but I think it’s plenty sweet with just the dried cranberries. Enjoy 😊
the chef says “PLUMS!” and dumps them in and Guy F. agrees. Buyer beware!
Beware is right! Go easy on them if you have to have them 😊
I was trying to write down the ingredients as i watched her make it. I was thinking of the bean soup mixture myself to give that variety of beans without the quantity. Was it my imagination or did she use coconut oil and orange and lemon rinds in the dressing? I have not stopped thinking about this salad since I saw the episode and plan to make it this weekend. Thanks for the post.
Hi Gerri – read theough the comments feed as I believe someone posted a video of the segment! So glad you found the post – enjoy 😊
just leave the beans out when making this salad . it takes too long to prep those beans. save your beans for ‘navy bean soup’. a simpler options could be to substitute canned chickpeas that have been drained and rinsed.
I agree Rob! There’s a bit too much protein going on for my taste and I’ve since eliminated all the grains as well. Adjust according to your life😊