Blackberry and Toasted Walnut Kale Salad with Goat Cheese

Blackberry and Toasted Walnut Kale Salad with Goat Cheese is the perfect balance of sweet/salty flavors with the bonus of nutty crunch and nutritious greens.

When you actually enjoy eating healthy foods, drink water like a fish, and get in a good 30 minute workout three to five times a week, it comes as a real kick in the tush when you find out you have a kidney stone. (Yup, I’m speaking from personal experience here.)

On a Sunday morning not long ago, I thanked the gods when my hubby woke up at an exceptionally early (for him) 9am because I knew I needed to head into the ER. I had moderate lower abdominal and back pain that wasn’t constant, but felt like a stabbing throb when it came, and my urine had been dark since the previous Friday. At first I thought maybe I was dehydrated (hence the urine color) and my period was coming a little early (the pain literally felt like intense menstrual cramps), but I knew something was really wrong when I had three waves of nausea in the timespan of an hour and a half in the wee hours of that morning.

Mike and I headed into the ER and about eight hours later, we left with the knowledge that I had a quite sizeable (8mm by 12mm, to be exact) stone in my left kidney. I had it removed without a hitch the next day (and I thank my lucky stars that I didn’t experience the pain that most people who suffer from kidney stones describe). But this sort of thing makes one wonder what caused it in the first place, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

I talked to my doctor (who, I have to say, is hands-down the absolute best doctor I’ve ever had, including OBGYN, primary care, and every other doctor I’ve encountered, and that’s really saying a lot because I LOVED my OBGYN back in Buffalo), did quite a bit of research on my own, and came to the conclusion that a good thing becomes a bad thing when you overdo it. Of course it’s darn-near impossible to pinpoint a single cause, but taking into account the type of stone I had (a calcium oxalate stone), a likely cause (or at least contributing factor) was oxalates.

Now, I’m not a doctor so don’t take anything I’m telling you as medical advice, but after doing copious amounts of research on the subject, I’m pretty sure I was overdoing it with foods that contain oxalates, like black tea, almonds, beets, sweet potatoes, leafy greens, berries, etc. (Again, it is such a kick in the bum when you think you’re eating healthy only to later realize you’re putting your health at risk.)

Anyway, I didn’t despair, and there was no way I was cutting these otherwise healthy foods out of my life altogether (although, I did consciously scale back though…moderation, right?). And as my doctor told me, it’s not even feasible to eliminate all oxalate-containing foods. What I did learn though, was that it may be better (in terms of kidney stone prevention) to combine a food containing oxalates with a food that contains calcium. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases states: “Calcium from food does not increase the risk of calcium oxalate stones. Calcium in the digestive tract binds to oxalate from food and keeps it from entering the blood, and then the urinary tract, where it can form stones.” Similarly, from the National Kidney Foundation: “Dairy products have calcium, but they actually help prevent stones, because calcium binds with oxalate before it gets into the kidneys. People with the lowest dietary calcium intake have an increased risk of kidney stones.”

And from Health Line: “Research indicates that boosting your intake of calcium-rich foods when you eat foods that are high in oxalate may be a better approach than simply eliminating oxalate from the diet. As they digest, oxalate and calcium are more likely to bind together before they get to the kidneys, making it less likely that kidney stones will form.” And Cleveland Clinic says: “Eating high calcium foods at the same time as high oxalate food is helpful; for example have low fat cheese with a spinach salad or yogurt with berries.”

Enter this thing of beauty. Kale and blackberries (which both have oxalates) plus goat cheese (calcium) mean I’m not afraid of kale anymore (seriously, even though my kidney stone experience wasn’t particularly painful, I sure could do without having a stent in ever again! And regardless of the pain level, I don't want to put my body under that kind of stress).

And also, I love a good salad that can be whipped up in next to no time and can be packed up for a weekday work lunch. It makes getting a nutritious meal that much easier, which is always a plus.