Remove stems and center ribs from kale leaves. Lay in a stack and slice into half inch ribbons. Slice once crosswise. Place in a large bowl.
Squeeze half a lemon into a small bowl and add ¼ cup of water. Slice apples and toss in lemon water. Place apples in a colander to drain and toss out lemon water.
Toast sunflower seeds over medium heat while stirring until light brown and fragrant. Set aside.
Whisk dressing in bowl that was used to toss apple slices. Pour dressing over sliced kale in large bowl. Using hands, squeeze and massage dressing into kale until leaves soften and are glistening. Add apple slices and toss together. Place in refrigerator while preparing hemp parmesan.
Hemp Parmesan
Place cashews, pumpkin seeds and nutritional yeast in a spice mill or small grinder. Pulse until you have a uniform meal. (Don't add hemp seeds yet).
Add half the hemp hearts, garlic powder and salt. Grind briefly until mixture has the texture of Parmesan cheese.
Stir in remaining hemp seeds and lemon zest.
Assemble Salads
Divide kale salad onto four plates and top each with a tablespoon of toasted sunflower seeds and hemp parmesan. Or, keep kale salad in refriderator up to 3 days and season with toasted seeds and parmesan just before serving.
Notes
You'll have extra hemp parmesan with this recipe. You can use it for any dishes that are typically garnished with parmesan cheese.