Apple, Beet & Fennel Salad with Balsamic Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

 This is one of those unusual dishes that turned out to be fantastic. It's quite colorful and almost surreal looking. This came about as I had an extra fennel left over from my Butternut Squash and Fennel Lasagna and a beet that I was going to use in another recipe but decided against it. A google search of fennel and beet brought me to a few various recipes, some of which included my favorite apple, the Fuji. I came up with my own version using this wonderful dressing. To be honest, I don't really care for beets much but trying to work them into my lifestyle. This salad is perfect! The beets and all the flavors come together beautifully making it a go to salad that can give me the excellent beet nutrition that I'm looking to add to my meal rotation every now and then.

You could also use other colored beets too. I experimented with a yellow one and it was just as colorful and tasty as well. The maple pecans really add a nice touch. I can't imagine not making this salad without all of these ingredients as they each add their own special touch but you can adjust to suit your flavor palate. I'm looking forward to more of this in the future using some of the other colored beets again as well...really delicious!

Apple, Beet & Fennel Salad w/ Balsamic Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

Salad

• 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 red beet (uncooked), peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced or diced...a few fronds reserved for garnish
• 1 Fuji apple, or hard crisp apple or pear of choice, cored and diced
• handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped
• arugula or spinach, optional

Balsamic Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon or stone ground mustard
• salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix nuts with 1/4 cup maple syrup and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook for about 10 minutes, set aside to cool. Maple will be caramelized on the nuts and your home will be smelling oh so good at this point !

Prepare your vegetables, fruit and herbs, combine them in a large bowl or dish of choice. Place all vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl, combine until blended adding salt and pepper to taste. Add nuts (reserve a few for garnish) and dressing to prepared mix and combine.

Serve on a small bed of arugula or spinach, garnish with nuts and a few fennel fronds.

Notes:

You may like to grate your apple and fennel. I tried it myself but didn't care for it as I prefer to have some chunkiness to my salad.

If using a lighter color beet, you may consider using apple cider vinegar in place of the balsamic so the dark color of the balsamic doesn't discolor your lighter colored beets.

Enjoy the flavor sensation !

Simple Salad + Almond-Lime Dressing

More ways to eat almond butter. I just love it...it's the best ! I go through about a jar a week these days. I make it here at home, you can find the recipe here: Raw Almond Butter. And salads, I love fresh salads...I can eat them every day. Pair this almond-lime dressing with this salad and it creates some kind of wonderful. The sweetness and coolness of the cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, zucchini and leafy greens combined with the slightly salty, yet sweet and somewhat citrus almond flavors make this a salad I can enjoy often. I found myself tipping the bowl to get the last drops of this dressing. I think you might too. :)

All of these ingredients are alkaline based. The only questionable ingredient is the maple syrup, I find it on both the acid & alkaline list. I will be adding more meals that are 100% alkaline in the following months as I learn new habits of bringing my pH higher and maintaining a neutral level to combat some inflammation I am experiencing such as RA (explained more here: Let's Talk pH: The importance of Acid vs. Alkaline). And I plan on doing it with the most delicious meals. Eating healthy has to taste good and this hits the mark! 

Almond Butter & Lime Dressing 

• 2 heaping tablespoons almond butter
• 2 teaspoons tamari
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup or agave
• juice from 1 lime
• pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

Salad

• zucchini
• cucumber
• carrots
• celery
• bell pepper
• scallions
• leafy greens of choice
• almond slices or pepitas, optional

Start with the dressing first so it can sit and let the flavors mingle while cutting up the salad mix. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl, mix well until creamy. Taste for flavor....more tamari? more sweetener? Add 1 tablespoon water at a time if needed if to thin. I added the extra tablespoon water this time around but prefer it on the thicker side myself, these photos reflect the thinner dressing. Dressing makes one serving.

Next, prepare your vegetables any way you like, using as much as you like. Taste dressing once more to make sure it's to your liking. Build your salad and drizzle with your perfected dressing...

Enjoy !

Make your own Raw Almond Butter ... It's very easy to do and it's a good clean food. It only has one ingredient: almonds...no sugars, fillers or junk. Spread it on apple slices, toast, put a dollop on top of your oatmeal with bananas slices & a drizzle of pure maple syrup, etc...so many ways to enjoy it!

Chopped Vegetable Salad & Citrus Garlic Dressing

This is a lighter fare from some of my most recent posts. Freshness is always welcome around here. A simple salad is one of my favorite meals, especially when I'm on the go...I like to pack a salad and some fruit to snack on for the day, maybe a raw cookie or two as well. I also like to spiralize cucumbers and zucchini for my salad base to change it up. You could just as easily use cooked pasta as a base for this salad as well. The garlic dressing is very light with a nice combination of citrus, dijon, pepper and garlic...leaving a nice taste on your lips. 

 Ingredients

Salad
2 cups English cucumbers, chopped
1 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 cup orange or red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup plum or roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup scallions, chopped

Garlic Dressing
2 garlic cloves, minced
juice of one medium lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard or stoneground
himalayan salt to taste
fresh cracked pepper or lemon pepper to taste


any leafy green or cooked pasta of choice, optional

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine garlic dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Pour dressing over vegetables, tossing gently to coat. Serve salad on a bed of leafy greens, whole grain pasta or eat as is.

To make this a 100% alkalizing salad, squeeze lemon and add a sprinkle of cumin....or combine grated ginger and the juice of one orange...so fresh and good! This salad is a great place to add a sprinkle of sunflower seeds or pepitas...

Enjoy !

FRESH THAI SALAD

This is one of those simple delicious salads that I so enjoy. Full of fresh flavors including mango, cucumber, carrots, tomato, cilantro and topped with a simple dressing that is lightly sweet, salty & spicy...a bit of everything. It will leave you feeling fresh and energized. This recipe was inispired by this one from Trans-Planted. It's a Som Tam salad that is very popular in Thailand and uses unripe green papaya. This is my version using cucumber, carrots, ripe mango (instead of unripe) and tomatoes. Staying close to the Som Tam of Thailand is the spiciness, saltiness and sweetness of the dressing. It's all comes together beautifully and is so easy to eat. You may find it to be quite addicting!

You can add/subtract whatever you want. I think pineapple would be a nice sweet addition as well. The flavors of the simple dressing will go with many tropical fruits and a wide variety of vegetables. Have fun experimenting!

FRESH THAI SALAD

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber, julienned
• 2 large carrots, julienned
• 1 mango, julienned or sliced
• 1 tomato, diced or handful cherry tomatoes, halved
• handful cashews or peanuts, optional
• cilantro, as much as you like, to serve
• 1 - 2 limes, to serve

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons tamari, soy sauce or Bragg's amino
• 1 tablespoon coconut, pure cane or raw sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
• juice of one lime

In a small bowl, mix together tamari, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes and juice of lime. Set aside. Mix before adding to the salad, we want the sugar to be as dissolved as possible. 

Prepare your vegetables and fruit, place in medium sized bowl along with nuts, add dressing and mix well. Serve in individual bowls with an extra squeeze of lime.

Serves two.

Notes:

You can sub in 3 - 4 Persian cucumbers in place of the English. Both of these types of cucumbers have less seeds making them ideal for being julienned. 

My kind of easy...and so amazingly fresh & deliciuos!

Enjoy!

Black Bean, Roasted Corn & Tomato Salad

Simple, everyday food that is healthy and delicious! Sweet roasted corn, juicy tomatoes bursting with flavor and black beans all together making this a great summery salad. I also added some avocado as an after thought, so be sure to add some of that if you like...it was so good. This would also be great topped with a cashew cream like this one, Cilantro Cashew Cream or this Sriracha Cashew Cream. Enjoy this often and be well!

Black Bean, Roasted Corn & Tomato Salad

Ingredients (serves two)

• 2 heads romaine lettuce
• 1 can (14 oz) organic black beans
• 1 corn on the cob
• 1 dry pint grape or cherry tomatoes (or about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 jalapeno, diced and seeds removed
• 1 small shallot, diced or 1/4 cup onion of choice
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)
• cilantro, as much as you like
• lime wedges, to serve
• avocado, diced (optional)
• Cashew Sour Cream or Lime-Cilantro Cashew Cream, optional
• mineral salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roast your corn either by wrapping in tin foil or if using corn in the husk, soak for 5 min and cook in the husk. Add tomatoes and corn on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 25 min. 

In the meantime, heat black beans on low together with the jalapenos, shallot, garlic and optional cumin. Clean your romaine lettuce and chop.

When corn is done, cut off the cob, add corn to the black bean mixture. Serve bean mixture on top of your chopped romaine adding some of the juice for extra moisture and flavor if you like. Top with tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper and a big squeeze of lime. Would be fantastic with a dollop of the cashew sour cream or lime-cilantro cashew cream!

Enjoy!

Garden Salad 'Tacos'

Inspired by my Sun Kissed Tomato and Avocado dish I made yesterday after gardening, I decided to make Garden Salad 'Tacos' for lunch. I love eating fresh and raw in the summer and spring. These left me feeling satisfied and still able to get everything done that I needed to do. Something about eating living foods for a living body that energizes you. 

Ingredients

• grape tomatoes, halved 
• avocado, diced
• cucumber, julienned
• scallions, thinly sliced
• carrots, julienned
• hummus 
• cilantro, chop or leave as is like I did
• Himalayan salt & cracked pepper, to taste
• romaine hearts, washed and dried

Directions

Wash and dry romaine leaves. Start with your hummus and layer up. 

I myself can eat about four, five or six of these as a meal...very clean, refreshing and satisfying!

Enjoy!

Spring Salad with Edible Flowers & Dandelion Greens

Spring...one of my favorite times of year! This is the time for renewal, opening all the windows in the house and letting everything air out from the long closed up winter days. The birds are singing, the flowers are coming into blossom and the trees are sprouting their leaves to soak up the sunshine. It's a rebirth! This salad comes as a perfect way to add some of your favorite spring blossoms into a meal for an even more enjoyable way to celebrate the flowers of spring. They add wonderful fragrance and color. Use whatever flower is available to you. I have used wisteria here but if you don't have a wisteria, you can just as easily add some bougainvillea petals, rose petals or pansies. Here is a list of edible flowers for you to glance at when you can. Wisteria and bougainvillea are not on the list but they are edible (I did my homework before eating them.). I also added some of my bougainvillea petals (stamen and pistols removed), before eating this salad. This was a really lovely dish and I will most definitely be having it again! You can find the original recipe here: Edible & Medicinal Flowers. I wasn't sure at first but when everything is together and you take your first bite, you'll discover that these ingredients all come together with great flavor and an exotic appeal.

Let me tell you a bit about my wisteria. Every year I get so excited to see it bloom and come to life. It is so fragrant and colorful. The blooms fall and hang beautifully. The clean up is another story but it's all so worth the beauty. At this time of year you can find me peeking and peering all day long watching as the blooms get bigger and bigger. They start as a small little bud and grow into gorgeous strands of lilac and purple flowers. This beautiful plant was a gift from my parents about 15 years ago. They always have the best taste! It was originally a bonsai, but after a while I decided to put it into a large clay pot and train it as a sprawling standard. It has been there ever since blooming faithfully year after year. It's truly an easy plant to care for. They are very hardy, aren't too needy and will live a very long time once established! 

Another special ingredient in this spring salad is dandelion greens. This is my first experience with dandelions. They are full of nutrition and are very tasty. In the scheme of leafy greens, dandelions are up there with the highly beneficial kale. I purchased these at my local Sprout's store. Dandelions are known to be high in calcium, rich in iron and full of antioxidents. They are also a great detoxifying green, full of minerals and trace elements as well as being high in protein, more so that spinach. I will be alternating some of these to my juicing and smoothie regimen as well. You can use dandelion greens in many ways. I have seen recipes for sauteing them, you can also use them in a pesto, or toss them in salads, soups and stews. They are not just a weed but a beneficial green to add to your green & healthy diet. 

So casual and lively, a great way to bring in the spring...

Spring Salad: Edible Flowers & Dandelion Greens

Ingredients

• spring mix salad
• dandelions or watercress
• handful wisteria flowers, pulled of their stems (I left mine on, quite by accident)
• english cucumber, chopped
• sweet orange, peeled and chopped
• orange zest

Dressing (serves 2)

• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• juice of 1/2 orange
• cracked pepper to taste

Start with the dressing by combining all ingredients, except the oil, in a small bowl or decanter, mix well and then add in the olive oil. Mix again and let set.

For the salad ingredients, use as much as you like of each ingredient. Mix your greens, place on serving dish and top with cucumber, orange pieces, orange zest and flowers. Drizzle with dressing just before serving.

Enjoy! 

Winter Salad with Creamy Orange-Ginger Dressing

With winter abound, this is a great way to enjoy some of the winter fruits while they are in season. Colorful, flavorful and filling, this salad will be sure to brighten your winter days. The creamy orange-ginger dressing is so light and refreshing. It's like eating an orange creamsicle with ginger added, just delicious. The flavors of the fruits along with the quinoa and bed of greens all mingle together creating a truly fantastic winter salad. So fresh, vibrant and healthy! 

Winter Salad with Creamy Orange-Ginger Dressing

Ingredients

• greens of choice (I used a spring mix)
• 1/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 or 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
• 1 tangerine or cuties (mandarins), slices

Orange-Ginger Dressing

• 1 cup oranges, peeled, navel or Valencia...mandarins would be great too (about 2 small or 1 large)
• 1/2 cup cashews, soaked for 2-3 hours
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 - 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, to taste
• 2 - 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
• 1/2 clove garlic
• himalayan salt to taste

For the dressing, place all ingredients into food processor/blender and process until creamy, about 3 - 5 minutes depending on your equipment. For a thinner dressing add 1 tablespoon water at a time until desired consistency. Makes about 3/4 cup. Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator for up to a week.

For a simple single serving dressing, use the juice of two squeezed oranges and add a tablespoons of fresh minced ginger, mix and top on your salad.

Enjoy!