Nutritious Quick Summer Salad with Herbal Pesto Dressing
Mise En Place for SALAD and DRESSING
As the seasons change so do our veggies. I saw a sign in a window of a gardening store that said: ‘Spring is when we seed and summer Is when we weed’ - a message that inspired me to dedicate the next few weeks of my Tasty Tuesday with amazing salads and dressings. I’m psyched! Now is when our flowers (some edible), summer vegetables and herbs begin to bloom. The gardening has begun!
Summer is when we need to make more time for outdoor fun and keep things simple and chill. Making meals can become a chore. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a ‘healthy, balanced’ plate of food served to us on a silver platter. Well, this salad is easy and 5-star so making it yourself is still a decadent experience. You can make this salad and still feel like a queen in your own palace. You can create these really easy, simple, quick and super nutritious salad bowls in 1,2,3!. The first rule of thumb - gotta prepare to succeed - that means making sure you have plenty of vegetables in the fridge ready to go, and a few essential ingredients for dressings. '“It’s all about the dressing”, right!? I’m sure you agree! This dressing can be used beyond your salad. Drizzle over roasted veggies, grains, or proteins. Win! Win!
As a health and wellness coach focusing on foods that heal, this recipe fits the bill. The ingredients are all liver and hormone health focused.. The vegetables in this salad, and the ingredients in this herbal dressing is nutrient dense and super healthy for your liver organ that needs to detox, rest and digest. “Let Food Be Thy Medicine” - Hippocrates.
One of my cooking for healing chefs is Magdalena Wszelaki. She inspires me with her knowledge on hormone health, and how she uses nourishing food to rebalance hormones. I combined an Ayurvedic approach and Magdalena’s recipes with my modifications for a easily digestible salad.
Eat the Rainbow - ‘Let Food Be Thy Medicine’ - Hippocrates
Recipe:
2 carrots shredded
1/2 long English cucumber cut in quarters sliced thin
2 radishes sliced in halves or sticks
A few romaine lettuce leaves chopped
A bunch of sprouts - optional
combine all vegetables in bowl
serve 2-4 people unless you’re a salad lover and can eat the whole salad
Enjoy!
Make it your own! You’re the creator in your kitchen.
Herbal Pesto Dressing:
1-2 cups cilantro chopped
1 cup fresh basil chopped
1 cup parsley chopped
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
freshly grated peel of1 lime
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon or lime
1 garlic clove
1 tsp salt
place the cilantro, basil, parsley in a food processor
add all the remaining ingredients to the food processor and pulse. Pulse until pesto ins smooth
add more olive oil or water if the mixture is too dry
transfer the pesto dressing to a mason jar or canister with a tight lid. The dressing. will keep well in the fridge 10 days.
Genia’s Spoon Me Tips:
Base: You can add grains or roasted veggies to your salad bowl for a full course meal.. Grains: millet, quinoa, amaranth, white rice (easier to digest).
Topping: any protein: sardines, salmon, eggs
Please omit the garlic ingredient in the dressing if you’re having gut issues: bloating, candida. yeast overgrowth or sibo (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth).
Macro Dense hugs,
Love in a bowl, Genia