Summer Party Salad
Salads are a great way to eat your veggies and party like a healthy guru! As I always mention in my yoga classes: you are you’re own guru - Gee U R U! You might agree with me that its all about the dressing. There are those few people that eat salads without a dressing and kudos to them. For me, the dressing is key to eating lots and lots of salad. So, treat your pantry, fridge and culinary experience to ingredients that will bedazzle your salads, dips and veggie sticks.
This salad is light and satisfying. It’s an easy recipe you can whip up really quickly after a long day, or prepare this salad and dressing in advance and refrigerate. You can even marinade the salad in the dressing, although, I personally like my veggies crunchy, so I pour my dressing on my salad right before serving.
This salad is perfect for this time of year because it has seasonal veggies such as: zucchini and corn (if you choose to include them), peppers, avocado, cilantro and cucumbers
Veggies and dressing mise on place
grill, roast, saute, or enjoy raw (if your digestive system gives you thumbs up)
Recipe
fine-grain salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 bell peppers: red, yellow, orange - quartered
2 medium zucchini grilled or roasted or raw - halved
2 kirby cucumbers - small and seedless - quartered
1 avovado - halved and pitted
optional - fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
optional - 4 ear corns grilled or heated in pot and cut the kernels off the cob
optional - 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed well
Salad Dressing
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove - minced
2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves - minced
optional - 1 tbsp maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
1/4 tsp fine-grain salt - himalayan or celtic - add more if needed
optional -1 tsp umeboshi vinegar
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
if grilling your corn or roasting your zucchini and peppers brush them with some coconut oil and season with salt and black pepper. Grill corn for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Using a chefs knife stand the corn in a shallow dish and remove the corn kernels from the cob by slicing downward.
if grilling or roasting peppers and zucchini season with salt and black pepper. Grill for 10-15 minutes or roast for 15 minutes at 350
make the dressing in a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, fresh lime juice, garlic, cilantro, maple syrup (optional), salt, black pepper to taste
salad: quarter the grilled or raw peppers and zucchini and place in a large bowl. Slice and add the avocado, corn kernels and the dressing and toss to combine.
season to taste with salt and black pepper
optional: you can add black beans or place on side for anyone to include in their salad for a protein rich dinner - the vegans and vegetarians will thank you
optional: you can add cilantro to garnish salad
serves 4-6 - or 1 serious salad lover
Genia’s Spoon Me Corner
Raw salads can be challenging to digest if your digestive fire is compromised. Grilling, roasting, sautéing, and/or blanching your veggies is a healthy and delicious way to enjoy your vegetables. If you’re digestion is strong enjoy your veggies and salads raw. According to Ayurveda the best time to eat your salads is in the afternoon and summer time when your digestion is at its peak. Salads are cooling foods, and therefore, eating foods to beat the summer heat makes sense.
In Ayurveda, (based on ancient writings on holistic and natural approaches to physical and mental health) it’s not just about what you eat , it’s about what you can digest. So, here’s a way to make your salads more friendly: you can add a warm base to your salads like quinoa or roasted vegetables. Keep your salad simple - don’t load it up with every ingredient you have just because it’s healthy. Less is more!
Add a digestive dressing to your salad like: cilantro and lime which are great for the summer season.
spoon me ideas for your digestive salad
quinoa, mixed greens, cilantro, chickpeas, pomegranates
spoon me ideas for your digestive dressing
cilantro
hummus - tahini sesame paste with or without chickpeas
olive oil
lime juice
Cheers to salads and your health,
Much love, Genia