I love building a salad. I do it almost every night. My clients often tell me it takes too much time to make a salad at home but for me, it’s actually very relaxing to chop up veggies and create my masterpiece. It takes me back to my college days when I used to make salads with my roommate Marisa. She was a vegetarian like me, but much more advanced. She introduced me to tempeh and tofu and many other vegetarian delights, and we both shared a love for salad making. We would cut, chop and slice together while talking about our classes or life, and then we would sit and enjoy our masterpiece. Ever since then I equate making a salad for someone as a way of expressing love. To me, salad = love.
So today I share the love with YOU. Except I’m stepping it up a notch by creating a “superfoods” salad. And by superfoods I just mean this is not your grandma’s salad. I added some of my favorite nutrient-dense goodies to create a hearty and healthy main meal extravaganza! One of the many great things about salad making is there’s no recipe required. You can’t go wrong and you really can’t screw it up. Sometimes I’ll make one special ingredient the star and build around it, but that’s not always the case. I also love to mix up my greens and use 2-3 kinds of lettuce. Below is a creation I made just for this post using what I happen to have on hand. I tend to stock up on salad fixins so it was pretty easy.
Here’s how I built it:
First I chopped up the greens. For this salad I used romaine and watercress. Any lettuce will do, even iceberg lettuce is better than no lettuce, right? Use whatever you like or have on hand.
Then I add sprouts. This time I used brocco sprouts. These guys are amazing antioxidants and are in part what makes this a superfoods salad.
Next come the regulars: red and yellow peppers and cucumbers. All of which are fabulous hydrators for your skin and contain tons of vitamin C!
Ok, this might look like a mess, but it’s a delicious mess! Here’s where I add all the goodies: raw hemp seeds and toasted walnuts for protein, good fats and some crunch; gojiberries for antioxidants and vitamin A; a shake of sea seasonings (mix of red dulse, black laver and green sea lettuce flakes); pumpkin seeds for zinc; chia seeds for fiber and minerals; and a sprinkle of Living Intentions Salad Booster for a dose of mineral-dense spirulina, chlorella, sea veggies, and sprouted seeds.
Dressing is next! I make my own dressing in my Vitamix and this one I just mixed up on the fly. I threw in half an avocado, about a tablespoon of olive oil, half a lemon, 1 garlic clove, some Celtic sea salt, and a dash of apple cider vinegar.
You see? Once you mix it up it looks like a normal salad….and tastes amazing!
The best part? Sharing it with someone I love.
So tell me, what are YOUR favorite salad fixins? Do you enjoy preparing salads? Do you eat salad in the winter? Do you make your own salad dressing?
