445. Green salad
Crunchy Green Love Salad - serves 3-4
- 4 handfuls of spinach or salad of choice
- 1/2 cup shelled Edamame beans, approx. 2 cups with the pods/200 grams
- 1 Granny Smith or other green apple
- 1/2 lime, juice
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 1/2 avocado + 1/2
- 10 brussels sprouts
- 3 tbsp pesto, homemade or store-bought
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Alfalfa sprouts, optional
Wash and dry the salad leaves. Arrange on the plates and set aside. Shell edamame beans from the pods and put into a mixing bowl. Wash the brussels sprouts, zucchini and apples. Start with brussels sprouts by cutting off the bottom ends, then slice very thinly (vegetable peeler might be useful). Cut zucchini and apples. Combine all in the mixing bowl. Add pesto, lime juice, salt & pepper. Lastly prepare avocado by scooping out of the skin and cutting. You want a very ripe avocado for this - it balances the crunchy texture of the other ingredients. Add to the mixing bowl and give it a light stir, you don't want it to become too messy. Preserve 1/2 an avocado for serving later. Divide finished salad between the plates on top of the salad beds. Arrange Alfalfa sprouts and avocado slices. Serve.
Healthy note: Popeye would love this salad, I am sure! 'Spinach makes ya strong!' Indeed, spinach is a very green leaf with lots of iron and good fibre. It has A,C,B, E vitamins and some protein. But at most vitamin K - richer than any other vegetable (except kale), which helps your bones remain strong. Brussels sprouts - we need to eat more of those babies, I'm telling you. They have amazing superpowers to reduce cancer potential, loaded with A, C and calcium. Avocados are a GOOD kind of fat. You shouldn't be afraid of this nutrient dense fruit (yes, you heard it right, it's a fruit). Zucchinis, on their part, stimulate your intestine to work, while also due to a slight diuretic effect will help to remove toxins from your body. This salad is raw, thus, all the powers I wrote about earlier are not lost through the cooking process. Give some Greenilicious Love to your body.
Playing around: The point of this salad is to be green and crunchy! When eating greens, think of eating sun energy and chewing, rather than simply swallowing, improves your digestion tenfold. So can you imagine how easy it is to vary this salad? Kale, chard, lettuce, collards, asparagus, celery, green peppers, broccoli, cucumbers, kiwis- are just a few of all the Greens available to you. Mix & Match. You can easily make this salad vegan by choosing or making dairy-free Pesto.
