Fertilehealthy

Salad, the fertilehealthy way

We love salad!  It’s a great way of ensuring that we consume lots of raw, alkalizing food and that we get some greens into our diet.  We have salad for dinner at least five nights a week.Here’s how to build a great, nutritious salad that will satisfy your hunger:

1.  Use as few or as many of the following RAW ingredients as you wish:

The greens: 

• pretty much any lettuce - but preferably the darker ones like cos lettuce (romaine), Asian baby leaf lettuce, tatsoi 
• baby spinach,
• rocket,
• watercress,
• chopped spinach,
• chopped Swiss Chard,
• radicchio
• celery
• basil
• cucumber
• sugar snap peas
• mange-tout
• zucchini
• avocado  (when in season - fortunately about 8 months of the year - no salad leaves my kitchen without avocado!)
• broccoli florets

The reds: 

• tomato (I try to use truss tomatoes, plum tomotoes and cherry tomatoes most of the time)
• radish
• red bell pepper
• grated or cubed beetroot
• strawberries

The Yellows:

• carrots (sliced, grated, julienned, or stripped)
• yellow bell pepper
• baby corn
• corn cut off the cob
• grated butternut squash
• ruby grapefruit

The Extras:

• capers
• olives (preferably in olive oil, not brine)
• sliced baby leeks
• sliced spring onion
• mushrooms
• kelp and other sea vegetables
• chives
• sprouts (we love sprouts!)
• pink ginger
• grated cabbage
• cauliflower florets

2.  Any combination of the above will give you a delicious salad which you can also put in a wrap or pita pocket OR you can add ONE of the following:

• roast vegetables (including potatoes and sweet potatoes)
• steamed asparagus
• steamed butternut squash
• steamed broccoli
• steamed cauliflower
• chick peas (a favourite in our house)
• corn off the cob  (cooked)
• sauteed mushrooms
• cous-cous
• rice
• quinoa
• peas
• boiled egg
• roast chicken (one portion per person)
• stir-fried beef cubes
• feta cheese
• blue cheese
• cheese of your choice
• smoked salmon
• flaked white fish
• tuna
• bacon (if you must!)
• smoked chicken
• seeds
• nuts
• tofu
• beans
• soya

Ok, I’m running out of ideas now… but you can use your imagination, as long as you follow the golden rule - only one cooked (processed) ingredient per salad! 

When you have your salad assembled and you just need to dress it.  Or do you?

I like to simply drizzle some freshly squeezed lemon juice and good quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil over my salad.

But here’s a recipe for a great dressing:

Italian Dressing

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

½ cup filtered water

1 spring onion

1 tsp honey

dash cayenne pepper to taste

1 tbs fresh oregano

1 tbs fresh basil

Puree all the ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Keep in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to a week.

Enjoy!  I’m not a great cook, but anyone can make a great salad!