days one and two

Okay, so I'm going to do this. A salad a day challenge :)  I found 8 different salads I wanted to try out, so I decided I would have one a day and make it fun! I failed to post about yesterdays salad yesterday, so today I'll post about yesterday's and today's.

Day One:

Lightened Up Protein Power Goddess Bowl

I made some changes to the recipe linked. Because I wanted it to be raw, I left out the lentils and spelt-berries. It was perfectly good without, but I'll write the original recipe out in case any of you wanted to try it out :)

For the salad:

1 cup uncooked green lentils (yield 2 & 3/4 cups cooked)

1 cup uncooked spelt-berries (yield 2 cups cooked)

1/2 tbsp olive oil, for sautéing

1/2 red onion, chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

3 cups spinach or kale, roughly chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste

Lemon Wedges & lemon zest, to garnish

For Lightened Up tahini-Lemon Dressing:

1/4 cup Tahini

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1/4 cup Nutritional yeast or a bit more, to taste

2-4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, to taste

1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

3 tbsp water, or as needed

Directions:

1. Cook lentils and spelt-berries according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. Prepare the Lightened Up tahini-Lemon dressing in food processor.

3. In a large skillet over low-medium heat, add your olive oil and sauté the chopped onion and minced garlic for a few minutes, being careful not to burn. Now add in the chopped red pepper and tomato and sauté for another 7-8 minutes.

4. Stir in the chopped kale or spinach and sauté for another few minutes, just until tender. Stir in the full batch of tahini-Lemon dressing, the cooked & drained grains and lentils, and simmer on low for another few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the minced parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with lemon wedges and zest. Makes 6 cups.

If you're interested in making this and want it to just be raw, put the chopped vegetables, minced garlic and parsley, and the kale or spinach in a bowl with some mixed greens. Pour dressing over top and enjoy :)

Day Two:

Oh She Glows detox salad 

2 heads broccoli (1 bunch), stems removed

1 head cauliflower, stems removed

2.5 cups shredded carrots

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup currants

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup raisins (I put dried cranberries instead of raisins)

4-6 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste

kosher salt, pepper to taste (1/4-1/2 tsp salt and lots of pepper)

kelp granules or Herbamare (optional), to taste

Pure maple syrup, to drizzle on before serving

1. In a food processor (or chop by hand) process the broccoli (no stems) until fine. Add into large bowl.

2. Now process the cauliflower (no stems) until fine and add into bowl. Do the same with the carrots.

3. Stir in the sunflower seeds, currants, raisins (or dried cranberries), and parsley. Add lemon juice and seasonings to taste.

4. Drizzle with maple syrup to taste.

I'm looking forward to next 6 I'm going to make. These taste a lot better than I thought they would. I'm excited to try all the new things :)