Revitalizing watercress and tomato salad with hemp seeds and black and green olives

  

Vegan, gluten free 

Our cravings for foods have always been connected to the seasons and changes in the natural environment. Now, in the spring, as we don't need to store as much energy in the body as in winter, the cravings for warm, heavy, comforting dishes give way to detoxifying and revitalizing lighter foods like leafy greens, asparagus, radishes or various fruits. Right now, to support the body’s desire to purify and renew itself we should include more pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes in our diet.

The stimulating sharp and pungent taste of watercress, the main ingredient in this salad, is believed to clear moisture and congestion; conditions typical for spring, whose presence may cause colds and congestion in the body.  The pungent taste also increases circulation, cleanses the blood and clears toxins. 

Watercress contains a massive amount of antioxidants, key ingredients in cancer prevention. These active antioxidants that protect cells from cancerous harm include vitamins C, A, E, and several B vitamins. The antioxidant properties of watercress help, in particular, in preventing the damage to cells caused by smoking, thus lower the cancer risk for lung and throat.

Watercress is also loaded with potassium, a diuretic that draws out excess water from the body and has a lot of fiber, which prevents constipation and other bowel problems. The iodine contained in watercress supports thyroid health and keeps the body’s metabolism active.

Additionally, watercress is a good source of lutein and beta-carotene, two important components in UV-damage prevention. It also helps in treating eczema, acne, and generally problematic skin. 

Although watercress has an impressive nutritional value, it's a little underrepresented in the produce sections of grocery stores. Fortunately, it can always be found in ethnic food stores, especially Asian markets as it's a common ingredient in all South Eastern Asian cuisines.  

Ingredients:

• 1 medium bunch of watercress, trimmed 
•  8 oz. organic medley cherry tomatoes, cut lengthwise  
• 1/2 white onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 5-6 green olives, sliced
• 5-6 black olives, sliced
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds
• 1-2 tbsp chives, chopped
• salt, pepper 

 Dressing:

• 3 tbsp virgin cold-pressed olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Roughly chop trimmed watercress stems and mix with cherry tomatoes, onion and black and green olives. Sprinkle with hemp seeds and chopped chives. Add salt and pepper. Mix well.

Prepare dressing by combining olive oil with the lemon juice. Mix both ingredients well, add a small pinch of cayenne pepper and mix with the salad. Enjoy!

Cleansing and nutritious beet and quinoa salad with greens, dried cranberries and sunflower seeds

Vegan

Salads are one of my favorite go-to meals, especially now, in the spring when the cleanse season has already begun. This recipe will be a great support during any cleansing routine. The simple salad made with protein-rich cooked quinoa tossed with raw veggies, dried cranberries and sunflower seeds can be an excellent breakfast, lunch or dinner dish and is both cleansing and nutritious.

The raw beet, with its many cleansing* and detoxifying** nutrients, is an essential ingredient in the cleanse process. Vitamin A present in the carrot helps the liver flush out the toxins from the body, selenium in the sunflower seeds efficiently eliminates mercury from the body and vitamin C and antioxidants in the cranberries fight the free radicals, preventing the development of cancer cells.

While nutrition is the main focus in my meal preparation, I also try to apply the Ayurvedic “six tastes rule”, which means using ingredients representing sweet, sour, salty, pungent, astringent and bitter taste, all in one meal. According to Ayurveda, each taste plays a vital role in our health and well-being.  The taste is a powerful stimulant of our digestive fire and activating agent for the proper absorption of nutrients.  Ayurveda believes that to properly function, all the organs in the body should be equally activated. And the organs can be stimulated by activating the taste buds that correspond to those organs.

That rule may be especially worth remembering for those of us, who live in the West, where people tend to overindulge in sweet, sour and salty tasting foods, avoiding ingredients with “difficult” astringent, pungent and bitter taste. The imbalance of tastes in our Western diet affects our health and mood. The stressful lifestyle typical for the West urges us to reach for easy on the palate sweet snacks that for a short time will soothe the mind. But excessive consumption of addictive sweet foods promotes congestion and contributes to anxiety and depression. Overuse of salt in our diet disguises the authentic deliciousness of foods and leads to water retention in the body and eventually, to high blood pressure. Sour tasting foods, eaten in excess, can stimulate joint inflammation or cause heartburn. For those reasons it's important to retrain our palates and make them accept foods with "less popular" pungent, astringent and bitter taste to balance the consumption of the over popular sweet, sour and salty tasting foods.

The ingredients that I used for this salad are a balanced composition of the following tastes:

Quinoa- pungent
Beet – sweet
Carrot- sweet, astringent
Collard greens – bitter
Dried cranberries – sweet, sour
Sunflower seeds – sweet
Lemon juice – sour
Olive oil – sweet
Black pepper and cayenne pepper – pungent
Coriander seeds – sweet
Agave nectar - sweet

* eliminates toxins from liver cells
**clears the toxins removed from the liver and prevents them from reincorporating back into the body

 Ingredients:                                                  

• 1/2 cup dry quinoa (yields about 11/2 cup when cooked)
• 1/4 cup organic raw beets, peeled and finely grated
• 2 tbsp organic carrots, peeled and finely grated
• 1/2 cup organic baby greens (spinach or collard greens), packed
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
• 8-10 coriander seeds
• salt, pepper to taste

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 tsp agave nectar
• pinch of cayenne

Combine the 1/2 cup of dry quinoa with 1 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan with a lid and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let it cool off.

In a medium bowl mix the cooked quinoa with grated beets and carrots. Mix well until the salad becomes uniformly red. Add the greens, cranberries and toasted sesame seeds. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the dressing by mixing olive oil with lemon juice, agave nectar and cayenne pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well.

Crunchy spinach salad with radish duo, carrots, avocado and Thai inspired dressing

Vegan, gluten free

With spring comes an abundance of fresh produce ready to be chopped and tossed into great, colorful salads. The bounty of veggies during this season expands our creativity in the kitchen and gives us endless options in selecting ingredient combinations.

Salads are the easiest and fastest dish to prepare. They are vibrant, exciting and healthy. The bright ingredients used for salads are packed with nutrients and anti-oxidants essential for our well-being and health. And their vibrant, attractive appearance is a feast for the eyes and just looking at them gives us a nice boost of energy.

However, as great as these dishes are, there is one important thing that not all of us may know of; the best time to eat those wonderful combinations of raw veggies is at a lunchtime, from noon to about 3 pm. At this time of the day, when the sun is high in the sky, our digestive fire (agni) is at its maximum potency. As the sun goes down, so does our digestive strength. Eating raw salads or any raw foods on a daily basis later during the day or at night may eventually weaken our digestion, and consequently, the overall health. So, to stay on the safe side, eat salads in the middle of the day when the stomach is best prepared to break down the raw ingredients providing full absorption of all nutrients.

The salad I want to share is a combination of rich in anti-oxidants spinach, two radishes, both a great source of Vitamin C, fiber and potassium, high in Vitamin A carrots, and packed with nutrients and minerals red onions. And the last but not least major ingredient –avocado, is not only loaded with fiber and an excellent source of “good fats”, but when mixed with other veggies, boosts the absorption of alpha- and beta-carotene and lutein.

This salad could be a great dish for Easter brunch or lunch at any time of the spring or summer.

I hope it will nourish your body and spirit and give you inspiration for your own wonderful creations!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh organic spinach (lightly packed), washed        
  
  
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced or spiralized
• 1 avocado, peeled, pit removed, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, peeled, chopped
• 1 medium watermelon radish, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch wide stripes
• 5-6 radishes, sliced
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
• 1 tbsp dulse flakes
• salt, pepper to taste

Dressing:

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 2 tbsp lime or kemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• pinch of cayenne pepper

In a large bowl toss spinach with both radishes, carrots, red onions and avocado. Add salt and pepper, dulse flakes, dried cranberries and toasted sunflower seeds.

In a small bowl mix sesame oil, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, agave nectar, lime or lemon juice, ginger powder and cayenne pepper, Stir until well combined and toss with the salad.