Superfood Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing

I’ll be honest. This salad originally consisted of me opening the refrigerator, pulling out any and all vegetables & protein I could find at the moment and tossing them together in a bowl. But (being honest again, because should we be any other way, really?) this salad is also chock full of amazing nutrients that warrant calling it a Super Food Salad.

There aren’t any crazy ingredients that require four special trips to health food stores or farmer’s markets or the Brazilian Amazon. You’d be amazed at the nutritional powerhouses that are most likely sitting in your pantry or fridge as you’re reading this.

Here’s a run down of the nutritional profile for each ingredient:

• Spinach: One of the most nutrient dense foods out there. Contains particularly high levels of vitamin K & A (needed for the assimilation of vitamin D). Leafy greens in general are energy boosting foods that also boost your immune system.
• Red Cabbage: Great for digestive health. Red cabbage in particular can even help get rid of dandruff.
• Broccoli: Super high levels of vitamin C, as well as K, & A (needed for the assimilation of vitamin D), and it’s been shown to be a powerful preventer of cancer. Broccoli is anti-inflammatory & detoxifying.
• Black Beans: Really high levels of antioxidants and great for digestive health. Soak your beans in water before cooking them.
• Cucumber: The silica in cucumbers helps with glowing skin.
• Carrots: The beta carotene in carrots isn’t only good for your eyes–it can help prevent sunburn and improve cardiovascular health.
• Parsley: Super high in antioxidants, folic acid, and vitamin K.
• Eggs: Free-range eggs from happy chickens are a great source of choline–important for brain & nervous system function. Also a great source of protein. Remember that your body actually needs the cholesterol found in eggs–it’s good for you!

Salads have been a curious thing for me over the past few months. I’ve picked up some new tips & techniques through my travels that have really made salads even more amazing for me. I’ll share a few with you, too:

• Grating vegetables like carrots & beets make them even more palatable in salad form. Grate a few carrots at the beginning of the week and keep them in a container in the fridge. Who wants to go through the grating (and washing of the grater) process every time you want a salad?
• Do the same with hard boiled eggs (hard boil them, don’t grate them). Keep a handful in the fridge to use for an extra boost of protein when the mood strikes.
• Toss your salads with dressing before serving. This might be a personal preference, but I enjoy my salads so much more when the dressing is already incorporated.

Superfood Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing

Salad Ingredients:

Dressing Ingredients:

Directions:

Toss all salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a small container and toss with salad (or dress each salad individually. But I prefer that my whole salad is coated nicely before it lands on my plate.) Garnish each salad with a chopped hard boiled egg.

Then enjoy all the life-giving power and energy as you eat!

What are your favorite superfoods? 

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday