This weeks’ salad challenge posts: Introduction, Sweet + Creamy Broccoli Salad, Green Goddessphere at Sea, Spinach Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette, Cucumber Dill Kale Salad
5 days, 5 lip-licking, bowl loving, veggie packed salads.
How did you do with the challenge?
I don’t think I’ve ever ate this many veggies in my life, even when I was vegan. On Thursday; without even realizing it, I had 3 salads. Lunch, dinner, and evening snack.
I’m a veggie eatin’ machine!
I remember finding it challenging to get a healthy amount of veggies stuffed in my day while staying excited about what I was eating. Thanks to this challenge; and all of you, I think I’ve finally landed on an approach that works. 1 salad a day for life, baby!
It’s amazing how quickly we can adapt to healthy changes if we just take it one step at a time.
One more salad to go for this edition of the salad challenge and I had to squeeze in a recipe that included asparagus.
The challenge just couldn’t be complete without a bit of asparagus love.
Did you know that asparagus contains inulin – a prebiotic that doesn’t get broken down by the first segments of our digestive tract? When you eat the spears of green fantasticness, they pass through your digestion, completely undigested until they get to your large intestine, and from there, become a food source for your healthy bacteria.
This healthy bacteria helps strengthen our digestion, immune system, aids in nutrient absorption, and can lower our risk of colon cancer, making this salad pretty much… awesome.
Hot and Wild Roasted Veggie Salad
Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar-free, Yeast free, Corn free
Spice up your grain-based salads with a batch of cayenne roasted veggies. Not a fan of the heat? This salad is just as tasty without it 
Yield: ~4 cups
Servings: 2
Ingredients
Rice
- 1.5 cups water
- 1/2 cup wild rice, uncooked
Cayenne roasted veggies
- 1 yellow pepper, diced small
- 2 carrots, diced small
- 10 asparagus spears, diced small
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch cayenne
Maple dressing
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp unpasteurized apple vinegar
- 1 tbsp gluten-free mustard
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan rock salt or Herbamare
- dash freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Directions
- Wash wild rice with hot tap water, drain.
- Combine water, rice, and salt in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until rice is tender and has absorbed the water, about 30-45 minutes. If you want chewier rice, drain at the 30 minute mark as I did. The rice should be tender but not rolled back or mushy. Once complete, drain and place in a medium sized bowl to cool.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F.
- Place pepper, carrot, and asparagus in a cast iron pan and stir to coat with coconut oil. Sprinkle with cinnamon and cayenne. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Alternatively, you can do this on a stove top, cooking on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes.
- Remove veggies from oven and place in the bowl with rice.
- In a small dish combine olive oil, maple syrup, vinegar and mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over salad, stir, and top with sunflower seeds.
Are you planning to keep up with 1 salad a day?
What was your favorite salad this week?
Will see you soon with a new dessert recipe.
You didn’t think I could go on like this forever, did you? heh.
Mmm sugar.
Hello, welcome to my healthy gluten-free 
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I love sweet potato salads with black beans and veggies.
I’ve eaten a TON more veggies in the new year too – it feels wonderful!
Love those roasted veggies in coconut oil! Looks like a great mix.
ah! i love your salads, they look so delicious!
The maple dressing sounds fabulous…what a great recipe!
This is just beautiful. I love the sounds of the maple dressing. Yum.
I adore asparagus, too, and the side-lying picture you took is gorgeous.
I grew up in Minnesota where wild rice is grown and grew up eating tons of it!
This is gorgeous and healthy. Thanks
What a fantastic salad…love the dressing as well! Delicious, will have to give this one a try
I’ve had at least a salad a day in the last couple of days. I was surprised how full and satisfied I was, more like after an ol’ meat and potatoes, but without the heavy feeling!
My resolution: one smoothie and one salad a day!
Love to see the asparagus in this salad! My husband and I stayed with a lady in New Zealand for 5 weeks who grew two huge paddocks full of asparagus. It was so delicious to pick it straight from the field and eat it raw!
Oh wow, that’s amazing. I would have just sat in the garden and ate to my hearts content!
Thai salad looks awesome. I am always down on salad when it’scold, just not exited about cold eats, but I can get exited about that one
Looks delicious, as always!
Oh my goodness how cute are THOSE bowls!!!
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