
“I ate a rainbow in a bowl, because it’s better than eating rain soup. Food and water aren’t supposed to be one and the same. ”
― Jarod Kintz
Ever since listening to The Paleo PI’s recent interview with Dr Terry Wahls on The Autoimmune Connection, I’ve been thinking about exactly who (or what ) I am feeding when I eat.
Dr Wahls suggests that we’re not really feeding ourselves. Rather, we’re feeding our micro biome – chock-full of all the teeny tiny bacteria that live in our gut. And, we are now learning that the dynamic of all of those bacteria – both the good and the bad – have a huge impact on our health. We want to encourage the good bugs to prosper…
When you ask yourself, “who am I feeding”, you start to look at food differently. It’s slightly uncomfortable!
And, in line with this thinking, another thing I noted from the interview was my need to increase the amount of raw food in my diet.
I eat salad, of course. It’s pretty widely accepted that leafy greens are ever-so-slightly important. So, that’s a no brainer.
But I know I take the easy way out with my roasted vegetables just a little too frequently. Especially, now that the weather has turned so nippley.
So this week, I bring you my ‘Eat a Rainbow’ Beetroot, Carrot and Herb Salad.
It’s raw, so Dr Wahls would approve. It’s 100% AIP-compliant, so Dr Ballantyne would approve. And, – most importantly – it tastes seriously good, so you’ll approve, too (I hope!) Oh, and it’s really easy to whip up!
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
– Dolly Parton
I’ve been seeing a lot of beetroot at the markets lately. And, it’s one of LM’s favourite vegetables. So, it was a no-brainer to pick some up this week.
Beetroot partners beautifully with carrot – the earthiness of the beetroot marries well with the sweetness of the carrot. Another easy decision.
Where things started to get a little tricky, despite Dr Wahls whispering in my sub-conscious about eating more raw, was the decision to make a salad, or to succumb to temptation and make a soup. It is a little chilly in this neck of the woods at the moment…
LM made the decision for me. He chose a salad.
And, so that’s what you’re getting today. Blame LM if you would have rather had a soup!
Once you taste this puppy, I don’t think you’ll be pining for soup!
There is an amazing cafe in Auckland called Ripe Delicatessen. I have adapted one of their salad dressings for my salad.
- ½ cup raisins or sultanas
- ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar (ACV)
- 5 medium carrots (about 450g when peeled)
- 4 medium beetroot (about 450g when peeled)
- 1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 bunch fresh mint
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 2 Tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- zest of orange1/4 cup orange juice
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pop your raisins into a small bowl and cover with a ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar. Leave for an hour.
- For the dressing: combine 2 Tablespoons ACV, honey, pomegranate molasses, orange juice and zest and olive oil into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake well to mix.
- Peel your beetroot and carrots.
- Using the grater attachment of your food processor or a good old box grater, grate the beetroot and carrots. Pop into a large bowl.
- Wash and finely chop the parsley and mint. Add to your bowl.
- Drain the raisins and add to the salad. Mix well.
- Pour over the dressing and mix again.
- Taste for seasoning. Add salt.
ENJOY!
This recipe features in the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable
I wondered why I was getting hate mail from soup nazis, now I know
🙂
I approve~! Of your gorgeous salad & the idea that ‘we’re not really feeding ourselves, but our micro biome’.
Thanks Petra. I surprised myself with this one – REALLY yummy! That’ll teach me not to be so lazy!