Christmas Salad Pick - Total Wellbeing

I love salad, and contrary to what Homer Simpson says, an impressive salad can certainly win friends and influence people, at least in my circle 😉

This wonderful recipe from Kate Taylor is a colourful addition to any Christmas buffet with beetroot, carrot and salad greens bringing the visual drama! In fact, arranged on a white plate in a wreath, this could even serve as an edible centrepiece!

As Kate says:

This salad is as flavorful and nutritious as its bold colours would suggest. It’s a meal-in-a-bowl version of my simple beet and arugula salad that helped me find some much-needed balance during my totally ungraceful day.

And if we're happening to be talking about adding a moment of detox into a Christmas Day feast, this salad could be the lifesaver that gets you between turkey course and pavlova.

Ingredients

Salad

½ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 cup frozen organic edamame (find it in the frozen section – enamame are soy beans, either in a pod or shelled, mine were in a pod and I shelled them after cooking)
⅓ cup slivered almonds or pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) (I used both!)
1 medium raw beetroot, peeled
1 medium-to-large carrot, peeled
2 cups packed baby spinach or arugula roughly chopped (arugula = rocket, this is what I used, I didn’t chop it though),
1 avocado, cubed

Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or cilantro (cilantro – coriander, I opted for 1 of each)
2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup or agave nectar (I used 1 tsp of coconut sugar, you could use any sweetener)
½ to 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, to taste
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste