Charred Broccoli Salad
Original Recipe by Shelley Kamil

Whichever way you call it, buying organic has certainly become a hot topic. Some resist it, others swear by it. Whatever you believe, there is a mid ground. I buy organic whenever I can. These days it’s more and more often. Whether it’s beginning the week in an organic store and then supplementing the rest in my local fruit shop or sporadically topping up my weekly groceries. Either way I’m always working toward buying more and more organic. I guess it’s all about working within your own goals and limitations.

The point is that when I do buy organic, I like to make it the star of the show. Mainly because when something’s grown in organic soil and is bursting with vitamins and minerals, it deserves a whole lotta love. This Broccoli Salad, does just that. It celebrates oraganic Broccoli in all its glory xx

Ingredients
(Serves 2-3)

1 head organic broccoli, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 handfuls spinach leaves
2 stalks celery, finely sliced
3-4 spring onions
1 handful parsley, roughly chopped
20 almonds, lightly toasted, then crushed
1 cup tri colour quinoa
Himalayan Pink Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Dressing 
2tsp seeded mustard
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1.5tbs maple syrup
1tbs olive oil

Directions
1. Begin by cooking the quinoa. Boil 2.5 cups of water, season with Himalayan Pink Sea Salt, add quinoa, lower heat and cook for 15 – 20 minutes or until the seeds have come to life. Just before it’s completely cooked, turn off the heat, cover with lid and allow to sit.
2. Blanch the chopped broccoli, place in boiling hot water for 1 minute, remove and rinse under ice cold water. Heat 1tbs olive oil in a small skillet, add crushed garlic then broccoli, season with sea salt and pepper then cook until slightly charred (5-7 minutes), set aside.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, combine dressing ingredients and mix together well.
4. In a medium sized serving bowl, combine the spinach, celery, spring onions and quinoa. Mix together thoroughly. Add the broccoli, mix once more. Pour the dressing over top, season and with sea salt and pepper, sprinkle with toasted almonds and parsley to serve xx

Moroccan Spiced Pumpkin, Date & Pomegranate Salad

Ok, so you may be thinking, who on earth has time to roast veggies during the day? And you’re probably right!

The idea with this salad is to take the roast veggies you’ve roasted the night prior and add them to your salad for lunch the next day. That done, there’s not much to this salad. It’s pretty much a simple throw together and you have a delicious satisfying salad. Works just as well as a side for dinner, great with Lamb or Tofu depending on your preference.

Hope you’ve kept reading cause here’s the kicker. . .  When you’re having a little trouble keeping sweet cravings under wraps at night, it can be worth looking at your diet during the day. Adding in sweet vegetables like carrots and pumpkin plus red onion and dates may fill a need that would otherwise have been taken out on a late night block of chocolate xx

Ingredients
(Serves 2-3)

 Veggies
Half a pumpkin chopped
Bunch of baby carrots
2tbs coconut oil
1 red onion finely sliced
1tbs red wine vinegar

Salad
3-4 kale leaves, torn from the stem
Juice of half a lemon
3 –4 Medjool dates pitted & chopped
Half pomegranate seeded
Handful mint leaves roughly chopped
2-3tbs slithered almonds toasted
1 cup cooked quinoa (optional)

Dressing
½tsp fennel seed (optional)
1tsp cinnamon
Juice of half a lemon
1tbs olive oil (optional)
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt to taste

Directions

1. Pre heat oven to 180 and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine veggies, red onion, coconut oil, vinegar and sea salt, mix together thoroughly.
3. Spread veggies evenly onto baking paper and bake for up to an hour or until veggies are golden and crispy (all ovens tend to work a little differently, so keep an eye on your veggies)
4 In a small mixing bowl combine the dressing ingredients and whisk together.
5. To assemble salad, begin by dividing kale leaves between serving bowls, dress with lemon juice and massage until leaves begin to wilt.
6. Top each salad bowl with roast veggies, pour dressing over and mix thoroughly, then sprinkle with dates, pomegranates, mint and slithered almonds. Enjoy xx