Hot and balmy evenings call for this fresh and crunchy super food salad. Full of flavour, texture and colour and brimming with nutrients like vitamin c, vitamin e, beta-carotene and folic acid. The quinoa, peas and nuts give it a little protein boost and the mango and basil dressing adds some zingy sweetness. You can throw it together in a flash, leaving you more time to top up that tan! Enjoy!
prep time: 20 minutes make time: 10 minutes serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
If you have a mandolin, use it to finely slice the first 4 ingredients
- 6 – 8 radish ~ finely sliced
- 1 yellow pepper ~ finely sliced
- ½ cucumber ~ finely sliced
- ¼ red cabbage ~ finely sliced
- 200g/1 cup cooked quinoa
- Half head of broccoli ~ cut into small florets
- 150g/1 cup of frozen garden peas
- Handful of fresh mint ~ roughly chopped
- 35g/ ¼ cup of almonds
- 30g/ ¼ cup of pine nuts
- Salt and black pepper to season
for the dressing
- ½ cup fresh mango ~ cubed (you can use frozen too but let them thaw first)
- 1 Tbsp of avocado oil
- Juice of 1 lime
- 10 basil leaves
- 2 Tbsp filtered water
- Pinch of Himalayan salt
- Pinch of black pepper
METHOD
- First start by defrosting the peas. Place in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit for a few minutes, drain and set aside.
- In a small pan on low-medium heat, add the pine nuts until they are lightly toasted. Set to one side.
- To make the dressing, place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until it reaches a smooth consistency. Add more water if it’s too thick.
- Take a large serving dish and start to layer up the salad. Add the quinoa, peas, red cabbage, cucumber, broccoli, radish and yellow pepper. Add some salt and pepper to season and mix it up to combine all the ingredients. Drizzle on the dressing and then add the toasted pine nuts, almonds and fresh mint. Serve up and enjoy!
NUTRITIONAL BROWNIE POINTS
- Broccoli and yellow pepper are both rich in vitamin c and in addition to it’s antioxidant properties, vitamin c is essential for collagen production in the body. Collagen is needed to keep our skin firm and well supported and overtime it can will breakdown and degrade so it’s important ensure we have optimal levels of vitamin c to provide extra support to synthesise more collagen.
- Vitamin C also protects our skin cells from UV radiation and supports skin barrier function
- Broccoli is also part of the cruciferous family and can aid in liver detoxification, helping to remove toxins more efficiently from the body. Our skin is also a route of elimination therefore if our liver is a little sluggish and we’re not providing it with the correct nutrients, our skin can pick up the slack!
- Quinoa is a wonderful source of plant protein as it contains all 20 amino acids, 9 of which must be obtained through diet, as our bodies are unable to synthesise them. This makes quinoa a complete protein unlike some other sources of plant based protein. Quinoa is also rich in mineral nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium and zinc.
- Magnesium is an essential mineral for energy production within the body and low levels have been linked to fatigue. It is also essential for the regulation of muscular contraction, blood pressure and nerve transmission.
- Zinc plays a role in a number of skin disorders, acne being one of them. It is able to directly inhibit p.acnes proliferation – the bacteria responsible for acne formation.
References
- Cervantes, J. Eber, AE. Perper, M. et al. (2017). ‘The role of zinc in the treatment of acne: A review of the literature’, Dermatologic Therapy. 31 (1). [Online]. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dth.12576
- Crisan, D. Roman, I. Badea, R. (2015). ‘The role of vitamin C in pushing back the boundaries of skin aging: an ultrasonographic approach’, Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, (8), pp.463-470. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4562654/
- Grober, U. Schmidt, J. Kisters, K. (2015). ‘Magnesium in Prevention and Therapy’, Nutrients, 7 (9), pp. 8199-8226. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4586582/
- Mattila, P. Makinen, S. Pihlanto, A. (2018). ‘Nutritional Value of Commercial Protein-Rich Plant Products’, Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 72 (2), pp. 108-115. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5956054/#!po=42.5000
- Pullar, JM. Carr, AC. Vissers, MCM. (2017). ‘The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health’, Nutrients, (8), pp.866. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579659/