Try this easy and filling Sunday meal prep: Detox Salad!
New and exciting! This recipe is a big part of 1K30, our new Vitamix diet plan.
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After a long holiday weekend, a detox salad is “just what the doctor ordered.”
That’s true especially if the weekend consisted of Labor-Day-in-Minnesota activities.
Read: Wedding (cake and booze); MN State Fair (fried food on a stick); Road trip (rest stop food options).
So a detox was MUCH needed. And this detox salad was:
- Ridiculously delicious.
- Incredibly filling.
- Gluten free, dairy free, no-sugar-added, vegan, etc.
While it takes a good amount of chopping (unless you use make it a Vitamix recipe by using your Vitamix to chop), it is 100% worth it.
And, I should mention: It’s wonderfully addicting.
With a citrus avocado dressing, the recipe for this detox salad follows the delicious irony of its perfectly balanced flavors.
Plus, some highlights from my weekend.
Enjoy. 🙂
The Ironically addicting detox salad
Junk food creators aim to do precisely what this detox salad does: Create a curious balance.
They aim for “The Bliss Point.”
The concept comes from the shocking and highly recommended article “The Extraordinary Science of Junk Food.”
Basically, when recipes have more than one distinct flavor, we don’t grow tired of it. Great examples include:
- Dr. Pepper
- Snickers Bars
- Heinz 57 ketchup (although HFCS causes addiction here, too)
Given just one of Dr. Peppers’ flavors, or nougat, or tomatoes, we’d enjoy until a certain point. But we’re able to identify the flavor and move on.
When, however, the flavors are perfectly balanced, we compulsively go back for more.
Big Food has used this trick for decades.
Now, I’ve used it in this detox salad.
Can you taste the irony? 🙂
This salad is so, so good.
So complex.
So balanced that it’s good anytime, anywhere, and with anything.
And of course, you never want to stop.
Best part?
This detox salad is amazingly good for you.
Almost to the recipe…
Kayla’s Wedding, Labor Day Weekend
Here are a couple highlights from my pre-needing-a-detox, Labor Day, sister’s wedding weekend.
First, Lucy and I on the road to MN. Sunflower seeds in my cheek. Not chew, that wouldn’t be very LINY. 🙂
Dad and I during the pre-wedding photo session. He wasn’t nervous, stressed or over-whelmed at all. 😉 (Not pictured: 2 glasses of Macallan)
The girl and I at the MN State Fair waiting for a bucket of Sweet Martha’s Cookies. * drool *
And so, after four days of NOT eating NOYOKE, I was ready to detox. Big time.
Anyways, would you like to see how we make it? Watch the video below.
Update: Here’s a video of our latest trip to the fair
Other Noteworthy Versions
- The Glowing Fridge: Shannon's Chopped Detox Salad
Recipe
Detox Salad
Try this easy and filling Sunday meal prep: Detox Salad!
Apple Cider Vinegar, Avocado, Carrots, Cauliflower, Ginger, Kale, Raisins, Red Cabbage,Ingredients:
- SALAD
- cauliflower - 1 head
- kale - 2 cups (200 g)
- red cabbage - 1/2 head
- carrots - 2 cups (250 g)
- OPTIONAL: red or green onion - 1/2 cup (75 or 50 g)
- OPTIONAL: raisins - 1/2 cup (75 g)
- OPTIONAL: sun flower seeds - 1/4 cup (35 g)
- OPTIONAL: fresh cilantro (no stems) - 1/4 cup (4 g)
- DRESSING (for narrow-bodied container; double if using low-profile 64-ounce)
- avocado - 1 whole
- apple cider vinegar - 1/4 cup (60 mL)
- lemon juice - from half a lemon
- lime juice - from one lime
- ginger (fresh) - 2 Tbsp. (12 g)
- dates (pitted) - 1 whole
- salt & pepper - to taste
Instructions:
SALAD:
- Chop everything.
- If using a Vitamix, use golf ball sized pieces 1/3 of the way full.
- You want small pieces, but keep some texture.
- Pour into bowl and mix it all up.
DRESSING:
This salad can be topped with any dressing, if you’re short on time, skip these steps and use balsamic + olive oil or any store-bought dressing.
- Add ingredients to the Vitamix container.
- Blend on high until smooth.
DETOX SALAD:
- Toss just the serving of salad you’ll be eating and the dressing together.
- Top with raisins and sunflower seeds.
- Snap a pic and tag #lifeisNOYOKE
- Eat and be happy immediately.
- Or, throw it in the fridge (dressing in a separate airtight container) and enjoy over the next few days. It keeps getting better.
Useful tips for Detox Salad
This salad is pretty hard to screw up.
Be super careful when you’re chopping all the ingredients. The cabbage, especially, can be a doozy if you’re not careful. Use golfball sized pieces and leave the tamper in the lid to push around the ingredients.
Using a low-profile 64-ounce container to make the dressing? You’ll need to double the recipe.
Don’t dress the whole batch, it will keep much longer if you store the salad and dressing separately in the fridge.
To keep the raisins and sunflower seeds from getting soggy, top salad with them right before serving.
Watch the video tutorial!
Hi y’all! Just checking re: your method of washing your veggies and method of drying them, or how long to allow them to dry? Your Mama’s Salad looks delish!
Hi Connie, we rinse with water and then just throw it in. Maybe a shake dry. 🙂
Do you use the whole avocado? Pit and all? Or do you peel it? Take the pit out and just use the avocado meat part for the dressing?
Just the green fleshy part. No pit and no peel.
I just made a version of this where I added finely chopped spinach and Gala apple just before serving. It’s so good I call it Gem Salad (because it’s truly outrageous). 😁
It’s super filling and I felt energized after chowing down. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PS I wish you had a hard copy version of your recipes. I prefer a cookbook I can write my own mods in. Hint hint
Gosh, we would love to have our own cookbook. Stick with our newsletter for updates when we make it happen 💚
I’m in Mexico and haven’t found kale yet – it must be here but till I find it can I use baby spinach instead?
Yes, absolutely. It might not last as long since spinach can get wilted more quickly and potentially spoil the rest of the ingredients before they’d go bad next to kale. But still probably worth it — modified detox salad is better than none. (If this doesn’t work well, might be better to just omit greens.)
Due to digestive issues I can’t have cabbage or cauliflower. Any ideas for alternatives? I love a chopped salad!
This method works with really any veggie (could see zucchini, broccoli, brussel sprouts all working well).