Rainbow Heaven Salad

Being a vegan, it goes without saying that I love a good salad!  There is nothing better than a heaping salad full of my favorite veggies and covered in a tasty dressing.  If I don't eat salad regularly, I begin to crave it more than sweets or caffeine!  I need my fresh food fix!  It has been warming up lately here on the island and it is the perfect weather to eat fresh salads and enjoy the sunshine.  This one is my favorite because it looks so pretty and you can put anything you like into it.  Just make sure to use as many colors as possible to ensure a wide variety of different vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients!  Here is my Rainbow Heaven Salad:

To make Rainbow Heaven Salad:

Ingredients:

4 cups Romaine (organic, rinsed, and torn by hand into bite size pieces)

2 large leaves kale of any kind (if using curly green kale, give it a few squeezes to crinkle and soften - this help to decrease bitterness and allow for absorption of salad dressing.) Tear into bite size pieces.

2 red beets (if using raw then shred, if cooking, chop)

2 carrots shredded

1/4 cup corn (always, always, always buy certified organic corn to ensure it is not GMO)

1/4 alfalfa sprouts

1/4 mung bean sprouts

2 tbsp raw sunflower seeds

2 tbsp raw papita seeds

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes halved

1 avocado diced

1 cucumber diced (organic so that we can leave the skin on - that's where the nutrients are jam packed)

1 heart of palm (from a jar) sliced

1/2 cup broccoli florets (more or less depending on the size of your dish since these will garnish the edge)

1 tbsp chiffonade basil  (simply roll the leaves into a little taco and then slice thinly to chiffonade)

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

basil and cilantro to garnish

1. First create the bed of lettuce with the romaine and the dino kale.  You can use a bowl, I've used a glass loaf pan simply because it makes the rainbow effect much simpler.  Pack the leafy greens into the dish and create a flat even surface on top.

2. Add each veggie according to color.  Here I've done: beets, tomato, carrot, corn, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, mung bean sprouts, sunflower seeds, cucumber, heart of palm, and papitas. 

3.  Reserve the chopped herbs for after the salad has been plated.  Garnish with the sprigs of basil and cilantro.

4. Break off individual broccoli florets and tuck into the ege of the dish to create a pretty and edible border for the salad.  

5.  Dress with Goddess Glow Dressing and enjoy!

✌ YUM