How are your reverse-resolutions going friends?
Admittedly mine are going a little TOO well. I’ve been celebrating life on a Tuesday with expensive kombucha-beer cross breeds, I’ve been dancing till 2 am (okay, maybe 1) and eating pizza for breakfast. Life is feeling pretty sweet right now…to my mind at least.
My body on the other hand: feels achy in the afternoon, exhausted when the alarm clock hits and generally a little less than 100%. Being weirdly in tune with how your mental and physical health has its ups and downs, but this time I can thank my intuition for giving me the heads up that it’s time to dabble in a few of my trusty nutritionista habits.
Like eating something raw at every meal.
Making a big batch of naturally sweetened desserts to keep in the freezer {prevents the occurrence of getting grocery store chocolate chip 70% of the time}
Enjoying one espresso/latte/steaming cup of delicious a day. (hard)
Womp wommmmmp, no fun right? Well allow me to prove my pizza-marathoning-self (3 days in a row, people) wrong with this lip-smacking, feel good recipe.
Fresh crunchy ribbons of carrots and red peppers (stay with me) nutty black rice and creamy tangy minty almond dressing all shaken up in your salad bowl.
Black rice is fun cause its high in antioxidants, minerals and protein (also looks cool) but some shiny rice noodles would do this salad justice as as well.
Stay tuned for next week where…it’s my birthday and I’m back on the mojito, cheese-laden, cookie train ๐
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp almond butter
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- Juice from 1/2 a lime (reserve the other 1/2 for garnish)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp tamari
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1/4 cup warm water + 1 tbsp more to thin
- 1/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 4 sprigs of fresh mint
- 1/2 cup black/forbidden rice, uncooked
- 1 cup Dino kale, shredded
- 1 orange pepper, sliced thinly
- 4 heirloom carrots (or regular) sliced into thin ribbons with a 'y peeler'
- 1/4 cup roasted cashews, roughly chopped
- 4 radishes, sliced thinly (optional but lovely)
Method
- Add the black rice and 1 cup of warm water to a medium pot. Season with salt and bring to a boil on high. When it reaches a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed.
- Meanwhile, prepare your vegetables and plate in 2 separate bowls.
- In a small food processor, add all of the minty almond dressing except for the mint. Blend until everything is creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Once creamy, add in the fresh mint and pulse for 10 seconds. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Should be tart, salty and creamy.
- Serve the black rice with the vegetables and drizzle with the minty almond dressing and roasted cashews. Garnish with extra lime wedges and mint if desired.
Laurel says
This salad looks so bright and fresh! Love all the colors and textures!
Meredith | Earth & Oven says
๐ Alllllll about the textures, thanks Laurel!