Sunshine Salad

Since we don’t have a great cable package, Netflix is one of our go to’s for movies and TV shows. A few weeks ago we were watching a documentary called Hungry for Change, a film that in short encourages people to look at the food choices they are making and to develop an awareness of what is in the products they are consuming. The key messages that stuck out for me were:

• Diet Soda’s and Aspartame products are shown to cause neurologic problems.
• There is no miracle diet and majority of people who start a fad diet end up gaining more weight than before they started.
• People should use the concept of “adding in” new foods to their diet vs subtracting to lose weight. If you add more wholesome, nutrient rich foods to your diet you’ll fuel your body properly and crave less of the empty calories  or “bad” foods.

Eating better has been on my radar for the last few months because I found with starting the new business came many lunch and coffee meetings where I wasn’t necessarily eating the best. With poor meal choices came weight gain and a lethargy that really bothered me.

So we’ve cut out the diet soda in the house, added way more veggies and “good fats” to our diet and minimized refined flour and sugar in what we make. I’ve substituted coconut palm sugar in for any baking, coffee’s or meals instead of refined white sugar. I’ve got a whole other post on that… But one way we’ve been eating more veggies is making visually appealing salads. Adding more colour seems to make us way more willing to consume our daily servings. So I wanted to share this one that’s becoming a favourite for us, I’m calling it the Sunshine Salad.

Sunshine Salad:

• Mixed Greens with Kale (I usually mix it one to one)
• Avocado
• Pomegranate Seeds
• Red Pepper
• Green Onion
• Cherry Tomatoes

*Sometimes I add in mushrooms, or cucumber.

Citrus Dressing:

• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tsp Orange Juice
• 1 Tsp Lime Juice
• 1 Tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tsp Coconut Palm Sugar or Maple Syrup
• 1 Tsp Whole Grain Mustard

* Add dressing and chicken or beef to serve.

~Enjoy!