Yes, I know the acronym ROY G. BIV…

Salads are on my mind over here and being prominently displayed on our plates too.  Every day. Nearly. I really want to eat more vegetables so with this warmer weather I am turning the tables and making salads the mainstay of our meals for the next while.  Until I get sick of them I guess.

This stems from the need to change up what I am eating each day.

While the desire to stop pulling down my shorts all summer as they hike up while I walk may be motivation for some people, it certainly does not stop me from finding multiple loopholes in the warm weather to go for ice cream.  I am sure we need to celebrate and reward everything just to go to the Crepe & Shake Cafe here.

But here’s the problem I am having – I get these weird shakes.

Not the chocolate kind, but the kind where my legs are shaking, then my heart starts beating really fast, and I need to go lay down and go to sleep to make it go away.  The best explanation my doctor can tell me is that I am eating foods that are spiking my insulin super high and then my body is too efficient at processing it so I get an extreme sugar low.  No tests explain this.  So I am taking it into my own hands and minimizing anything that will cause those insulin spikes.

The bonus is that eventually the lower you keep your insulin, the more your body burns fat (super high level explanation of what you can learn from books like Why We Get Fat by Gary Taub & The Calorie Myth by Jonathan Bailor).

Non-starchy vegetables do not cause large insulin increases, nor do lean protein sources or whole-food fats such as avocados and nuts.  Hence the salads.

The salad of this week that has really caught my attention is the Rainbow Salad by “Flavour & Savour”.  I have adapted this to make a Rainbow-ish salad with a bit of extra red and no yellow.  Yes, I know, not really a rainbow if you ask a kindergartener!  I hope the avocado “cream” dressing will make up for this faux pas. My newly turned 2 yr old niece thinks so. I have also adjusted their dressing to make it a bit thinner to go more easily over the rainbow in the bowl.

Need more salad ideas? My friend Amanda at Journey True is also posting her salads for the summer.  Check it out!

Print Recipe

Rainbow-ish Salad

Prep Time

20 Minutes

Cook Time

20 Minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups kale chopped if large leaves
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 carrot chopped, shredded, or spiralized
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 1/2 cucumber chopped or spiralized
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 medium beet chopped, shredded or spiralized
• 2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons raw walnuts
• Dressing:
• 1 avocado peeled and seed removed
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Prep Time 20 Minutes Cook Time 20 Minutes Servings servings Ingredients 2 cups kale chopped if large leaves 1 teaspoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1 cup raspberries 1 carrot chopped, shredded, or spiralized 1 red bell pepper chopped 1/2 cucumber chopped or spiralized 1 cup blueberries 1 medium beet chopped, shredded or spiralized 2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds 2 tablespoons raw walnuts Dressing: 1 avocado peeled and seed removed 1/2 cup lemon juice 1/2 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Chop the kale and drizzle with 1tsp. olive oil. Massage it in. Sprinkle with sea salt. Set to the side.
2. Arrange the chopped or spiralized vegetables, the berries and the nuts in a rainbow pattern on top of the kale.
3. To make the avocado cream, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Drizzle on top of the salad and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Note: If you prefer your beets soft, boil them for about 20 minutes until fork tender.  To make the presentation look better, divide the kale into two bowls right at the beginning and make a rainbow for each bowl.

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