Look at this lunchtime meal; it’s bursting with color and full of nutrition. It was my lunch yesterday and I just had to take a picture because it was so pretty and incorporated many of the leftovers I had in my fridge from the past few days. Let’s see what’s included: raw, grated beet and celery root slaw, with a quinoa, cucumber, celery, and red onion salad served over a bed of fresh spinach leaves and topped with sunflower seeds and raisins. Hidden underneath are some of the roasted yellow squash slices I had left over from a veggie soup I made earlier in the week. I have a few words about this salad: fresh, sweet, salty, crunchy, yummy and oh so nutritious and easy to prepare. Here it goes for anyone that wants to follow along:

Rainbow Salad
A combination of Grated Root Salad, Quinoa Salad over fresh spinach leaves. You don’t need any dressing because each of the salads brings their own subtile flavors to the spinach leaves. Top it off with a sprinkling of pine nuts (or any nuts), chia or flax seeds and raisins.

Grated Root Salad
2 medium sized beets, grated
1 medium sized celery root bulb, grated
mix together and dress with as much of the following Asian dressing as you like:
2 Tbs. tamara or soy sauce
1 Tbs. light agave
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar (or really any vinegar you may have on hand)
1 Tbs. sesame oil (I used canola oil b/c I ran out of sesame)
1/2 tsp. chile-garlic sauce (or any hot sauce)
1 tsp of sesame seeds (ground up)
– Mix all ingredients together in a small food processor and store in a glass jar.

Quinoa Salad
1 cup cooked quinoa (1 used black & white mixed, rinsed and boiled in 1.5-2 cups of salted water)
1 diced cucumber
2 ribs of chopped celery
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 bunch of chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
juice of one lemon mixed with +/- 1/4 cup of olive oil
(Optional add-ins: chopped nuts and dried fruits)
– Mix the cooked quinoa with diced cucumber, celery, red onion and chopped herbs. Mix in oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and any optional items that you like.

Have fun with this salad! I hope it inspires you to become creative with your leftovers throughout your week. Salads are yummy when you mix in a medley of flavors and textures and come with the additional benefit of skipping the extra dressing (and most of the added calories and fats).

I’m off to make a beautiful red and green cabbage salad with roasted walnuts and pears. More on that in the next post… Enjoy!!