As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been intensely focused on wrapping up the 3rd Beauty Detox book — and am so unbelievably excited!
At the same time, it’s a lot of time and energy, so I find myself focusing on faster, lighter meals that feel light and refreshing. And today’s recipe assignment is exactly that. I think you’re going to love it!
First, let me thank all the girls who participated in last week’s writing assignment — it was such an honor to read through all the beautiful experiences and expressions from all of you. Thank you for pouring your heart into that process and sharing your experience with eating Light to Heavy. I know it can seem like a new, or seemingly more advanced principle, but it really makes a big difference.
Here are some standouts I noticed and loved:
A. https://marysmeatlessmeals.com – Mary Rosales
B. https://sweetpotatoesandspatulas.wordpress.com – Shelby Cohn
C. https://lemonandginger.co.uk – Karen Manning
D. https://www.sogoodvegan.com – Lucy Eleni
Mary – I loved reading your blog because it was inspiring to you speak about how you struggled to get started with the blogging assignment but ended up really enjoying it. You also express how adjusting your eating from light to heavy made such a difference.
Shelby – You’ve been following Beauty Detox Solution for 14 months and speak about how it helped you clear of your hypoglycemia. Even though you struggled at the beginning, you were able to overcome the struggle by taking it one step at a time!
Karen – Your blog entry talks about your struggle with asthma and how you found my book and recipes. Love also how you detail your daily eating habits for light to heavy.
Lucy – You talk about how this step was the hardest for you and how you overcame it! Amazing! I’m so happy you did this and that you have more energy and feels better than ever!
Again, we LOVED them all — everyone did an amazing job. These were just a few that we wanted to comment on and share with the community. Thanks again.
I think we’re going to start alternating — one week a recipe, the following week a fun journaling assignment, and so on like that. It feels like that’s the most fair thing for everyone who may not be able to make a full-blown recipe every single week. Please let us know your thoughts on that as well.
Speaking of food… let’s quickly cover the guidelines before we get into the prep and pictures.
Now for This Week’s Recipe…
I call these Sexy Summer “Spring Rolls” because they look delicious and make everyone around say “mmmmmmm” and yum! They’re also mostly raw and extremely light, making them perfect for the warm summer months.
The ingredients are also VERY simple, which is excellent for your digestion. They contain lots of vitamins and minerals from the raw greens, beauty fats from the avocado, and antioxidants from the tomatoes, making them an all around beautifying dish.
Let’s get into it…
Sexy Summer “Spring Rolls”
Ingredients
Serves 1-2
- 5 small handfuls of arugula
- 10 small slices of tomato (usually one whole tomato)
- half a small onion (cut into 1-2 inch long slices)
- 1 ripe avocado
- 5 sheets brown rice spring roll wrapper (also available individually in many Whole Foods and other natural markets)
- Organic gluten-free tamari (for dipping at the end!)
Note: You don’t need to use this specific brown rice paper, it’s just what I used. Remember this is an opportunity to experiment and you can use nori sheets, collard leaves, romaine, chard and other veggies to “wrap” whatever you choose to create for filling!
Here are the pictures and directions:
First, get all the ingredients out on the table.
Here are the rice wraps I used, but again, don’t feel like you need to run out and buy these. Part of the creative process can be figuring out to adapt this recipe to whatever you have! You can certainly just wrap in nori, collards, etc.
Next, begin cutting your veggies and avocado…
If you use rice paper, you need a bowl of lukewarm water ready to dip each sheet in and moisten, before you put the veggies inside and roll it!
Hold the wrap inside the water for about 10-15 seconds, and then remove and let the excess water fall off.
Now, it’s time to start wrapping! First thing I like to place onto the rice paper is the arugula/greens.
After that, the tomato and onions.
I add the avocado last! Partly, because avocados have the most fat and are easier to overdo than the other veggies… It doesn’t have to be chopped super neat, especially if you are making this as a fast meal!
Once the veggies are all inside, begin to roll from the top down, trying to keep it as tight as possible.
Fold the outsides inward as you are rolling, burrito-style!
Once you have all five rolls done, your cutting board will look something like this…
I then cut them down all the middle until you get even halves for each roll.
Here’s the brand of organic, gluten-free tamari that I use!
And there you have it! Once you cut them, put them on a plate with the sauce, it should look something like this:
Sexy Summer Spring Rolls!
Here’s an up close shot, notice how I like to add a LOT of greens — I feel like that’s a big difference between these Beauty Detox-focused rolls and what you’d normally find in an Asian restaurant.
Also, most restaurants use white rice paper, which is not a whole food. It’s not the end of the world but as you know, we are all about whole foods here, and brown rice is a much better choice!
And that’s it! If you make all five wraps and cut them, you have ten pieces in total, that should be enough for two people as a appetizer or as a meal for one person if you’re really hungry.
Because they’re so light and mostly raw, you can eat them during the day and not feel weighed down at all.
Now It’s Time to Unleash Your Creativity! :)
Here are the next steps to make this recipe your own:
1) Try out this recipe with the ingredients that you have at home. Don’t worry about getting the rice paper if you don’t have it. There are plenty of substitutes like nori sheets, collard greens, and more!
2) When you make your own version, be sure to write down the ingredients, take pictures and turn it into a simple blog post. It might seem like a lot, but once you get into it, you’ll find it’s both fun and easy.
Once your blog post is live, be sure you share it — while linking back to this post, with the original recipe idea.
3) Be sure to also post your recipe post into the Private Facebook group, so that we and others can see it. We’ll like or share or comment on all recipes that you send our way, to support you and show the community your amazing work.
4) Also, email the link to Katelyn, our community manager, at beautydetoxgirl (@) gmail dot com with a link to your post so she can keep track.
5) Share your post on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram — and be sure to hashtag #beautydetoxrecipe so that others can find it.
It’s just five easy steps, and you’ll find it so rewarding, I guarantee it!
I hope you’re enjoying the summer and I look forward to what you create over the next week.
Lots of love,
Kimberly
P.S. — Don’t forget again to link back to this specific blog post, so we can find you and also because it holds the integrity of the process; and be sure to use the hashtag #beutydetoxrecipe when you do!
Great job ladies! Love reading all your blogs!
Personally I think I’d prefer a writing assignment maybe once per month rather than every other week, since I actually find it more time consuming while I’m able to incorporate the recipe assignments into my weekly meal planning. I’ll be participating regardless though! Loving this blogging challenge, Kimberly!
I’m excited for this week’s assignment since I actually have the rice paper sheets on hand and have been meaning to make spring rolls for weeks but just haven’t gotten around to it.
Thank you so much for featuring my blog post – I really feel I’m achieving something, not just with my lifestyle but also with the blogging :)
Simple and easy! Good job! I haven’t tried spring roll wraps they look good :)
Delicious!!! However, I would probably use Nori Wraps! :) Gotta love me some iodine!
Can’t wait to make these. Ohhh yum yum yum yum yuuuum!!!
Hi Kimberly!!
I have a question in regards to this recipe, and it’s often I come across this thought when making salads, wraps, etc. I love tomatoes, especially right now since they’re all in season. However, is it okay to incorporate them into other foods like this, since technically it’s a fruit? Should it not be eaten by itself on an empty stomach like what you recommend with all other fruits?
Thanks Kimberly!!! :) xoxo
Thanks for featuring my blog post! I certainly wasn’t expecting it. I love doing all the assignments, but I think I would prefer to do writing assignments once a month instead of every other one.
Of course, Mary! Yes, we’re probably only going to have one journal-type writing assignment each month. Maybe a picture post instead of another journal type assignment? We’re still figuring things out, but glad you guys are doing so well!
I am allergic to avocado…sadly…can you recommend a substitution? Thanks, can’t wait to get started!!
I made the summer spring roll wraps and substituted cucumber instead of onion. Delicious :)
I like seeing a picture of all of the ingredients together because seeing the end result of the recipe or an ingredients list is intimidating, but when I see a picture I realize these are already things I typically buy and would only need one or two extra ingredients. Thanks for the pics!
I know that the week is over but I coudn’t post my recipe before!!! Hope you guys check it and visit my blog
SPRING ROLLS
https://top4addictions.com/2014/08/07/mexican-thai-spring-rolls/
SAUCES
https://top4addictions.com/2014/08/07/avocado-and-cashew-sauce/
thank you guys have an awesome week
They look delicious!
Oh! These spring rolls sound delicious! I would love to make them, however I am also allergic to avocado. Would you please recommend a few substitutions?
Hi Kimberly!
I finally made these using rice paper and arugula, and oh my goodness it was so delicious! I love how strong the rice paper is despite it’s appearance, and the arugula wrapped much more easily as opposed to a spring mix that I had been using before. I will definitely be eating this dish multiple times this week.
Thank you! xoxo