Colors are a powerful way to shift your mood. With gray days and cold weather still hanging around (not for long though!, it’s a great idea to add some vibrant colors to your meals to perk up your energy and mood. And of course, we know that colors in foods indicate powerful antioxidants and nutrients within the foods themselves. Beautiful, natural foods make you naturally beautiful!
My Beauty Detox Winter Salad Bowl Recipe is just the thing to brighten your mood and skin- with it’s colorful mix of vibrant veggies and its high amount of protein from the quinoa. How can we not feel happier after eating this beautiful plate of food? Move over winter…Spring is in the air! ;)
But first, if you are new to the community- WELCOME! We are so honored and thrilled to have you join us. And you may also be wondering…
What is the Beauty Detox philosophy all about?
If you’re new to the Beauty Detox Community, here’s a little glimpse into what the Beauty Detox Solution means to me, and what it can do for you.
Beauty Detox is a whole lifestyle approach to tap into your highest health, energy and beauty. I believe that true beauty and health are synonymous, and have to do with your overall vitality- rather than features or a “perfect” weight or shape. The dietary component of Beauty Detox includes optimizing digestion, to free up Beauty Energy and enable you to assimilate maximum nutrition as you cleanse on an ongoing basis.
Knowing how confusing it can be to navigate the insurmountable and ever-changing philosophies that are out there, I wanted to create something pure and simple. It’s based on our bodies’ anatomy and living in alignment with nature. That’s it! I don’t know about you, but I think simplicity is a beautiful thing.
Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, a raw foodist, pescatarian or omnivore, you can discover your ultimate health and beauty through Beauty Detox. Plus, here in the Beauty Detox Tribe, we don’t count calories or have to eat tiny portion sizes! When you eat whole, fiber-filled foods in the right order and combination, your body balances beautifully.
Click here if you need a little help in planning your meals!
Winter Foods…Raw or Cooked?
The truth is, your body needs both raw and cooked foods, to varying degrees. Raw food contains digestive enzymes that help break down your meals, are high in water content (which boosts hydration), and maintain their vitamin content, whereas cooking foods can cause some of the vitamin content to diminish.
As for cooked foods, I believe they are important as well, especially in the cold months where they can add to digestive fire in other ways. Starchy vegetables (like sweet potatoes), are much easier to digest when they’re cooked, and depending on your digestive system, lots of other veggies may be easier to digest when cooked as well, such as broccoli. Steaming, baking and sauteing can help break down the fiber. I’ve been studying Ayurveda, which is a proponent of mostly all cooked foods (except for in the Spring). But I don’t think we should be all or nothing, extreme either way. BOTH raw and cooked foods are important and should be incorporated into Beauty Detox.
Even though it’s chilly outside, it’s important to still consume enough raw foods during the colder months, and learning how to balance these two foods groups so that you continue to look and feel your best, year-round. Doing so will help you avoid the weight gain that comes from binging on overly heavy and difficult to digest foods which can feel so comforting (I get it)… BUT if you nourish yourself with feel good foods that boost your mood, that can do the trick as well! I’ve always found that the experience of feeling lighter, more energized, better in your own body is a powerful impetus to propel you to keep going.
Let’s embrace this idea of consuming an abundance of the right foods and start by giving this recipe a try!
Prepare ingredients.
Cook the quinoa by adding the quinoa into a medium pot along with 1.5 cups water. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover with lid, and cook for 13-17 minutes until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and leave the lid on to keep warm.
Toss the green beans and carrots with the coconut oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread into an even layer onto the baking sheet.
When the vegetables are finished roasting, spoon the beans and carrots into a large serving bowl. Stir in the quinoa and the other chopped vegetables. Enjoy!
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In The Beauty Detox Power, you’ll find more information on how to really support yourself on all different energy levels, mentally, spiritually and emotionally, while are all strongly tied in to your physical health and appearance. It is absolutely true! The inner is inextricably linked to the outer. You’ll also find lots of great recipes in this particular book “baby” to help you be your very best. :)
See this simple and tasty recipe below…
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (ideally soak overnight and rinse well before cooking, or purchase a germinated variety)
- 3 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup of chopped carrots
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1 cup celery chopped, into thin slices
- Sliced avocado
- Drizzle of tamari or Liquid Braggs
- Lemon wedge
- Cook the quinoa by adding the quinoa into a medium pot along with 1.5 cups water. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover with lid, and cook for 13-17 minutes until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and leave the lid on to keep warm.
- While cooking your quinoa, preheat oven to 400F and line one extra-large (or 2 large) baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Toss the green beans and carrots with the coconut oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread into an even layer onto the baking sheet.
- Roast for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and flip, and continue roasting about 10 more minutes.
- During the roasting period, chop the spinach and celery.
- When the vegetables are finished roasting, spoon the beans and carrots into a large serving bowl.
- Stir in the quinoa and the other chopped vegetables.
- Drizzle with tamari, squeeze the fresh lemon on top and season with more salt and pepper as needed, to your taste. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be eaten reheated or at room temperature over a salad for a few days.
Take great care of yourself. This will help your spirit soar- as it was meant to!
With great love,
Kimberly
Try to choose a variety of colors when meal planning and your body will receive the best nutrients from Mother Nature. Lots of love! ;)
I made this salad tonight for my very ‘meat & potatoes’ parents and they loved it! I used pre- seasoned quinoa to ease them in to it, but my mom is already asking for the recipe! Delish & a new staple…for all seasons!
Hi Lindsey B and thanks for checking out this recipe and making it already. So happy to hear it made everyone’s belly happy – even your ‘meat & potato’ lovers. Lots of love! ;)
Love this recipe and for some variation used broccoli, pumpkin, zucchini sprinkled with cinnamon while baking and stirred through some home made pesto at the end. Always a winner!
Sounds amazing…thank you for giving this recipe a try and for sharing your veggie picks with us! ;)