Spring Cucumber Sesame Salad Recipe

Name: Spring Cucumber Sesame Salad Recipe
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: Salad; • 2 large cucumbers (chopped); • 2 large carrots (shredded); • 2 tomatoes (chopped); • 1 Tbs. black sesame seeds; • 1 Tbs. fresh dill (chopped); Sea salt (as needed to taste); Dressing; • 2 Tbs. raw apple cider vinegar; • 1 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice; • 1 Tbs. tamari; Dollop of coconut nectar or pinch of stevia

With the weather warming up and more picnic get togethers it’s a great idea to have some yummy new recipes to make for lunch- and to share! So here I have for you my new Spring Cucumber Sesame Salad Recipe, which is a refreshing salad you can bring to any get-together or one that you can add to any of your main dishes.

You won’t feel deprived in the least bit with this super-hydrating, protein-packed, and crunchy textured summery salad. Super-easy, super-delicious, and super-beautifying…your body will be thanking you in more ways than one!

Magical Beauty Food: Cucumbers

Cucumbers really are a powerhouse of nutrition, so the more you can work them into your diet, the better. Because they are high in water, they can be a good snack as they will fill you up with fiber and water.

Cucumbers are a serious beauty food—high in all the B vitamins (except for B12), Vitamin C, Zinc, Iron, Folic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium—giving you energy while helping to repair and smooth the collagen in your skin.

With multiple B vitamins and zero saturated fats/cholesterol, cucumbers are nourishing to our skin and hair, and again, very hydrating (from the inside out!).

Cucumbers also have a good amount of vitamin K to help in supporting healthy bones (so you can keep up with those yoga moves), and an anti-inflammatory—supporting brain and joint health.

If you need a bit of motivation and support to get you started on your very own yoga journey, click here!

I hear many of you asking about ridding your buns and thighs of dreaded cellulite, and the good news is…phytochemicals in cucumber cause the collagen in the skin to tighten, resulting in firming up the outer layer, and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Woot woot! :)

Beauty Tip: Rub a few cucumber slices on that pesky cellulite- right before going to the pool or beach! You can even rub it on wrinkles before a photo shoot or an evening out on the town!!!

Here are some of my favorite top ways to use cucumbers:

Throw them in your Glowing Green Smoothie® (switching up your greens)
Add to your beauty salads
Great for dips
Wrap in nori wrappers with avocados or sprouts
Throw some cucumber slices in your water for a spa-like mellow cucumber taste

Amazing Storehouse: Sesame Seeds

Are sesame seeds really that amazing?

YES! I think it is important to explore the benefits of foods that we may not use all the time and see how we can start implementing them into our meal plans, to gain the most nutrients.

Sesame seeds are one of the most widely used Ayurvedic plant foods, and come in many different forms like, powder, paste, oil or the actual seeds themselves.

It makes sense that these seeds have been used as medicine, since they contain the life force ability to become trees and large, strong plants. They have an incredible storehouse for nutrients, that can only flourish to its highest potential as they begin to grow and germinate.

These tiny seeds are amazing storehouses of antioxidants as well as a rich source of vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, phosphorus, iron, omega 6, calcium, vitamins B and E.

Raw nuts and seeds are also a great source of protein. But I caution you, they are also a highly-concentrated and calorically dense food, which means we need to balance them with greens and other veggies (eating them before or with them), so you don’t end up eating a boatload and feeling bloated and uber heavy. And as always, seeds are best purchased in their natural form.

Do We Really Need To Soak Seeds?

While it’s true we should always eat our seeds raw, do we really need to soak them too? Well, read the following and decide for yourself. It’s your body after all. ;)

See, the thing with seeds (and nuts), is that they remain dormant until they are in a safe environment to begin the sprouting and growing process. When soaked and/or sprouted in water, it begins the germination process, in which the active and readily available amounts of enzymes, vitamins, minerals, proteins and essential fatty acids (omega 3 vs omega 6) begins to be activated and multiplies exponentially.

There are also inhibitor enzymes on the outside of the seeds/nuts—which keep them safe from outside contaminants until it is safe to begin to grow—but make protein assimilation and digestion harder for us. How do we make things easier for our bodies? By soaking, of course!

Soaking your seed will increase their vital minerals and nutrition, while simultaneously allowing the inhibitor enzymes to shed off the nuts and into the water (you can see why it’s important to rinse them off well), making them easier for your body to assimilate and digest out of the body.

So you can throw your sesame seeds in water for at least a few hours (6-8) or overnight, and rinse well before using!

Let’s give our body’s the boost it needs to break down and digest the foods we eat, by taking in the knowledge and using it to the best of our ability!

Now on to the steps…

Prepare the ingredients.

Chop the cucumber.

Add the shredded the carrots.

Add the tomatoes.

Add the sauce.

Still in the dressing and garnish the sesame seeds.

Enjoy your cukes Beauties and get creative!!

See this full tasty recipe below…