PREP TIME: 10 minutes SERVES: 4 as a side dish
Here is simple and delicious salad recipe combining the essential nutrients needed to support the collagen matrix to give you a more youthful and glowing complexion. Got to to love that!
Nutritional Bites
Into our 40’s, and especially as we transition through the menopause stage, hormonal aging brings with it an increase in ‘mirror shock’! Wrinkles and dry, sagging skin creep up on us as estrogen levels that were once part of our collagen production line, start to wane. But wait, help is on the way! Greens, seeds and fruit are armed with phytoestrogens - plant compounds that help replace estrogen levels that slow down that aging process (thank goodness).
Ingredients
1 bunch of kale (Lacinato kale or curly kale is my fav) with its thick stalks removed
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, dry roasted or raw
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, dry roasted or raw
1 tablespoon raw hemps seeds
2-3 radishes, sliced thinly
Dressing
1 avocado, with the pit removed
1 tablespoon of olive oil or avocado oil
Zest of half a large lemon
1-2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, depending on how 'sharp' you like it
1- 2 tablespoons of water for a smooth 'whipped cream' consistency
Celtic sea salt and pepper to taste
Let's Prep!
If you are dry roasting your seeds, go ahead and put your seeds in a non-stick skillet (preferably enamel) with no oil and dry roast on medium high heat, until golden brown and fragrant. Alternatively, roast in a single layer on a lined baking tray in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 300F.
Roll up your dark greens into a 'cigar' shape and cut into 1" vertical strip, then slide them into a salad bowl.
Blend up the salad dressing and massage into the greens (with clean hands) until the greens are soft and have reduced in size (takes about 30 seconds).
Just before you are ready to serve, toss the raw or dry-roasted nuts and the sliced radishes over the greens. Voila!