Ever feel like your body just needs a ‘detox’? All the over-indulgence of the holidays (because they just seem to keep coming!), and you feel like your body is craving something healthy and nutritious? I know this happens to me frequently. Of course, I admit, I splurge a little to often!
This salad (which from what I have gathered, originated from Whole Foods, but I adapted this recipe) is not only super healthy, it is super delicious!
If you were to hand me a bunch of broccoli, cauliflower and kale on a plate, I would say “no, thank you” – but somehow, when they are all chopped up together with a little fruit and seeds and a very light dressing – it transforms them into a bowl full of goodness. A bowl of this salad also packs quite a nutritional punch, giving you a good dose of super foods!
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‘Detox’ Salad
Ingredients
- 2 broccoli crowns
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2-3 carrots
- 1 small bunch kale stems removed
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup almonds chopped
- 1 cup dried berries cherries, cranberries, blueberries
- ½ cup raisins
- Juice of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or other mild flavored vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets.
- Cut the carrots into large chunks.
- Roughly chop the kale.
- In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process the broccoli, cauliflower, kale and parsley until fine and add them to a large mixing bowl. (It will probably take more than one batch)
- Process the carrots and add to the bowl.
- Stir to combine.
- Add the sunflower seeds, almonds, and dried fruit.
- Stir to combine.
- Add lemon juice, vinegar and syrup.
- Toss to coat.
- Taste, and add salt and/or pepper as needed.
Warning, this recipe does make a HUGE bowl of salad, but it keeps in the refrigerator for several days. With all the “bugs” floating around right now, I am happy to have a little immunity boosting salad in my fridge! If I could just get my kids to eat it….
KimM is a contributing writer for Eat at Home. See more from her at her blog Makin’ it Mo’Betta, and follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter!
This salad sounds like something I need. I feel like I have overindulged lately. We have 3 birthdays in the span of one week! I think I will make this over the weekend. Thanks for a great looking recipe!
I know what you mean! At my house, as soon as Christmas and New Year’s were over, we had several birthdays and holidays back to back. It’s no wonder my pants are too tight! It’s nice to have something that you can eat as much as you want and not feel any guilt!
Most of the ingredients (excluding the raisins and maple syrup) represent my new approach to a nutritious and energizing breakfast drink. So, I attest to the nutritional and energizing value of this recipe. However, I am not sure of the extent of “detoxing” it does, but try it for awhile and notice changes in the quality of your skin, biological eliminations, and energy. I am also hoping it will help me to lose those inevitable extra pounds that show up without invitation.
I love this recipe, does anybody know how many calories are in it? Grams of fat? etc
It is listed on myfitnesspal as 90 calories for a 3 ounce serving, and 8 ounces are in a cup. 4 grams of fat.
Do you this salad would still “work” without the almonds? I recently developed a tree nut allergy after having all sorts of almonds, pecans and walnuts my entire life. SO frustrating because I know they are so good for the whole family, but I will get seriously sick if even one drops into this salad. Do you think keeping them out would affect the texture or flavor balance too much? Thinking I could have some on the side for everyone else to sprinkle in/on their portions. Thanks 🙂 BTW – love your recipes and ideas – you are an inspiration!
Thanks for the sweet comment! And sorry about your tree nut allergies, that stinks! I understand all too well! My son’s allergist just recently told me that you can develop tree nut allergies at any time during your life, as opposed to a peanut allergy. But to answer your question, yes, you can definitely leave out the nuts. You could add extra sunflower seeds, or toasted sesame seeds would be a good addition if you like them. You could even put some chow mein noodles on it before serving…just to give it some crunch!
Or pumpkin seeds
I have 2 daughters highly allergic to treenuts and one is also peanuts as well. I leave them out a lot in things and subsitute with sunflower seeds or pumkin seeds and i will add cranberries dried to this recipe.
Waterchesnuts or celerey for texture
Banana chips
I would go on line & check out stores selling bulk foods (e.g., Sprouts or local farmers market).
My local Sprouts has 300 bins/barrels of bulk goods…many options in seeds, roasted veg & fruit chips, etc. Good luck!
I saw another version that used pumpkin seeds and it was great too.
I really do not likemaple syrup. The mere smell makes me gag. What would make a good substitute?
Honey would be a good sub if you like it. Possibly agave syrup, but I’ve never used that so I can’t be sure, I think you would have to adjust the amounts b/c I’ve heard it is sweeter.
You could easily make this a Whole 30 salad by adding a 100% frozen fruit juice concentrate to sweeten…. I would use apple juice…
I was wondering how to make this Whole30 approved! Thank you.:)
I’m not a Whole30 expert, but I think you may have to ditch the sunflower seeds, the dried fruits and the maple syrup.
Organic Blue Agava- low glycemic !
I used Pure Honey as it is a natural sweetener that I always have on hand with my green tea. Also added some Flax seed for extra Omega 3 cause I always have it here too 🙂
I use agave Amber and it is wonderful! I even got my husband to try it 🙂
Sounds so yummy!
Do you have the nutritional info for this recipe? I can’t wait to try it!
Sorry Tara, but I do not have the nutritional info. The Whole Foods version is listed in MyFitnessPal as 139 calories & 0.6 g of fat per cup; but I don’t know how close this version is to that one.
You can try entering this recipe into myfitnesspal.com, then it breaks down the nutrition value to the amount of servings you indicate.
You can copy and paste the link into my fitness pal and it will automatically configure the calories per serving. I did this for 6 servings and it was 607 calories per serving.
I made this last night – but only did half the recipe and plugged all the ingredients into my fitness pal. For half of the above recipe I got a total of 820 calories. Even with halving the recipe this is still a TON of salad and I would say 1/4 of it would be a serving.
omit the raisins and save a ton of calories and sugar
This gets a thumbs up. Post more recipes like this!
Thanks! I’ll try 🙂
I prepared this salad this evening w/o the salt. It’s a hit w/me! I’m preparing for a radioactive iodine treatment/scan & required to eliminate many foods from my diet prior to the treatment. I could eat this salad every day. Very nutritious. Thanks for sharing.
Prayers and best wishes for your treatment! I’m glad the salad works with your required diet.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Gloria! I second Tiffany in saying prayers and best wishes for your treatment.
So good!! Thanks for sharing 😉
How many days do you eat this salad to detox?
The salad by itself is not considered a ‘detox’ diet. It may possibly be eaten as part of a detox under certain plans, as it is all natural, but there are lots of plans out there that recommend lots of different things. I can say that it will last for several days in the refrigerator. Sorry for the confusion!
I worked at a pet store when younger and we fed the reptiles kale. It’s always seemed like a garnish not a food. It’s so tough to just eat. What’s the nutritional value of kale is it really important or can it be substituted for something else?
We love kale! It’s really good for you and good to eat too. I can understand how feeding it to reptiles might turn you off of eating it yourself, but give it a try. If you’d rather substitute something else, try cabbage or slaw mix.
I put Kale in my soups and you can also saute kale a little olive oil, and some cranberrys together.
Just made the salad today, and I like , going to share with a friend.
Look for lacinato or Tuscan kale…long thin leaves. It’s milder!
Kale has a lot of nutrition – 1 cup gives you more than the recommended daily allowance of Vitamins A and C, plus potassium, calcium, iron, B-g, Magnesium…it’s great stuff, but if you don’t like it you might try any other dark leafy green – collards can hold up well for several days. Remember that it’s going to be chopped up super small and mixed with all this other stuff, so I bet people who don’t really like kale will still like this,
Try buying baby kale. Its delicious.
Honestly, I’m not a fan of raw kale either. However, I couldn’t taste it when all chopped up with everything else in this salad. You could try using half kale and half spinach and see how you like it first.
It sounds wonderful, but I got sick on potato soup that had too much parsley in it. Cannot stand parsley in anything now. Is it alright to leave it out or can I substitute something for it?
You can leave out the parsley.
if you put the carrots and the kale and berries and seeds in pancakes, your kids will eat it.
Looks great! A bit of fresh mint, or some tarragon vinegar, wouldn’t be out of place in this.
I’ve become quite the fan of fresh mint. I think it would be really good!
Just made today and tastes great. Added cashews as well. Diced up some chicken breast and put it all in a bowl. Even my 18yr old daughter liked it.
I think adding chicken is a great idea (and I love cashews).
I made just a bowl to try but modified it a little. I used broccoli , cauliflower , kale, a little bit of minced garlic, a little fresh oregano, carrots, olive oil and apple cider vinegar mixed together with Mrs. Dash extra spicy, lemon juice, a little honey, dried cranberries and sunflower seeds. Changed my life. It was delicious.
Not a fan of cauliflower, raw or cooked. Any suggestions?
I HATE cauliflower… have never even purchased it before, but I put it in according to the recipe and I have to say I don’t taste it or notice it at all. Give it a try! I was also out of lemons, so substituted a lime and the juice of one clementine. It was delicious! Going to mix it with some heated up quiona for lunch right now!
Kelly, I am planning on adding quinoa to my next batch!
Sounds great! So glad you liked it!
Is it important to chop the vegetables….. Or would it be ok to just cut them up in small bite size pieces?
I cut the crowns into large chunks and threw them in the food processor. Blender might do the same thing.
I m allergic to raw carrots. Any problem just leaving them out or should I substitute with something else.
Sounds delicious.
You can leave them out.
I made this salad last night. I am absolutely in love with it! I used honey instead of maple syrup and dried mixed berries. It is so simple and delectable. HIGHLY recommend this!
My 11 year old son LOVED this. Asked for seconds. We all loved it. Thanks for posting.
When my children love something healthy, I consider that a BIG win! So glad to hear your son enjoyed it!
Made this salad tonight. My husband and I love it:)
I keep thinking it might be good to add quinoa to this recipe — has anyone tried it? (sorry if I missed someone commenting this already!)
I made this on new years it was great! But it made SO SO much! Can the recipe be frozen for later?
Fresh vegetables don’t freeze very well. At least not for eating fresh again later.
It may not keep as long but for those who don’t like kale romane lettuce is a good alternative.
Is there a serving size and calorie count for this recipe. Thanks can’t wait to try this.
We don’t have calorie count info, but there are websites that will figure calories from the recipe that you upload.
Going to try this
What do you think of substituting the maple syrup with honey?
I think that would work fine.
I was wandering how long this will last in the fridge since it makes so much and how much are you suppose to eat. Sounds great.
My wife and I made this delicious salad this morning. It is very, very tasty and we love the different textures and flavors! Thank you! BTW, we added a clementine to each of our bowls, yum yum!
Tried yesterday. Delicious. Can’t help wondering whether your kids have taken to it yet:)
So glad you liked it! My kids have not taken to it, but I’ve made a little progress…my girls will drink juice with kale in it! Baby steps…
My husband and I love it. I left out the parsley,and raisins. Used pecans instead of almonds. Great veggie dish. I will make it again and again.
Would love to have the # of servings.
After a brisk walk with my friend earlier this week, she stood by as I chopped the ingredients and poured on the lemon juice and maple syrup. She asked me what I was fixing, and all I could say as I mixed everything together was, “This is a terrifyingly healthy salad!” We laughed, LOVED IT, and now it is in our recipes renamed Terrifyingly Healthy Salad. Thank you for this recipe!
Could you freeze this salad..i have tons..and there is only two of us…was thinking of freezing it then strifrying it after it thaws
I think that would work, if you’re planning to cook it after freezing. I don’t think the veggie will hold up for eating raw.
How many cups does this recipe make?
I don’t know what happened but when I made this it was incredibly dry . Stick in the throat dry. So I kept adding stuff and finally it turned into a very nice slaw type thing. (Not slaw texture but slaw taste.) I added more vinegar and lemon juice. Used honey instead of maple syrup because not a maple fan. Then added some Greek yogurt with fig jam mixed in. Then added some mayo. Finally added some light apricot mango yogurt, which did the trick. It isn’t nearly as detoxiful, for sure, but still really good and yummy. I don’t know if my proportion s were off on the veggies or what. I ended up with two auarts of salad, after it got all the dressing on it. Is that what everyone else ended up with? Thanks for the recipe. I like it. But I think next time will just use slaw dressing — a good one from Whole Foods or Trader Joe — not chemical type.
sharala
This salad is crazy good! Does anyone know how long it will last in the fridge?
Do you think if I cut this recipe in half it’ll be good for 2 people?
It will still be a lot for two, even cut in half. You could use a bag of mixed vegetables from the produce section (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) and then add a much smaller amount of the other ingredients. That would give you the variety of veggies, but not quite the large amount of buying them all separate.
no food processor, can I just chop it with a knife. Thinking it will jake forever
It will take longer, but you can use a knife.
I will mix this salad. Detox I need
I am a dietitian
I am not a fan of most of the veggies raw but I just made this salad..no substitution. I did cut the recipe in half and thank God I did. :-)It’s so much. I loved it!!! I know my kids won’t even try it. I was full eating one cup for dinner. Thanks for sharing.
Anybody know how many weight watchers points one serving is?
I’m sorry, but I don’t know. Most of it is vegetables though, so I would think it wouldn’t add up to many points at all.
I made this recipe exactly the way it is suggested and found it to be perfect
How many days would this salad last/stay fresh in the fridge?
Five or so, at least.
I don’t usually post anything even if I have use somebody’s recipe but today I just had to. I have way too much kale in my fridge, and I don’t like to toss out if I don’t have too. So I found your recipe and it looked super but I only had about half of the items so I implemented what I had. I chopped up the kale and carrots I did not have most of the other things so I did have cranberries and I did have sunflower seeds. Are use those and I didn’t really have rice vinegar but I do have balsamic. So my recipe for the dressing part wasBalsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, 2 tablespoons maple syrup and a half of orange squeezed. I made a small batch only using probably 2 cups of the kale after shredded. Let me tell you it was so good I will be making it again so even though I didn’t have a lot of the items on your recipe I used your idea with what I had in the house and I absolutely loved it. So thank you very much for saving my kale from the garbage!