Have you ever had the thought “I don’t have time to do a cleanse because it takes too much time to prepare healthy food”?
If so, please read on!
I’m a BIG fan of easy when it comes to food prep. Mostly because I have two small children, work full time running a business, health coaching and teaching yoga, and try to maintain some resemblance of balance when it comes to practicing what I preach.
I admit it does take extra time and some planning ahead (I could do better here) to eat healthy and feed my family nourishing meals, but to me it’s totally worth it! And, it doesn’t have to take nearly as much time as we think it does with a few tips and tricks. Below is one of my secret weapons.
Recipes like the Marinated Veggie Medley are awesome because grabbing a quick lunch is a given and when my little ones literally start going bonkers because they’re hungry at 5 pm I can also create a quick and delicious dinner.
So how do I do it?
The secret is to be able to toss together something delicious, super healthy, and flavorful so that food boredom doesn’t ever set in. Marinated Veggie Medley is the perfect “go-to” dish because the longer it marinates the more delicious it becomes – I can have it in the fridge for a few days and re-purpose it in several fun and creative ways.
So far I’ve enjoyed it on top of a bed of baby spinach. I’ve wrapped it up in collard greens with a few slices of avocados and eaten it like a burrito. I’ve also enjoyed it on top of some kelp noodles.
There is so much flavor going on in this little dish made with such simple ingredients that you might just consider making double the marinade to use as a salad dressing or to marinate a piece of fish. See how simple and easy it can be?
Try it for yourself and let me know what you think in the comment section below. Get creative and use the veggies that you have in your fridge today.
With love and a rainbow of veggies,
P.S. – Want more simple and easy recipes? Sign up for our next cleanse!
Marinated Veggie Medley
Yield: 4 cups
Ingredients:
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced
- 8 – 10 radish, sliced or shredded
- 1/2 head purple cabbage, shredded
- 1 fennel bulb, chopped
- 3 TB. cilantro with stems, chopped
- 2 small cloves garlic, minced
- 1 heaping TB. ginger, chopped
- 1 TB. ume plum vinegar
- 2 TB. olive oil
- 2 TB. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Dash cayenne pepper
- Pinch sea salt
Directions:
In a large bowl mix together celery, zucchini, radish, cabbage and fennel. Feel free to substitute any of your favorite veggies for this medley – broccoli stems, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers or kale would all work well too.
For the marinade, combine cilantro, garlic, ginger, olive oil, ume plum vinegar, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and sea salt in a mini food processor or blender until well puréed. Pour over veggie medley and mix well to coat fully. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour for the best flavor.
Use as a topper to any bed of mixed greens, or as a filler for collard or nori wraps.
This looks amazing! I am doing the cleanse now (got the book last week, on day 4!! And I am enjoying a midafternoon green smoothie pick me up as I type this) and I am going to make this for easy lunches and dinners. It would be great with salmon on top too! My MO for lunches has been to make something like this to have already done in the fridge then put on top of greens, I am pleasantly suprised at how easy this process has been food prep-wise :)
Awesome Elizabeth! That is our hope, that it is easy and totally do-able! Keep up the great work!
What are the serving sizes and how often do you eat this? Thanks,
Karen
Is it weight watchers friendly ?
Hey Karen! We go by the philosophy that we eat when we are hungry and as long as we are eating “real food” or food that exists as close to its natural state as possible, we don’t need to worry about eating the right or wrong amount. We teach people to tune in to the body to see if you are hungry or not for more. Also, I am not familiar with Weight Watchers but this is all veggies so I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be. Hope that helps!
I’m a cleanse veteran…currently maintaining a 70/30 (give or take…). I love your recipes, your cleanse, etc!!! I’m a true believer – your cleanse has changed my relationship with food – and my life!!! I’m wondering if you have ideas on what I could substitute for the ginger in this yummy looking salad recipe – because I honestly can’t stand the taste of raw ginger?
Hi Yvonne! I think you could omit ginger and it would still be delicious!