Peppered Pineapple & Cucumber Salad

This is a quick simple salad for those of you with a sweet tooth. Choose a nice ripe pineapple. Look for one that is yellower on the outside and smells fragrant. If it’s still quite green it will be tart and can burn your mouth. Unfortunately most fruit we buy from the supermarket is picked before is has fully ripened to extend the shelf life. However, you can sit your pineapple on the shelf for a few days to ripen if there are no ripe ones available. Eating fully ripened fruit is important. The fruit has properly developed and has just the right amount of enzymes to help you to digest it properly.

 

Peppered Pineapple & Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

1 Pineapple

1 Telegraph Cucumber

About 2 Handfuls of Spinach

About 1/2 Handful of Fresh Mint

Juice of 1 Lime

Cracked Black Pepper

 

Assembly

Slice the skin off the pineapple, quarter and core. Dice into small chunks and place in a mixing bowl.

Quarter the cucumber lengthways and dice into small chunks. Add to the pineapple.

Roll the spinach and slice finely to create thin ribbons and add to the bowl.

Chop the mint very finely and add to the bowl.

Finally add the lime juice and a generous amount of cracked black pepper and mix well.

Cauliflower Curry

This is a really easy and versatile curry. You can have it on it’s own, with crackers and so many other ways and all the spices are really warming so it’s great if you’re feeling the cold.

Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients

2 Cups Chopped Cauliflower

1 Medium Carrot, Chopped

6 Soaked Sundried Tomatoes

1/2 Avocado

1/2 Onion, Chopped

1 cm Piece of Ginger

1 Tsp Tumeric

2 Tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 Cup Dried Coconut

1 Tbsp Flaxseed

1 Cup Rejuvelac or Water

Serving options: Cucumber, alfalfa sprouts or rice paper (not raw)

Method

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until it is finely chopped and well combined.

Serve in a bowl topped with alfalfa sprouts, on cucumber rounds or if you are not 100% raw try it wrapped in rice paper with alfalfa. It would also work well rolled in a large leafy green with other vegetables or on flax crackers. It’s up to you.

On cucumber slices with parsley

Wrapped in rice paper with alfalfa

Florence Fennel & Strawberry Salad

Strawberries have just arrived at Commonsense Organics! To celebrate the onset of summer produce I threw these few ingredients together for lunch today and it turned out great. It just tastes like summer. And because all the ingredients are really juicy you don’t even need a dressing. I found it perfect just as is.

3-4 Large Strawberries

1/2 a Lebanese Cucumber

1 Small Fennel Bulb

A Handful of Fennel Fronds

2 Cups Chopped Lettuce

1/2 Avocado

Slice the strawberries, cucumber and fennel bulb with a mandoline. Finely chop the lettuce and the fennel fronds and dice the avocado into thin pieces. Combine everything in a bowl to serve. Easy.

Strawberries are the one of the most popular berries in the world. Not only do they taste and look great but they are also full of anti-oxidants. They are also heart-protective, anti-cancer fruit, and anti-inflammatory.

Nutrient-wise, strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese. They’re also pretty high in fibre and a good organic source of iodine.

You can read more about the big red berries here