the detox salad

A few months ago I decided to do a pre-summer juice cleanse with intent that I was going to have one of those raging summers filled with lots of good people, indulgent foods, and a few cocktails on New York City rooftops.  I went five days filled on green juices, a few supplements like Omega-3 vitamins, Vitamin C, and a touch of magnesium powder.  Well, the raging summer happened -- I hung out with good friends, made a few new ones, threw back a few cocktails and had my fair share of good food.

So as a final goodbye wave to summer, with some heartier recipes on the horizon, I decided to make this salad as a detox to my summer ways.  Filled with ingredients like shredded red cabbage, crisp carrots, fresh zucchini, flavorful red kale, and ground pumpkin, flax, and chia seeds, this salad is the perfect combination of raw ingredients.

The Detox Salad serves 4

4 carrots, finely julienned or grated 2 cups shredded red cabbage 2 cups shredded green cabbage 1 zucchini, julienned or finely grated 1 avocado 4 tablespoons cup pumpkin seeds 2 teaspoons chia seeds 2 teaspoons flax seeds 1 bunch red kale, or 1/2 pack of dried seaweed

Serve with: 1 avocado Kale chips leftovers Cold-pressed olive oil

If you're not using seaweed, first make kale chips. Preheat oven at 350.  Remove tough kale stems, chop kale into 1-inch strips across the center. Place in a bowl, and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt. Place kale on a bake sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes or until kale is crisp. Remove from oven.

In a food processor, pulse pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, seaweed or kale chips, and a pinch of salt until you have a medium-coarse mixture. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together carrots, cabbages, zucchini with a two-three tablespoons of the seed mix. Serve topped with a few slices of avocado, a drizzle of cold pressed olive oil, and top with any leftover kale chips.

*Store leftover seed mixture in airtight container like a mason jar and refrigerate.