Sweet Potato, Celery, and Apple Salad

So after four days of the detox, I feel awesome. I woke up yesterday morning with a ton of energy and without a headache. It was glorious. The same is true for this morning. I’m glad I’ve been giving this a go, but I’m not really bummed to see it leave. I love eating healthy, filling up on vegetables, and drinking water like it’s my job, but not when I know it’s on some “plan.” Diets annoy me. I’d much rather just make healthy lifestyle choices. I usually do, but this shows me just what my body thinks when I don’t always nourish it with the best things. I now know the signs of when my body could use a little bit of TLC, not another burrito. So good things that have come of this:

• Increased energy
• Clearer skin
• Dropped 4-5lbs of water weight
• Learned when my stomach really is hungry vs needs more water
• Love starting my day with warm water + lemon juice

This was one of the salads on the lunch menu, but I also ate it for dinner the other night. These dishes are super versatile. I highly suggest you prep it in advance so it can marinate in the dressing longer. It maximizes the flavor, but I wasn’t bummed when I ate it the first night. It took all my willpower not to keep eating it out of the salad bowl. The next day I ate it on a bed of mixed greens, topped with a few pepitas since I didn’t have sesame seeds. It renewed my love of radishes, too! Those never get enough play. So good. If you don’t like sweet potatoes, you might still like this. It doesn’t have much of a sweet potato taste, at all. It’s just the bulk of the salad, not the flavor. The crunch of the dish is so unlike most things I eat. It was a really nice change.

Inspiration: Whole Living

Ingredients

• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and julienned
• 1 stalk of celery, thinly sliced
• 1 apple, peeled and julienned
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3 radishes, julienned
• 3 tablespoons pepitas [or sesame seeds or other seeds of choice]
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Mix your dressing ingredients in a small bowl–oil, juice, ginger.
2. In a large bowl, toss all the vegetables together.
3. Drizzle in the dressing.
4. Top with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Mix thoroughly and eat immediately or refrigerate for more flavor.