Quick (And Giant) Thai Chopped Salad
I made this quick dish for my meal prep clients this week, and as I ate the leftovers I thought…. I have to share this! Plus, from the Instagram responses I know that you all wanted this recipe too! This quick Thai Chopped salad is raw and requires no cooking whatsoever. However, I often put it over quinoa and heat it in the microwave for a minute to wilt down the kale (call me weird!) before I put the dressing on top. I like my veggies a bit soft.
It’s quick and easy because all you have to do is chop and whisk! You can technically do all of the meal prep at the beginning of the week and toss when you’re ready to combine.
It’s also colorful, bright, and nutrient dense, which if you know me at all, you know how important that is to me! If I’m going to eat something or prepare it for clients, I need it to fuel their cells, and my own, with nutrients to live our lightest, most energetic lives and heal from the inside out.
Enjoy this recipe and a little bit about the nutrition in it for those that enjoy that. Remember, it’s always good to learn about what you’re putting into your body!
Nutrition fun:
Peppers and Parkinson’s:
Peppers are a part of the nightshade family along with tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, anddddd… the tobacco plant. The origin of why they are called nightshades isn’t really clear, but it is suspected that these plants prefer to grow in the night and shade away from the sun. We all know that tobacco contains nicotine, but it’s not as well known that nightshade vegetables also contain small amounts of nicotine in them. Don’t worry, you won’t get addicted to peppers and tomatoes (although I do love a good salsa…), as amount of nicotine in vegetables doesn’t even compare to the amount of nicotine in one cigarette (6).
There is evidence out there to supports that chronic smokers have half the risk of development of Parkinson’s disease (1). Obviously, you shouldn’t smoke to reduce your risk of Parkinson’s disease, as the cons of smoking very much weigh out the pros. However, the low amounts of nicotine in nightshades has been studied to potentially lower risk of Parkinson’s development.
Studies show only mild lowering of risk when comparing nightshades to other vegetables, which makes sense because all vegetables have benefit! However, studies do show show that the frequency of consumption of edible nightshades is inversely related to Parkinson’s Disease risk (2). Of all of the nightshade veggies, bell peppers contain the most nicotine. It has been shown that the more bell peppers one consumes, the more protection (2). Wow, talk about food being MEDICINE! This could explain why those who consume a Mediterranean diet (high in peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant) have lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. It’s also extremely possible that other phytochemicals and constituents in peppers besides the nicotine could have neuroprotective effects.
Cilantro, Gout, and Cardiovascular disease:
I eat cilantro by the bunch and always have since my grandmother grew it in the garden. My partner however, is NOT a fan and he frequently reports the very common “soapy” taste. In case you were wondering, these cilantro haters aren’t making it up! We now know that this is a genetic thing: Those with OR6A2 present on chromosome 11 will have a negative taste association with cilantro (3).
You may just have to plug your nose and eat it though! (only joking, but if you chop it up and use it in trace amounts, it still has benefits!). Cilantro is absolutely packed with powerful phytonutrients (nutrients found in plants) can help heal our body, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, phytosterols, and terpenes. These powerful plant chemicals help with cardiovascular disease through their free-radical scavenging effects, which prevents oxidation and damage to heart tissue (4). The extract of cilantro itself has been shown to help with arrhythmias as well as lower triglyceride and total cholesterol levels (4).
As you all know, I’m all about decreasing inflammation in the body, and the anti-inflammatory benefits of cilantro are what I found the most beneficial. A study that gave 20 sprigs of cilantro to those with osteoarthritis every day for 2 months showed that the patients decreased uric acid levels and other inflammatory biomarkers (5), which could very much be of benefit to patients who suffer from Gout.
Makes: 6-8 servings
Time to prepare: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
Salad:
2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and chopped into slivers
2 medium green bell peppers, seeded and chopped into slivers
2 medium yellow bell peppers, seeded and chopped into slivers
1 medium zucchini, chopped into 2 inch thin slices
2 large carrots, shredded
1 large bunch curly kale, coarsely chopped
1 large bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
Sesame seeds
Whole cashews (I got black peppered cashews from Truck Patch that they were amazing)
Optional add ins the day of (not incorporated in the mix): avocado, sprouts, scrambled eggs, sliced raw tempeh, cooked salmon.
Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup sesame oil
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
2 tablespoons liquid aminos
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup water
Recipe:
Chop/shred all salad ingredients. Place them into a large salad bowl except the cashews, and toss together to combine. (When I made this I added in the cashews before and they ended up being a bit soggy, so add them fresh to your salad when you eat them for the crunchiest texture).
Place all salad dressing ingredients into a large bowl and whisk until combined. I usually just put it all into a mason jar and shake it like crazy! Drizzle over the salad upon preparation.
The salad and the dressing can be stored separately in the fridge for up to 5 days. Simply add the cashews and dressing onto the salad whenever you fine dine with this meal.
ENJOY!
If you make it, let me know in the comments how you liked it!
Sending you SO much love, nourishment, and light!
XO, B
References:
1) Quik M, O'Leary K, Tanner CM. Nicotine and Parkinson's disease: implications for therapy. Mov Disord. 2008;23(12):1641-1652. doi:10.1002/mds.21900; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4430096/
2) Nielsen SS, Franklin GM, Longstreth WT, Swanson PD, Checkoway H. Nicotine from edible Solanaceae and risk of Parkinson disease. Ann Neurol. 2013;74(3):472-477. doi:10.1002/ana.23884; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4864980/
3) https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-1-22
4) Mahleyuddin NN, Moshawih S, Ming LC, et al. Coriandrum sativum L.: A Review on Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry, and Cardiovascular Benefits. Molecules. 2021;27(1):209. Published 2021 Dec 30. doi:10.3390/molecules27010209; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8747064/
5) https://clinicalnutritionespen.com/article/S2212-8263(12)00049-8/fulltext
6) Siegmund B, Leitner E, Pfannhauser W. Determination of the nicotine content of various edible nightshades (Solanaceae) and their products and estimation of the associated dietary nicotine intake. J Agric Food Chem. 1999;47(8):3113-3120. doi:10.1021/jf990089w; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10552617/