The last few weeks have been hectic… I’m sure you know the feeling, you’re running from one place to another the whole time, your to-do list never gets any shorter and you feel a little drained. I know I am a perfectionist and unfortunately, perfection doesn’t exist. I want to do it all and have everything come out 100% and life just doesn’t work that way. It would be so boring if it did, don’t you think?
Sometimes the things we think are terrible when they happen to us, turn out to be the biggest blessings in disguise… So I am continuously trying to come back to the HERE and NOW and being grateful for so so many blessings I have been given. Trusting that the universe is bringing me exactly what I need. Because if I stop and really think about it, my life is pretty amazing (even if the dust isn’t cleaned until next week and the car is covered in dog hair and the ironing has been waiting for a month). I prefer to be in the mountains with my dogs, spend time on the beach with my friends or in the pool with my Kindle.
Because if something were to happen to me tomorrow, would I regret not having a clean house and car, or not spending more time with the people (and dogs :D) I love? I think this puts things into perspective quite well…
Along with a shorter time we want to spend in the kitchen because outdoors is calling to us, the temperatures are definitely going up and the amount of food we are cooking and having hot, going down. I always find that I prefer raw, cold dishes in the summer and salads especially. But not any old bowl of lettuce and tomatoes… I am quite particular about my salads (and my brother would be very quick to add – about other things too :)) I need my salads to be delicious, pretty and also exciting – to have a wow factor.
The star of this salad is the combination of mango and avocado which might sound a little strange but it goes together really well. Often, if I need a quick snack, I might just have some chopped mango and avocado on their own, they are sweet, juicy, creamy, buttery and soooo good. Add to that the crunch and the toasted nuttiness of the cashews and you’re on your way to a pretty spectacular salad. Then finish with the zingy lemon-coriander dressing and you have a winner there!
This salad is extremely quick to put together, it will take you 15 minutes from start to finish (maybe even 10 if you’re an expert chopper :)) so there’s no excuse!
PS. The beautiful wooden boards I used for the photographs were a birthday present from the best Mum in the world – my Mum 🙂 She and my Dad gifted them to me along with other homemade creations of hers that I will show you soon. For me, there is no better present than one that has been infused with love and work and effort from the person who made it especially for you. I love you Mum <3
- 2 cups spinach, shredded
- 1/2 cup cucumber, sliced
- 1 cup mango, sliced
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup raw cashews, chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon fennelseed powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- pinch of salt
- Start preparing the salad by layering a bed of shredded spinach, then sliced cucumber, mango and avocado.
- Melt the coconut oil in a frying pan and toast the chopped cashews for a couple of minutes until golden.
- Then, prepare the dressing by throwing all the ingredients into your blender and whizzing until the coriander is very finely chopped.
- Serve the salad sprinkled with toasted cashews and drizzled generously with the dressing.
- This serves 2 as a side salad or 1 as a very large salad to eat on its own.
1 Comment
Palec hore Lucka, fotografie sa ti znovu vydarili na jedničku a verím, že aj šalát chutí výborne. Keď budeme spolu, vyskúšame :). A lopáre sú tiež top, takže zámer s darčekom, ktorý by určite potešil sa verím vydaril. Nech ti to všetko slúži k spokojnosti. Aj ja ťa mám rada…