The Ultimate Debloat Salad
The gut-friendly salad our founder swears by.
Summer is the best time for salads, but even though they're packed with health-boosting phytonutrients, too much raw food can leave your digestion system a little frazzled.Vegetables are high in both soluble and insoluble fibre, which lends them their microbiome-promoting properties. Cellulose, an insoluble fibre found in most vegetables, can be particularly difficult to digest, so ramping up your intake can easily overwhelm the system, causing gas, bloating and a general feeling of pressure. Enter the 'Debloat Salad'.
This salad is our go-to summer staple to combat bloating and digestive issues. We pre-cook the main vegetables in this salad because cooking vegetables - even lightly - will start to break down cellulose, making them more readily digestible.
We also use low FODMAP vegetables, which is one of the reasons it is so gut-friendly, and are liberal with fennel, another incredible gut-focused vegetable that promotes motility, decreases bloating and can combat cramping. Even the dressing works hard. It's packed with phytonutrients that combat bloating - like ginger, apple cider vinegar and cilantro.
We prep extra cooked vegetables for this one so we can enjoy the salad throughout the week
To make ahead:
1 large bulb fennel - sliced
1 large courgette - sliced into rounds and then halved
1 tsp coconut oil
(This makes enough for multiple salads. For a single serving, only cook what you'd like to eat)
Green Detox Dressing Ingredients:
1-inch ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Medjool date
100g coriander, washed
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
5 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tahini
Sea salt to taste
To Serve:
A handful of grape or cherry tomatoes
1/2 ripe avocado
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
A few slices of cucumber, halved
2-3 handfuls of spinach
1 tsp runny tahini (optional)
Sumac (optional)
Method:
- Heat about 1/2 inch of water in a large frying pan. Sauté fennel and courgette until soft and water has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add 1 tsp of coconut oil, some sea salt, and brown for a few minutes. Store in the fridge for a few days to use across multiple servings.
- To make the dressing. Add everything together in a blender or nutribullet with about 1/2 cup water. Blend and taste - we like this to be really tangy, but you can adjust to your liking by adding more tahini/oil/vinegar. This will store in the fridge for 1 week and is also delicious on brown rice or quinoa with mixed vegetables.
- To assemble. Put the spinach in a bowl with tomatoes, avocado, sunflower seeds, cucumber and some of your cooked fennel mixture. Top with detox dressing, some sunflower seeds and a drizzle of tahini. Serve as is, or top with your protein of choice.
For extra support:
If your digestion is struggling from more travel, socialising, and indulgent meals this summer, we recommend our cult-favourite Digest + Debloat. Use daily or ad-hoc when you need a little extra support.
This article is for educational purposes only and the implementation of the theories and practices discussed is at the sole discretion of the individual. All advice given is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns about your health, you should speak with your physician.
