BBQ with Rainbow Salad!

Hello and welcome to my little happy place: my KITCHEN! And when I say little, I mean LITTLE — we’re talking 4 feet by 7 feet!

But anywho – I make it work, and it is my escape from the wild and crazy NYC streets.

Well tonight, the magic I whipped up was this FABULOUS rainbow salad to accompany some yummy BBQ for a certain gentleman.

Traditionally, BBQ comes with coleslaw and a buttery roll. So – not letting any chance for some healthy innovation go to waste, I decided to ramp up your traditional coleslaw with this RAINBOW SALAD!

Crunchy, delicate ribbons of carrot, beet, honeycrisp apple, red pepper and red onion, all smothered in the best stinkin’ dressing I have ever created! Ginger-lime almond butter dressing!

And topped with an avocado rose and fresh shrimp — oh my gosh, I think I’m in Heaven!

The best part about this dish is how it beautifully pairs HEALTH with TASTE! It ate this for lunch literally 5 days in a row. Because that’s another thing about this recipe: the leftovers! It makes A LOT, and the leftovers just get better with time, as the flavors “marry” in the fridge.

But there’s so many vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants! And PROTEIN! The almond butter packs a punch, and so do the seeds! Paired with the healthy fats and fiber from the avocado — this is literally the perfect dish!

And, it’s grain and gluten free, vegan, paleo and Specific Carb Diet friendly!

Here’s What You Need: (Makes 8-10 servings)

1 beet, spiralized
2 medium carrots, spiralized
1 honeycrisp apple, spiralized
1/4 red onion, minced
1 red pepper, julienned
1/2 cup pepitas
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 avocado per person on top

Garnish: a sprinkling of more sunflower seeds and pepitas

Dressing:
1/2 cup almond butter
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp honey (or 1 Tbsp date syrup or agave)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper

BBQ Pork (I got store bought from Amazon Prime Delivery. This brand was terrific!)
Montgomery Inn BBQ Sauce – Montgomery Inn is a Cincinnati institution — we are KNOWN for this BBQ sauce…it’s amazing!

Kings Hawaiian rolls – (hands down the best for BBQ)

Fresh lettuce or spinach
Optional: Fresh cooked shrimp for those non-meat eating friends

Tools:
Spiralizer — this is a must for this recipe. You can also use a vegetable peeler, but to get true, thin vegetable noodles, you’ll need a spiralizer. I use mine at least once a week – it is a kitchen staple and well worth the money!
Food Processor
Microplane Zester
Measuring Cups
Good Chef’s Knife
Large mixing bowl

Directions:
To be totally honest, I just heated up some pre-cooked BBQ on the stove and then mixed it with Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce. So I totally took the easy way out on that front. But it turned out amazingly, AND it went perfectly with the rainbow salad!

A spiralizer is really the secret “ingredient” for this recipe, because it creates uniform, super thin and crunchy vegetable noodles. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can also use a vegetable peeler, a mandoline, or a sharp knife. But I would really suggest investing in a Spiralizer. It’s under $30!

Spiralize all your veggies and put them in a large mixing bowl. **When you spiralize your apple slices, use the single blade and make a “tornado,” rather than the thin noodle attachment, and then just use your knife to cut thin strips from the “tornado” slices. This allows for the apple to retain its juice, and it cuts much more smoothly! Additionally – immediately squeeze half of a lime over the apple slices to keep them from browning.

Also add your cilantro, sliced red pepper, red onion, pepitas and sunflower seeds to the bowl.

Next, make your dressing. In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients, until you get a light tan, very creamy dressing. Adjust the date syrup/salt and pepper to taste. (I went extra heavy on the almond butter, and it was PHENOMENAL! – I honestly think I used half the (small) jar of almond butter, probably 3/4 cup!)

Pour all the dressing over the veggie noodles and coat thoroughly. It may seem like too much at first, but you’ll be surprised how much this salad “eats” the dressing. You will use every bit! Refrigerate until serving.

To serve, top with half of an avocado (sprinkled lightly with sea salt) — I made mine into a rose — and also sprinkle with more pepitas, sunflower seeds, and cilantro, if desired. Serve solo, or with fresh shrimp or BBQ meat!

OK, OK, OK – this was SO incredibly delicious. I already mentioned, I ate the leftovers for five days in a row and never got tired of it, so that’s saying something.

There’s something about the combination of the crunchy, cold noodles, with the rich, creamy and buttery avocado! Holy cow, that’s a match made in heaven. And then those pops of crunch from the seeds — mmm!!

But the DRESSING! Oh my gosh – the slight *zing* from the ginger, with the luxuriously rich and nutty almond butter, and the kiss of lime and fresh kick of cilantro. It is a cacophony of flavors. A symphony of textures. And smorgasbord of COLORS!

(Can you tell I loved it?)

I already am planning on when to make this next so I can enjoy it for another week!

And one final thing — when paired with shrimp, or BBQ — it makes the perfect meal. So filling and satisfying. It checks all the boxes, and then some!

So do yourself a favor and MAKE THIS DISH! You will certainly not be disappointed!

“This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Ez 37:5

TAKE ME TO THE B³ STORE!

A huge shoutout to Reason Nutrition Beverage! Their all-natural, high calorie drink is not only delicious, but it has no “garbage” in it! Utilizing the wholesome goodness of coconut oil, it’s a phenomenal option for those needing to gain weight in recovery, or for those simply looking to supplement their diet with convenient and fast nutrition. Check them out!

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