Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Paleo, Vegetarian, Whole30

Shaved Spring Vegetable and Apple Salad

After a long cold winter, nothing makes me happier than seeing spring produce roll in at the markets. It’s like the light at the end of the tunnel for those of us living in the north, and I can’t wait to start creating fresh beautiful dishes. I like to shave the raw vegetables very thin on my mandoline—not only because it makes for a beautiful salad with lots of color and texture, but because it makes the raw vegetables much easier to chew up and digest after months of eating warm, cooked food.

Serves 4

• ½ head purple cauliflower, shaved thin on a mandoline
• ½ head white cauliflower, shaved thin on a mandoline
• 1 Gala apple, sliced into matchsticks on a mandoline
• 6 stalks asparagus, shaved
• 1 cup snap peas, split
• ¼ cup finely diced red onion
• ¼ cup hemp hearts (see Note below)
• ½ cup Ginger-Dijon Dressing
• Fresh mint and parsley leaves, finely chopped
• Salt and black pepper

Combine the cauliflower, apple, asparagus, snap peas, red onion, and hemp hearts in a large salad bowl.

Just before serving, add the dressing and toss. Add the fresh mint and parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

note: Hemp hearts are the seeds of the hemp plant, commonly grown in the Northern Hemisphere. They are very versatile and have a rich nutty flavor. If you cannot find hemp hearts at your local grocery store, raw sunflower seeds work great too!