Farro Salad with Maple Lemon Tahini Dressing
Recipe by Danielle Lavallee
Salad Ingredients:
1 cup cooked farro (I cook farro in the rice cooker on the white rice setting.)
1 bunch lacinato kale, washed and chopped
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or more)
1/2 cup yellow raisins (or more)
1/2 cup toasted almonds (or more)
1 roasted sweet potato
(I cubed the sweet potato, sprinkled it with chili powder and salt, and roasted it at 400 until tender, no oil needed).
Ingredients for Maple Lemon Tahini Dressing:
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup tahini
Pinch of salt
Maple syrup, to taste
Blend dressing ingredients with a whisk until smooth and creamy. If the dressing is too thick, add a tablespoon of water at time until it reaches your desired consistency.
Top the salad with the dressing, toss, and taste. Add salt as desired.
Pro Tip – As recommended by Dr. Michael Greger in his book, How Not to Die, try the “whack and wait” or “hack and hold” technique of chopping your cruciferous and brassica veggies at least 40 minutes before cooking or eating them. Cutting and waiting allows the Sulforaphane levels in the food to rise. But why do we care about Sulforaphane, you ask?
Sulforaphane is an organic compound found in cruciferous and brassica veggies, like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Bok choy, and Brussel sprouts. It is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory benefits and anti-cancer potential. Sulforaphane boosts the liver’s detoxifying enzymes, and it helps to protect our brains, eyesight, and cardiovascular systems. It has anti-aging effects, helping to combat free radical damage, aiding in wound healing, and limiting the loss of collagen as we age (think wrinkle reduction). It has been shown to reduce viral load in human clinical trials. It can even reduce the effects of asthma, aid in diabetes, and improve the symptoms of autism. Basically, Sulforaphane is a nutritional badass.
To maximize the Sulforaphane in your foods, it is easy to just chop these foods first. As you prep the other ingredients in your meal, the sulforaphane levels will rise, making them an even more powerful tool in your health arsenal. For this meal, I chopped the kale when I prepped the sweet potato. Then, I just left it to sit on the counter as the sweet potato cooked, knowing that the Sulforaphane levels were rising with every minute that it sat there waiting. Magic!
Wishing you excellent health and happy eating!
🌱💕