It’s officially spring, which means warmer weather, blooming cherry blossoms, and house cleaning! Tis’ the season to be scrubbing floors, removing clutter, and dusting every square foot of your dwelling. Unfortunately, we spend ample amounts of energy polishing our homes, but often ignore the body when it’s crying for a fresh start. This recipe provides you with many of the nutrients it needs for supporting gentle detoxification. If you’re interested in further cleansing, the 21 day cleanse is a great way to jump start this process.

Benefits:

The liver is the body’s main filtration organ. In order to detoxify most efficiently, the liver requires numerous vitamins, minerals, and compounds. Cruciferous vegetation, oranges and tangerines, citrus peel, caraway, garlic and onions, and dill are some of the foods that promote healthy liver activity. Deficiencies in selenium, glutathione, zinc, folate, calcium, molybdenum, protein, and vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C and E can inhibit liver processes.

Spinach is the superstar of this dish because it’s loaded with tons of the vitamins and minerals the liver requires including selenium, zinc, folate, calcium, and vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, C, and E. Plus, it’s a fantastic plant-based source of protein.

However, the other ingredients of this dish are great for the liver too. Bell peppers are a fantastic source of vitamin C. Brussels sprouts and broccoli are members of the cruciferous vegetable family and are excellent sources of vitamin C, folate, and calcium.

Cilantro is wonderful for chelating (binding) with heavy metals to help remove them from the body when detoxifying. Furthermore, walnuts and avocado were selected for their beneficial fat content that supports liver function. Avocado is also a great source of glutathione.

Spring Cleaning Salad Ingredients:

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup spinach

1 bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 cup Brussels sprouts, shredded

1/2 cup walnuts

Chelation Dressing Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 avocado

1/4 cup cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

juice & zest of 1 lemon

Sea salt to taste

Directions:

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a saucepan with a steamer. Add the broccoli and cover for 4-5 minutes or until broccoli is vibrant green.

While you’re steaming the broccoli, combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy. Add more water to thin if necessary and adjust the salt to season accordingly.

Once the broccoli is crisp and just fork-tender, remove from heat and build your salad with all of the ingredients. Top with the dressing.

Serve with baked wild salmon or free range chicken for additional protein.

Serves 2

Recipe originally published on www.lulora.com