After the success of the first harvest from my new improved crop circles filled with nutrient rich organic potting mix, I have been keen to get them going again and providing the family with some fresh produce. Last year I allowed just two cos lettuce plants go to seed in the hopes that they would refill the garden bed with more lettuce plants without me having to buy another packet of seeds. In the winds that prevailed the little parachutes floated away from the mother plant and landed in abundance.
The Summer has been a scorcher and nothing was sprouting. Even weeds were dehydrated, shrivelled and withering in the heat. Come early February however and the seasonal afternoon thunderstorms began in full force. Water tank was overflowing and the first little sprouts of hundreds of cos lettuce plants began to appear over night. Now of course they aren't planted in neat little rows, are way too close together, but what I have learnt since the last season is to use the crowded seedlings while the leaves are young and tender in salads and thereby create the space for the remaining plants to achieve their full potential.
In the crop last year I had an abundance of lettuce to the point that I couldn’t even give away all that was produced from the seeds that I planted all at once. And of course I didn’t thin them out like the packet suggested, because when the little plants were growing I got so excited that I couldn't bring myself to. So I didn’t. They all grew too close together and that meant rot and bugs. Wastage. Yuck I hate that.
So this time, I’m making my favourite salad every day in order that none of my free lettuce goes to waste. I want to share the recipe with you. Don't be deceived at how simple it is. It is the perfect accompaniment to Turkish Pide, any steak, roast or equivalent, and the nutritional qualities are intense.
EASY COS, FETA AND LEMON SALAD
Ingredients:
washed and torn salad leaves, small ones, I use cos because I can or mignonette
spray extra virgin olive oil
squeeze organic lemon juice
grind Himalayan Salt Flakes
crumble organic Danish feta
Method:
Place lettuce on plate, spray with oil to give shiny appearance (and because of health benefits), squeeze over lemon juice to taste, grind over the salt, garnish with crumbled feta. Voila!
Because health is an important part of my Healthy, Wealthy and Wise commitment to my next fifty years on the planet, I have enlisted the help of a co-author who is my nutrition and healthy living “go to” girl.
“Tanya, what’s so good about this salad?”
Thank you Captain Julia, for entrusting me as your co-author and “go to” girl, I love it and I am deeply honoured.
Firstly I am a big believer in keeping it simple as you have done, this way you can really enjoy the flavours without too much going on for your taste buds. Also for those who find it way to easy to visit a drive through or local take away with the main focus on fast rather then whole food nutrition, this is a fast and healthy alternative, with the pleasure of making it yourself.
I am all about easy, healthy, passionate food that is made with love, so having said all of that lets look at some of the nutritional benefits of this yummy salad.
Cos lettuce also know as Romaine is packed with vitamins and minerals, it is the boss when it come to lettuce. It has a low kilojoule content and high water volume, an excellent source of
VIT A (in the form of beta-carotene), folate, VIT C, manganese, chromium and a very good source of dietary fibre and potassium.
This is a heart healthy green.
Olive oil is 77% monounsaturated fat, the good kind that helps rather than hurts your body, and is rich in VIT E. Extra virgin is the best.
Here are some benefits from Olive Oil
- Protects you heart
- Promotes weight loss
- Eases arthritis – oil you joints, topically and internally
- Combats cancer
- Battles diabetes
- Smoothes skin
- Helps with gall bladder problems
- Halts hunger pangs
Isn’t it interesting to note that the type of fat you eat at lunch could effect how hungry you are at dinner!
I love LEMONS, if you say that like Oprah does when she gets excited about something, it sounds great, feels good and you will get the gist of my enthusiasm for them.
Lemons are your best friend, of all the citrus fruit lemon is the most potent detoxifier, it kills intestinal parasites such as roundworms and dissolves gallstones. Other health benefits include:
- Eliminate kidney stones
- Combats Cancer
- If taken in the morning is know to improve liver function
- Stimulates digestive juices
- Relieves constipation
- Asthma
- Headaches
- Pneumonia
- Arthritis
- Breast health
- Good general blood and body purifier
- The juice also aids in the removal of old drug residues (poisons) from the body
Lemons are beneficial to the heart and circulation, stimulates the adrenal system and increases the vitality of the kidneys.
Personally I start the day with warm filtered water including the juice from an organic whole lemon, a small piece of organic ginger and organic raw honey. It gets your metabolism going and clears out your pipes, all of them, yeah, giddy up.
Salt intake is vital; water and salt regulate the water content of the body.
Salt is effective in
- Stabilising irregular heart beats and is essential to the regulation of blood pressure (despite what we’re told)
- Vital for the clearance of mucous from the lungs (essential for asthma cases)
- Supporting respiratory health
- Rapid healing of infection
- Balancing sugar levels in the blood (an important element for diabetics)
- Reduce the signs of ageing
- Promoting healthy pH balance in your cells, particularly your brain cells
- Generation of hydroelectric energy in the cells (the body’s power source)
- Absorption of food particles through the intestinal tract
- Sinus health
- Prevention of muscle cramps
- Salt is critical for making the structure of the bones strong (osteoporosis is largely the result of a shortage of water and salt)
- Regulating you sleep, it naturally promotes sleep
- Supports your libido
There is so much more I could talk about when it comes to salt.
I always carry in my handbag a BPA free container filled with Don Tolman’s Ra See Salt. I use this if I have lunch out rather then that dirty table salt, or if I feel tired I just pop a pinch under my tongue, also if I am exercising and I need a little boost, under the tongue it goes.
I am a vegetarian, transiting into vegan, at this point though I still consume cheese, mainly from goats, organic and raw when possible and definitely no animal remnant.
Feta consist of riboflavin, protein, calcium, phosphorus, VIT B12. Cheese can also help in the prevention of tooth decay, cheese contains compounds that neutralise acids in the mouth, and it also helps with heart burn.
Who would think that Julia’s yummy simple salad was action packed with all that goodness.
For more in depth knowledge on whole foods, I highly recommend you have a look at Don Tolman’s website www.dontolmaninternational.com.
Wishing everyone organic love and light.
Tanya
Wow! Every time I spend time with Tanya I learn so many lessons. I hope you all feel enlightened and ready to try an easy salad with so many health benefits as you join me on the path to living a little healthier, being a bit wiser and having a richer life for doing so!
