At Last, The Healthy & Simple Carrot Salad Recipe Perfect for any Occasion

Have you ever been to a potluck or hosted a party where you brought something and everyone was talking about it because it was just THAT good?

And then you proudly share what is it and everyone is shocked because its THAT healthy, refreshing, simple and delicious?

Well, that is the reaction I get whenever I make this bright and light “Carrot Salad.” And, trust me when I say everyone…. this recipe has a unique flavor that provides the taste buds with a full blown experience.

But let me start by saying I found the original recipe from a social media post from women's health coach, and I have seen it reposted here and there…. but since then, I have made it over a dozen times and put a little twist on it to change it up.

I’ll share with you the salad recipe, methods, and alternatives that you can try to make an outstanding dish that’ll have everyone turning heads about it.

First, the salad contains all vegan, natural, and simple ingredients that you can find pretty much in any grocery store. It also is “raw” so you don’t need to do any cooking, baking, or steaming. It is best served cold or chilled for a few hours, but if you’re on a time crunch, you can wipe it together and serve immediately.

For the ingredients, you will need to have long, organic orange carrots, some sort of seed you prefer, dry and roasted and unsalted (sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, or pumpkin seeds), fresh or dried fruit (either raisins, cranberries, or pomegranate), extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cumin spice, a little salt, and some pepper. Most of the ingredients are kitchen staples, so you may just need to pick up fresh carrots and some fruit. So, this tends to be a relatively affordable dish to make as well.

And for kitchen supplies, you’ll need a cutting board, a large serving/mixing bowl, a small dish, tongs, a peeler (or cheese grater for a different texture), a and good kitchen knife. I don’t usually measure things, so I’ll do my best giving you a guesstimate with your measurements. You can’t go too wrong with a recipe as simple as this, trust me.

Once you have gathered the kitchen supplies and your ingredients, clean and wash the carrots. Then, you can use the peeler to peel the carrots outer surface off. Next, continue to peel the carrot, creating long ribbon like pieces. Now, this process can be rather tedious and repetitive. So I suggest you give yourself some extra time for this process OR grate the carrots with the cheese grater on the medium to large setting. Personally, the I take the time to peel the carrots with the peeler because I think the ribbon look is fun and tends to have a “crunch” more than grated carrot pieces.

Peel (or grate) a heaping portion of carrots and place them into the large bowl. Next, add the fruit. If you are using dried fruit, try getting UNSWEETENED pieces to keep the dish low in sugar and as natural as possible. Dried fruit is already sweet enough, having more sweetness can over power the dish. If you are using fresh fruit like pomegranate seeds, make sure you wash, cut, peel, and clean it. I add about 1/2C of fruit pieces to the dish. My favorite is fresh pomegranate seeds as it has an extra layer of texture and natural sweetness to compliment the sweetness of raw carrots.

After that, you can toss in the seed of choice. I’ve used different kinds of nuts/seeds in this but stay away from small seeds like flax seed, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. Those don’t seem to pair so well with this bold dish. I like to use something more flavorful and satisfying. My go-to is dried and roasted pumpkin seeds, but I also love crushed walnuts, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds or cashews. I suppose pistachios would be delicious in this as well. When choosing your seed/nut, opt for roasted and unsalted to keep the dish balanced and not too salty. I add about 1/2C of these as well.

Now its time for the dressing. In the small dish, you’ll add the remaining ingredients-the olive oil, AVC, cumin, and salt and pepper. Try to find a ratio of 1:2 with the oil:vinegar and a 1/2 tbs of cumin and a few good sprinkles of S&P. Whisk it all together and pour over the carrots mix. Use the tongs to toss and turn the dressing into the carrot mix.

You may notice that the “goodies” make their way to the bottom of the dish. So, you can either mix it some more to try to get them to come to the top, or get a second serving dish to pour it into to the bottom ends up on the top of the dish. From here, no need to mix it any more. Just cover it and stick it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour before serving.

The thing I love about this dish is the tangy, yet sweet taste from the vinegar and the carrots, along with the different textures! It’s like a party in my mouth for all my taste buds. The cumin flavor add a subtle earthy and spice to it, while the fruit and nut give it a sweet and salty finish. I’ll tell you whenever I make it, it doesn’t last me too long because it is THAT good.

Another thing I love about it is that is it healthy. Many traditional salads, dishes, and casseroles you find at potlucks or parties are often filled with heavy creams, cheese, gluten, mayo, and many other highly processed, artificially flavored, high sodium foods.

This salad contains no added sugar and all natural ingredients that are high in fiber and vitamins that our body needs. Not to mention, the extra virgin olive oil is a healthy fat that is needed for brain health and hair, skin, and nail health. In addition, the seeds and nuts are another source of healthy fats and offer some protein that is necessary for organ, tissue, and cell repair. So this is always a nice and refreshing dish to have to counter some of the more not so healthy and clean meals.

Although this is primarily a “raw'“ salad, it is tasty for any season and time of the year. In the summer, its cooling and sweet. In the fall, it is grounding and filling. In the winter, it is warming and tangy. And in the spring, it is crisp and crunch. The point is, its a pretty functional dish to add into your meal time routine at anytime!

One thing I will say though, is that if you do have a slow digestive tract or sensitive digestive system, cold and raw salads may not be the best option for your gut. Try having this at room temperature or, lightly steam the carrots after you peel them to help break down some of the fibrous nutrients. Otherwise, this tends to be an easy, and gut friendly dish that helps promote and regulation digestion and detoxification.

So without further ado, here is the recipe breakdown:

CARROT SALAD

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

SERVING SIZE: ~6-8

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 pounds of fresh, long organic orange carrots, cleaned (10-14 large carrots)

• 1/2 c fruit (dried or fresh, suggested raisins, craneberr’s, goji berries, or fresh pomegranate)

• 1/2 c roasted and unsalted nuts or seeds of choice (pumpkin/sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, or walnuts)

• 1/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1/2 c Apple Cider Vinegar

• 1/2 tbs cumin spice

• dash of salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Wash and peel carrots with a peeler or cheese grater depending on preference (see blog for details) and place in large mixing bowl

2) Add fresh or dried fruit to the bowl

3) In a small bowl, combine olive oil, AVC, cumin, and salt and pepper. Whisk dressing together

4) Drizzle dressing over carrot mix and toss with tongs until evenly coated

5) Chill for up to ~1 hour and serve in serving dish

You can seal and store this in the fridge for up to 5 days.

There you have it!

As I mentioned before, I don’t always use specific measurements but these suggestions should be just perfect. Feel free to add your own twist on it. Let me know in the comments what you tried and if you have any suggestion/recommendations for me to try too….

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