As the season changes into fall it is appropriate to alter your eating. Cold salads, although healthy, are not always ideal for your body as the climate cools down. Your body will love warming foods and nutritious hearty veggies will help prepare your immune system for the incoming flux of bugs in the air as we all head indoors.
I know I have already ranted and raved about my deep love for kale…so we will skip that for today and concentrate on another staple to this salad. One veggie, which is often overlooked yet delicious and versatile, is cauliflower. Recently, I have been indulging in roasted cauliflower as a side dish, but was inspired by a friend’s roasted cauliflower salad to make my own warm and hearty version.
Cauliflower is filled with vitamins and antioxidants, low on calories, and has a number of health-promoting properties. One compound that is worth mentioning is its sulfur compound, sulforaphane (found in a number of cruciferous vegetables). This compound has been studied as an agent in a wide variety of cancer trials and has shown a number of anti-cancer and chemoprotective properties.1 It is also a powerful inducer of the liver detoxification system – especially phase II detoxification that removes harmful compounds and excess estrogens; and aids in chemoprevention.2
With the added goodness of walnuts, kale, olives, and chickpeas, this warming fall salad will enlighten your palate with delicious flavours, great textures, and boost your health.
Ingredients:
- 2/3 head of cauliflower chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup uncooked pearl barley
- 1 head kale (I used dino kale this time)
- ½ cup chopped kalamata olives
- ½ cup walnut pieces
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- 2 tsp thyme spice
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 400F
- Cook barley. Add barley to a pot and add about 2.5 cups of water. Let water boil and then lower temperature to simmer until water is gone and barley is a chewy texture.
- Add your chopped cauliflower to a pan lined with parchment paper. Take 1 tbsp of the olive oil and brush over the pieces. Sprinkle with thyme. Place in preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until soft and slightly browning.
- When cauliflower is done turn off oven and place walnut pieces on a pan and into oven for 8-10 minutes.
- Chop kale into bite-sized pieces.
- Add all ingredients to a large salad bowl and serve warm.
Dr. Michelle Cali is a licensed and registered Naturopathic Doctor and graduate of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. In addition, she holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo.
Dr. Cali maintains a private practice in Guelph, Ontario. She is truly passionate about helping her patients develop and achieve their health goals. She implements patient-centred care utilizing a variety of treatment modalities including: clinical nutrition and diet counseling; acupuncture and Traditional Chinese medicine; herbal medicine; homeopathy; and lifestyle counseling. She has also received additional training in Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture, Natural Fertility and Applied Kinesiology. Her practice includes particular focus on women’s health, pediatrics and digestive health.
Her mission to inspire and reinvent wellbeing was reinforced by her trip to Kenya and the naturopathic work she completed with the organization, Foundation for Integrative Medicine in Africa (FIMAfrica).
Dr. Cali also enjoys engaging her local community through specialized talks and outreach. In addition, also maintains the role as National Scientific Advisor for the professional nutraceutical company, Cyto-Matrix.
She has a personal interest in plant-based foods and continually expands her vegan culinary skills in her kitchen. She frequently shares her cooking journeys with her patients to show them accessible ways to prepare hearty, healthy and delicious whole food dishes. She encourages clean eating while maintaining the importance of passionate eating.
Michelle is registered with the Board of Directors of Drugless Therapy – Naturopathy (BDDT-N) and is an active member of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CAND), Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors (OAND) and Association of Perinatal Naturopathic Doctors (APND).
References:
- Clarke, J. D., Dashwood, R. H., & Ho, E. (2008). Multi-targeted prevention of cancer by sulforaphane. Cancer letters, 269(2), 291-304.
- Frankel, F., Priven, M., Richard, E., Schweinshault, C., Tongo, O., Webster, A., … & Edelstein, S. (2015). Health Functionality of Organosulfides: a Review. International Journal of Food Properties, (just-accepted).