Eat the Rainbow With This Guilt-Free and Taste-Full Salad!

In the classic Skittles commercials, we are told to "taste the rainbow". What a great ad, because who doesn't find Skittles really appealing as a junk food? Well, in this Instructable, I'll do Skittles one better: I will show you a very simple way to EAT the rainbow. But unlike Skittles, there is nothing unhealthy in this giant bowl of phytonutrients! "Phytowhaaaaaa?" you say. Exactly.

Phytonutrients come from plants and are extremely helpful to a smooth-running human body. The rich colors are evidence of antioxidants, which slow aging. If you're comparing two vegetables or fruits, always go for the richer color, because that means more antioxidants.

For this super-salad, choose a variety of fresh vegetables. The exact veggies are up to you! My go-to salad almost always includes these shown: red bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, celery, sweet corn (yes, a grain), and purple cabbage. Other good additions would be green onions, water chestnuts, tomatoes, and raw broccoli or cauliflower.

Step 1: Prep Your Veggies

Wash and then cut all your veggies. Peel your carrots and cucumbers if you wish, but you'll lose some nutrients (and antioxidants, in the case of that lovely dark-green cucumber) if you peel them.

I used frozen corn, and to prepare it for the salad, I merely soaked it in hot water, and then drained and rinsed it with cold water. Easy peasy.

You can put all your veggies straight into a big bowl if you want to, but I usually use separate bowls to make sure I have more or less the same amount of everything in my salad. In the end, combine them all in a big bowl and give them a good stir.

Step 2: Guilt-free, Easy Dressing? Yes, Please!

I got the recipe for this dressing from Jane Esselstyn, daughter of the author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. The ingredients are as easy as 3, 2, 1:

• 3 parts balsamic vinegar
• 2 parts mustard
• 1 part maple syrup

In this case, I used a tablespoon as my measure of "parts", but you can use a 1/4 cup measure if you want to make a small jar of dressing. Or do the opposite: just pour the ingredients directly on your salad one at a time, in more or less the 3:2:1 proportions!

Stir all three ingredients well.

I also include a small serving of chopped walnuts in my salad, because some of these vegetables are absorbed much better by the body if they're riding on some fat.

If you don't want the fat, omit the walnuts.

If you don't want the sugar from the maple syrup, omit the syrup and cut up a small mandarin orange into the salad in its place.

Step 3: What's a Salad Without Greens?

Lay a bed of greens on the bottom of your bowl and scoop a bit serving of your cut veggies on top. I often have about a 1:1 ratio of cut veggies to greens. I don't see the veggies as a topping but as a vital part of the salad!

Drizzle some dressing on top, sprinkle some walnuts, and voila! Eat the rainbow!

P.S. If you liked this Instructable, I'd appreciate your vote in the
Fruits & Veggies Speed Challenge contest!