Monday, May 16, 2016

avocado cucumber tomato salad



salads are one of my favorite things to eat...i never get sick of eating vegetables like i do chicken so i am always trying new ideas for not so average salads.
i was having some friends over for an essential oils class and although i had a few not so healthy options (beer bread and dip, chocolate pound cake) i wanted something light and healthy too. 
most of the ingredients i did have on hand and this was super easy to throw together!


ingredients:
1/2 of a medium red onion
2 lb. roma tomatoes
2 english cucumbers or 6 mini cucumbers
2 firm avocados 
large handful of of cilantro chopped
2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons - juice from 1 whole lemon (2-3 tbsp) plus a little extra for avocados 
1-2 teaspoons of course ground sea salt
2-3 turns of freshly ground pepper from a pepper mill





method:
1. chop all ingredients and place the onion, tomatoes, cucumber and cilantro in a large salad bowl. as soon as i chop my avocados i toss them in lemon juice to help stop the browning effect. i also make sure that the avocados are more firm than i would usually purchase for other recipes. this also helps with slower browning and gives the salad a nice texture.


2. drizzle the salad with olive oil and lemon juice then gently combine. just before serving add the salt and pepper. doing this just before serving is best otherwise the salt will draw out a lot of juice form the vegetables and could make the salad a little mushy. 

feel free to add more lemon juice to taste or even a freshly pressed garlic clove to your olive oil. looking for a little more protein...grilled shrimp would be amazing in this salad! 
also, fresh dill could be substituted for the cilantro


enjoy!!



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