Sherlock Holmes... the Second

Last night I had a dream that I was a detective at a spooky abandoned resort area, and I was trying to track down a killer. Not only did my bad ass detective skills solve this grimy drama I was also able to save the resort and reopen it. Needless to say I feel insanely accomplished, and probably don't even need to do anything else productive today as I hit my quota with the awesomeness that is Detective Casey. However, I went to Farmer's Market yesterday with the mind set to make something delicious to share...and I cannot let these yummy veggies down!

Gorgeous bounty from Farmer's Market the other day should prove to be useful for this post :)

Now for those of you that are following us on Facebook or Twitter you know that the manfriend and I are doing a raw cleanse. This means that cooking up something in my home would be mean and torturous to our brains. It also means that raw cleanses might affect my dream scape at night....I should look into that. 

So let's talk cleanse for a second: why would you do that? Is it really all that great for you? Where do you get your vitamins/nutrients/anything filling from? These are all important questions that I will let important people answer: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-2372/How-to-Juice-Fast-Safely.html. This information about juice cleanses is very important, and I hope you get a second to check it out. Now we aren't going full blown into the land of juice cleanse in our home this time, and instead have opted for 3 large raw smoothies as meal replacers and then snacking on raw fruits and veggies. 

This pic is too cool not to share! Yeah juice! Credit: http://jezebel.com/

Enter my yummy little work around so I can do a write up on a recipe, lol! I know you were worried that I might fail you this time around, but let me remind you that you are dealing with a true blue detective. (Sherlock eat your heart out.) I will get to the bottom of the problem, solve it, and be awesome! Here is a recipe for a salad PACKED with vitamins, nutrients, and overall fantastic for your health! Whether you are on a raw cleanse or just looking for an extra delicious healthy addition to your plate.

Insanely Healthy Salad!

serves 2

gluten free 

Ingredients:

2 small zucchinis

1 bunch of skinny asparagus

1 very ripe avocado

4-5 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

The base of your salad is the zucchini and asparagus. Cut your asparagus up in small bite sized pieces. I like to do it on an angle so they look fancy. Then use a peeler and peel the zucchini long ways. Keep peeling till you have a good amount of zucchini 'noodles.' Place both in a bowl and set aside. 

To make your dressing place the pitted avocado in your blender. For best results you are really going to want to find a very ripe avocado. Add in the lemon juice, and blend. You are going to get a citrus-avo paste. Pour this into the bowl with the asparagus and zucchini, and stir everything together. **Note, if you aren't doing a raw cleanse feel free to add salt and pepper to taste. 

Presto, you are ready to serve your Insanely Healthy Salad. There isn't any oil in your dressing (huge plus), you have used all raw ingredients so your body can absorb all the nutrients (sometimes cooking can cook out some of the vegetable's nutrients), and all the ingriedents are insanely good for you!

Asparagus:http://www.eatingwell.com/blogs/health_blog/5_powerful_health_benefits_of_asparagus_you_probably_didn_t_know

Zucchini: http://www.livestrong.com/article/334127-the-health-benefits-of-zucchini/

Avocado: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=5

Lemon: http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/health-benefits-of-lemon.html

Delish!