Fresh fennel is an excellent food to incorporate into your Spring lifestyle. Not only is it high in fiber, antioxidants and Vitamin C, it is good for digestion and it is a diuretic vegetable, meaning that it increases the volume and frequency of urination which helps to remove toxic substances from the body. It is fresh, light, crisp and has a mild anise flavor. Adding it to your juicing recipes and chopping it into salads and soups are easy ways to get this health promoting and detox supporting vegetable into your diet.
Fennel Strawberry Salad
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion. Rinse well after cutting and soak in enough red wine vinegar to cover for about 15 minutes (this will lessen the intensity of the onion in the salad.
- 1 large handful of Spring Mix salad greens or Arugula
- ½ bulb fennel cut into ½-1 inch chunks rinsed well and patted dry. Discard the stalks but save the leafy fronds for garnish.
- ¼ of a large sweet bell pepper cut into ½-1 inch pieces.
- 3-4 inch piece of English Cucumber cut into ½-1 inch pieces.
- 4-5 large strawberries cut into ½ inch pieces.
Vinaigrette
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 ½ tsp Red Wine Vinegar
- ½ tsp dried oregano flakes
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp raw honey
- ½ orange – squeezed
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions:
- Chop up vegetables and place in glass bowl.
- Put dressing ingredients in a jar and shake them up
- Serve and enjoy
Fennel Apple Salad by my husband!
Ingredients:
- 1 fennel head, thinly sliced
- 3 apples, julienned or very thinly sliced
- 3 green onions – greens only
Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground mustard
- ¼ tsp ground celery seed
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Instructions:
- Chop up vegetables and place in glass bowl.
- Put dressing ingredients in a jar and shake them up
- Serve and enjoy
Fennel, Celery and Apple Salad by Samantha Gilbert
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 2/3 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 stalks celery, with leaves – stalks thinly sliced, leaves chopped
- 2 large apples, peeled, quartered, cored & thinly sliced (gala and jazz are nice)
- 2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced crosswise
- 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds
Instructions:
- Blend lemon juice and honey, then whisk in extra virgin olive oil.
- Combine celery, celery leaves, apples and fennel in large bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss to coat.
- Season salad to taste with salt and pepper.
Apple-Fennel Soup by Dr. Axe
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 bulb fennel, stalks removed, cored and sliced
- 2 green apples, peeled and chopped
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- 1 knob fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth
Instructions:
- In a pot over medium heat, melt coconut oil. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften. Add fennel and apples and cook until softened.
- Add squash, ginger, salt and pepper and to stir to combine. Add broth, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until vegetables are tender (the longer the simmer, the more flavorful the soup)
- Transfer soup to blender and working in batches purée until smooth. Return to pot, season to taste and heat through.
All of these salads are a great compliment to fish dishes or other proteins of choice. If you add 3 Tbsp hemp seeds to any of these salads or to the bowl of soup, they can be a complete meal on their own.
Enjoy trying something new! That is what Spring is all about – switching it up and creating stimulation and change to the taste buds which will create stimulation and change in the body!
