Detoxifying Summer Salad with Lemon Essential Oil Dressing

by Infused Essence

Refresh and renew with this super simple dandelion, arugula, and fennel salad.

Hot summer days are the perfect time to enjoy a refreshing detoxifying salad. You don’t need to buy expensive cleanses or supplements with ingredients too complicated to even pronounce. Nature provides plenty of vegetables that can detox your liver and restore balance to your kidneys and thyroids.


Some of the key ingredients in this super-charged salad:

Dandelion has a seemingly endless benefits: fights off free radicals, stimulates the digestive juices and helps to digest fats and supports the body’s natural detoxification processes. Dandelion is a bitter green that is a super liver detoxifier and grows in abundance in the spring and summer. Luckily large grocery stores have started readily carrying fresh dandelion! 


Arugula is a fibre-full green that helps promote digestive regularity, keeping your tummy happy and feeling full longer - so you resist other fatty foods. It can also help to lower cholesterol, balance blood sugar and reduce the risk of heart disease.


Fennel is another form of food as medicine. The Romans passed this knowledge down to the Italians who commonly have Fennel as an after lunch snack. You typically want to peel the outer layer of fennel and thinly slice the inside. 


Flax Seeds are known as a super fibrous detoxifier, removing toxins as it passes through the intestinal tract. Flaxseeds are also a good source of lignans which can have a protective effect on the colon

Diluting the oils can be a mix of art and science. While there are general guidelines for diluting essential oils, there is room for experimenting with your dilutions. 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Dandelion (Fresh)
  • 5 cups Arugula
  • 3-4 small Radishes (Red or Daikon)
  • 1 Cucumber
  • 1 bulb Fennel
  • 1 celery stalks 
  • 2 Spring Onion 
  • 1 Tblsp Flax Seeds
  • ¼ cup Basil 
  • 2-3 clementines 


Dressing:

  • 2 Cloves Garlic (preferably fresh, powdered if you don’t have fresh) 
  • 4-5 drops Lemon Essential Oil
  • ¾ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (can sub avocado oil)
  • 2-4 TBSPs Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 TBSP Honey
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

 - Wash then chop the dandelion and arugula to your desired size (we prefer smaller bites of greens in a well chopped salad). 

 - Place in a large mixing or salad bowl.

 - Wash all the veggies!

 - Thinly slice radishes, cucumbers, fennel, and celery. Add to bowl.

 - Chop basil to desired size and add to bowl

 - Add flax seeds 

 - Peel clementines and break apart the wedges and add to bowl. 

 - Gently toss before adding dressing


Dressing

 - If using fresh garlic, finely chop or use garlic press.

 - Add Apple Cider Vinegar, Honey, Lemon Essential Oil and Garlic to a deep bowl or large cup. 

 - Slowly add a steady stream of extra virgin olive oil while whisking the dressing.

 - Add Salt and Pepper to taste 

 - Adjust dressing to your taste, if you want it sweeter add more honey, for a tangier taste add more lemon oil or apple cider vinegar, for more of a kick, add another clove of garlic. To mellow out the dressing, add more olive oil. 



*you can also add all of the ingredients to a mason jar and shake vigorously to combine. A nutribullet would also work well here!



Add the dressing to your salad and enjoy!