NEW YEAR DETOX SALAD WITH PINK TAHINI DRESSING

I can’t seem to get enough beets lately — especially roasted beets! Do you guys go through intense phases with food, too? This salad combines all the winter produce I love, in one huge superfood salad. My New Year Detox Salad with Pink Tahini Dressing is overflowing with ultra-clean, nourishing ingredients, antioxidants, and tons of plant-based protein to help keep your new year health and nutrition goals on track. Oh, and the dressing is bright pink! Remember how I mentioned I’ve been feeling inspired by pink hues lately? In this recipe, I show you how to make a gorgeous (and delicious) Pink Tahini Dressing, with all natural ingredients. Stay tuned for a fresh, fun and colourful spin on winter produce!

Do you think it’s a little overboard that I’ve already started incorporating 2016’s colour trends into my food?! Haha. I can’t really help it — when I’m inspired by something it seems to creep it’s way into to all my passions, including food! I’ve been loving pink hues in fashion, beauty and design lately, so it was really only a matter of time before I started eating them, too! Hey, we eat with our eyes first, right?

I came up with this recipe just after the holidays this year, when I was craving some serious vegetables! Don’t get me wrong — I fully enjoy every last bite of decadent holiday food. But my body is so used to eating a plant-based diet that after the holidays are over, I find myself needing massive amounts of veggies. Life is all about balance, right? I tested this recipe for about a week when I was visiting my family (who are brutally honest with me!), and everyone loved it — even the picky eaters.

This salad is chock full of tons of nourishing, detoxifying ingredients like beets, carrots, pomegranates, apples, celery, pepitas, spinach and arugula! I love to eat a big salad for dinner when my body is screaming for healthy fuel. That’s exactly why this recipe was created — to pump your body full of all the good things, while helping to flush and detoxify your digestive system! I finalized the recipe on New Years Day, and thought it set the perfect tone for what you can expect to see in the FOOD category here at JustineCelina this year — hence it’s name.

The dressing recipe took awhile to perfect. But now, everytime I make it, I want to drink it straight from my Vitamix! It’s my first tahini-based dressing, and I love the way it turned out. I’m sure you’ve probably guessed the mystery ingredient that gives it it’s bright pink hue — beets! In the last phases of my recipe testing I decided to add a few roasted beets pieces into the dressing. It blended up into a beautiful, creamy pink shade — perfectly balanced with the natural sweetness and earthiness that beets provide.

Tahini-based dressings are a great way to add clean, plant-based protein to vegan and vegetarian dishes. But, tahini can be quite bitter, so it has to be balanced with enough sweetness and acidity to make it sing. My Pink Tahini Dressing includes powerhouse detoxifying ingredients like apple cider vinegar, garlic, cayenne pepper and a healthy splash of fresh lemon juice. It’s sweetened naturally by 100% pure maple syrup and roasted beets. If you’ve never tried tahini, it’s just sesame seed paste — and it’s widely available at Canadian grocery stores. It’s a versatile ingredient that I love having in my kitchen!

NEW YEAR DETOX SALAD WITH PINK TAHINI DRESSING

Serves 4 – 6

New Year Detox Salad

Ingredients

Roasted Vegetables

• 3 beets
• 4 carrots
• 1/2 a red onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Himalayan pink salt freshly cracked pepper to taste

Salad

• 4 cups of spinach / arugula mixture
• 1 pomegranate
• 4 sprigs green onion
• 2 apples
• 4 celery stalks
• 1/8 cup pepitas

Pink Tahini Dressing

• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1/2 cup water
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp 100% pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 6 pieces of cooked beet

Directions

1. Start by chopping the beets and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Slice the red onion into rings. Add these ingredients to a 9 x 12″ Pyrex dish. Season liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper, maple syrup and a splash of apple cider vinegar.

2. Roast the veggie mixture at 325 °F for 45 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Around the 20 minute mark, stir veggies and rotate the dish.

3. While the veggies are roasting, prepare the salad platter. Start by laying down a bed of spinach and arugula. Then, chop and arrange the rest of the salad vegetables, saving a place for the roasted veggie mixture.

4. Once the roasted veggies have cooled slightly, top the salad platter with them. I like to do this while the veggies are still slightly warm. Then, sprinkle the salad with a garnish of pomegranate arils, green onions and pepitas.

5. Prepare your Pink Tahini Dressing by adding all ingredients to your Vitamix (or similar) and blending until smooth.

6. Pour the dressing over your salad or serve it separately, so guests can dress their own salads. Serve immediately.

Print

NEW YEAR DETOX SALAD WITH PINK TAHINI DRESSING

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hr 10 mins

 

My New Year Detox Salad with Pink Tahini Dressing is overflowing with ultra-clean, nourishing ingredients, antioxidants, and tons of plant-based protein to help keep your new year health and nutrition goals on track. I show you how to make a gorgeous (and delicious) Pink Tahini Dressing, with all natural ingredients. Enjoy this salad anytime you’re looking to get back on track and craving a fun, colourful spin on winter produce!

Course: Main Course

Servings: 6

Author: Justine

Ingredients

New Year Detox Salad

Roasted Vegetables

• 3 beets
• 4 carrots
• 1/2 a red onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Himalayan pink salt freshly cracked pepper to taste

Salad

• 4 cups of spinach / arugula mixture
• 1 pomegranate
• 4 sprigs green onion
• 2 apples
• 4 celery stalks
• 1/8 cup pepitas

Pink Tahini Dressing

• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1/2 cup water
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp 100% pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 6 pieces of cooked beet

Instructions

1. Start by chopping the beets and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Slice the red onion into rings. Add these ingredients to a 9 x 12" Pyrex dish. Season liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper, maple syrup and a splash of apple cider vinegar.
2. Roast the veggie mixture at 325 °F for 45 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Around the 20 minute mark, stir veggies and rotate the dish.
3. While the veggies are roasting, prepare the salad platter. Start by laying down a bed of spinach and arugula. Then, chop and arrange the rest of the salad vegetables, saving a place for the roasted veggie mixture.
4. Once the roasted veggies have cooled slightly, top the salad platter with them. I like to do this while the veggies are still slightly warm. Then, sprinkle the salad with a garnish of pomegranate arils, green onions and pepitas.
5. Prepare your Pink Tahini Dressing by adding all ingredients to your Vitamix (or similar) and blending until smooth.
6. Pour the dressing over your salad or serve it separately, so guests can dress their own salads. Serve immediately.

STILL HUNGRY? MORE SALAD RECIPES

Pomegranate Hibiscus Salmon Salad

Tangled Thai Salad with Ginger Peanut Sauce

Nectarine Basil Salad with Pineapple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Crudité Style Niçoise Salad

What foods can’t you get enough of this winter? I have one more pink-themed recipe coming up with beets and then I think I’ll have my beet fix! Edit: my Blushing Beet Juice recipe is now live. If you try my New Year Detox Salad with Pink Tahini Dressing, let me know how you like it and tag me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Use the hashtag #justinecelinarecipes in your recreations so I can find them! I also have a board on Pinterest for my recipes, if you care to follow along for inspiration. Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Thank you to The Calgary Herald, The FeedFeed and Domino Magazine for featuring this recipe.

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored, and contains my genuine thoughts and recommendations. JustineCelina uses affiliate and referral links, which allow me to receive a small commission when you make a purchase through one of my links. Your purchases help to support JustineCelina.com!