Summer Strawberry, Brown Rice & Cucumber Salad (gluten-free, dairy-free)

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SUMMER STRAWBERRY, BROWN RICE & CUCUMBER SALAD

A filling, refreshing, tasty and healthy salad for summer

I love summer – but the salads in summer are not always filling (and I like to feel like I’m still getting a decent meal on hot summer’s day, even if I’m not craving a hot winter stew).

This salad is both filling (from the brown rice, avocado and almonds) and is still super summery and fresh with the help of strawberries and other fresh ingredients like cucumber and baby spinach.

This recipe is plant-based as well as being gluten, dairy and refined-sugar free – Plus it contains some protein (almonds, brown rice), healthy fats (avocado, almonds) and some good whole carbs (brown rice, beets and strawberries). 

So yes – it’s fresh and summery… But it’s still a well balanced meal (if you watch my YouTube videos, you’ve probably heard me say that before). This might be my favorite summer salad ever!

Hope you love it as much as I do!

Liezl XO

THE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
-1/2 cup cooked brown rice
-1 to 2 handfuls baby spinach
-1 cup chopped cucumber
-1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
-2 baby beets or 1/2 to 1 large beet (pre-steamed and peeled)
-1/2 small to medium avocado
-1/8 cup dry roasted almonds (can also use raw)
-2 teaspoons coconut vinegar (rice or balsamic vinegar also work)
-a squeeze of lime or lemon juice
-sea salt and black pepper
SERVES 1 (double recipe as desired to serve more)

THE METHOD

HOW TO MAKE IT:
-I add about 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice to a bowl to get started, as this really helps to make the salad more filling
-Then I add some fresh baby spinach, a handful or 2 of that, with about 1 cup of chopped cucumber
-I slice up about 1 cup of fresh strawberries and throw them in, with some pre-cooked beetroot here (I use small baby beets, so I usually just add about 2 of those in)
-You can easily pre-steam or pre-roast beetroots (wrapped in foil if roasted) and then then peel comes off very easily, they can then be added to salads like this
-Then I add some avocado (I use 1/2 small-medium avocado) and some dry roasted almonds (about 1/8 cup)
-I always add some lime juice with some sort of vinegar as a dressing (here I used 2 teaspoons of coconut vinegar, but you can also use rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar)
-And salt and pepper makes the flavors pop so add some of that too!
-I give that a quick toss and serve it on a plate (which just makes extra dishes really haha, so you can just eat it straight from the bowl if you want to)
-Serve fresh and chilled
-I really love this salad, it’s delicious and filling and full of flavor

MADE WITH LOVE BY LIEZL JAYNE XO

Photos and recipe by Liezl Jayne Strydom – for liezljayne.com