Blueberry Spinach Salad

This is a bowl of color, and color is the point. Deep blue berries, bright orange, and a mound of dark leafy greens, tossed together in 1 bowl with no cooking. It is one of the easiest ways to put a real spread of plants on your plate, and it is beautiful enough that eating it feels like a pleasure rather than a task.

Every color here is doing something. Blueberries are a source of polyphenols, plant compounds studied for feeding a healthier gut community and helping the body manage inflammation, and they are a lower-sugar fruit, which is why berries earn a place on the plate more often than the very sweet fruits do. Spinach brings folate and magnesium, and magnesium is involved in the nervous system and in hundreds of enzyme reactions a tired body relies on. The orange and lemon add vitamin C, which supports immune function and helps your body absorb the iron in the greens.

A healing gut thrives on a wide range of vegetables and fruits over the week, not a few on repeat, so let this salad be one bright contribution rather than the whole story. Its generous base of leafy greens fills 1 of the 3 vegetable categories Dr. Terry Wahls leans on across a day in her own Autoimmune recovery, the leafy greens alongside sulfur-rich and colorful vegetables. Arrange it with a little care, take a breath before you start, and let a colorful plate eaten slowly be a small act of tending to yourself.

Ingredients

• 9 cups spinach, chopped (kale works too)
• 1 pint blueberries
• 2 oranges, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries (unsweetened or fruit-juice sweetened, no added sugar)
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

The source recipe is AIP-friendly as written. The only thing to watch is the dried cranberries, which are often sweetened with cane sugar; choose unsweetened or fruit-juice-sweetened ones to keep it clean. For a winter version, a pinch of ground ginger or cinnamon in the dressing suits the season.

Method

• Put the spinach, blueberries, orange slices, and dried cranberries in one large bowl.
• Add the orange juice, olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt. These form the dressing right in the bowl as you toss.
• Toss gently until everything is coated and serve. It pairs well with chicken or fish if you want a fuller plate.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*

*Lower-sugar note: the sugar here is the blueberries, not added sweetener. For less, use a smaller amount of blueberries and lean the bowl toward the greens and lower-sugar berries.*