Fresh and zesty summer salad

By naturopath Sandra Villella

Ingredients

2 handfuls of snowpeas with string removed

1 large carrot peeled

1 lebanese cucumber

(or fennel bulb when in season)

1 handful of fresh mint finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime or lemon

1 dessertspoon olive oil

2 dessertspoons of chia seeds

Salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Method

Slice the snowpeas, carrot and cucumber into julienne pieces. Add the mint, lime juice and olive oil and season. Allow half hour if possible for the flavours to marinate then toss through chia seeds, which will coat the vegetables, just prior to serving. Serve with fresh or tinned fish, or chicken.

The crispness of these vegetables combined with the crunch of the chia seeds and the fresh flavour of the mint make this a refreshing and very easy summer salad. The chia seeds will soften when combined with the salad dressing, so if a less crunchy texture is desired, add the seeds earlier.

Serves 2 generously.

Nutritional information

I am usually sceptical about a food claiming to be the 'new super food'. In the case of chia, these seeds are high in omega-3 essential fatty acids (which may be useful for brain health and to decrease inflammation) and also high in fibre, which is important for bowel health. Given that these are the topics covered in the summer edition of our magazine, I thought it was time to investigate all the hype and create a recipe using these seeds.

Like linseeds (flaxseeds), chia seeds are high in the plant form of omega-3. Chia seeds are not a rich source of phytoestrogens like flaxseeds however they are more flavoursome. I find they are quite palatable just eating them by the spoonful! Chai seeds are very high in fibre however sufficient fluids need to be consumed for the soluble fibre to be beneficial.

Chia seeds can be sprinkled on cereal, yoghurt, fruit or put into smoothies. They can of course be baked into foods like bread, but the cooking (heat) destroys some of the good oils, which is why I recommend eating them raw, such as in this salad recipe.

Content updated November 2010