Spring Asparagus & Pea Salad

Find balance in your microbiome with this delicious salad. Asparagus is a real winner in nutrition because it’s a prebiotic-rich food. Prebiotics are fiber-rich foods that our intestinal probiotics like to eat. Raw asparagus is even better! Our probiotics use prebiotic-rich foods to make short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which act like anti-inflammatory messengers in the body.

I found it easiest to buy thicker asparagus stalks and used my peeler to shave as much as I could from each stalk without hurting myself. Then I put the remainder of the stalks in the food processor and pulsed a few times to get the consistency right. You can also chop by hand (and not peel at all - much faster!)

Makes four side dishes.

Ingredients

2 bunches asparagus

1 cup green peas or edamame (frozen is fine!)

2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or any other vinegar that you love)

2 tsp honey

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp EVOO

Salt & pepper or Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning, to taste

½ cup toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds, lightly salted

Optional add-ins (so delicious!)

½ cup sprouts

½ avocado, diced

Directions

1.     Whisk vinegar, honey, mustard, EVOO and salt & pepper together.

2.     Hold asparagus stalks at the stem, tip pointing away from you. Carefully use peeler to shave ribbons off the stalks into a bowl. Once it becomes difficult to shave, then move onto the next stalk. Collect remaining stalks and gently pulse in a food processor to desired consistency. If you don’t have a food processor, dice remaining asparagus stalks by hand. (Or skip the shaving and just chop!)

3.     Cook green peas or edamame in the microwave or on the stove top until al dente (a little firm, not too mushy).  Add to the bowl with asparagus.

4.     Whisk the dressing again and then pour over the asparagus and peas. Mix well. Divide toasted seeds and sprinkle on top. Add optional sprouts and avocado (you won’t be disappointed). Serve immediately or refrigerate and enjoy the following day. (To make this a complete meal, consider adding a protein like 1/2 cup organic edamame beans.)

Enjoy!