Mr. FBBQ and I went blueberry picking! It was so much fun and we had so many blueberries, so of course I had to make a recipe with blueberries! This was a fun recipe to make, maybe because the blueberries were fresh picked and the tomatoes came from our plants in the back yard! Oddly, I have three tomato plants, but only one is yielding a lot of tomatoes. I’m fairly new at this gardening thing. Hopefully next year is more fruitful. Get it? Fruitful. I am such a dork.
Ok, start by cooking your pasta. You can really use any type of noodle you choose. I opted for whole grain spaghetti. I used frozen corn for this recipe, so I cooked that at the same time.
For the salad portion of this dish, we will add baby spinach (and any other greens you choose), blueberries, cherries, and little tomatoes to a bowl. This actual recipe called for blackberries (for which I substituted blueberries) and radishes (which I forgot to buy). I could see how a cucumber would go nicely in this salad as well, but I didn’t have any on-hand so we went without. The acutal recipe did not call for cherries, but I had some delicious, fresh-picked cherries from my friend and co-worker, Tommy and his adorable little son, Jack (shoutout!) so I used those! They were perfect in this salad.
Once your pasta is done cooking and cooled, add it to the salad portion, along with the cooked corn.
Lastly, we will make the avocado dressing! Avocados are such an amazing, healthy food! They are rich in nutrients such as vitamins C, E, K, and B6, along with riboflavin, niacin, folate, magnesium, and potassium. They also provide beta carotene and omega-3s. They have beneficial fats, which slows the breakdown of carbohydrates, which keeps blood sugar levels stable. As someone that struggles with low blood sugar, I can really appreciate this! Avocados are heart healthy and help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Get this-they’re good for your eyes! I can use all the help I can get in this area. Avocados contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which are phytochemicals present in eye tissue. They provide antioxidant protection to minimize damage, including from UV light. The monsaturated fatty acids in avocados also help the absorption of antioxidants and may help reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration. I had no idea! There might even be a link between avocados and cancer prevention! This is based on their level of folate, phytochemicals, and carotenoids and is directly focused on colon, stomach, pancreatic, and cervical cancers. Studies have also found a link between avocados and depression prevention. This is also due to the folate. Avocados are also full of fiber, which aid in digestion and natural detoxification. There are many other benefits to eating avocados. What a super-food! Makes you reconsider avocado toast, doesn’t it? (source credit: www.medicalnewstoday.com)
Back to the dressing! In a food processor (or bullet blender in this case), combine half of an avocado with lime juice, a dash of sea salt, and a bit of cane sugar. Blend it well.
Top your salad with the other half of the avocado, the dressing, some fresh basil leaves, and… hemp seeds! I wasn’t even planning on trying to find these when Mr. FBBQ and I stopped at a little natural health store on our way back from blueberry picking (much to Mr. FBBQ’s dismay) and I found them!! Enjoy this delicious salad with all it’s avocado goodness!
