Avocado and watercress salad

This lovely, bright salad is a great introduction to the peppery and lovely watercress.

Image by HealthAliciousNess (CC by 2.0)

Watercress is a humble, cruciferous, aquatic green leafy vegetable eaten since ancient times. Long considered food for the lower classes, it has only recently regained popularity due to its high nutritional value. Watercress provides numerous health benefits, including cancer prevention,  blood pressure regulation and healthy bone support. It is rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, iron, calcium and folate. Among other benefits, an increase in folate consumption has been shown to improve cognition and verbal fluency – good news for prevention of cognitive decline!




Prep

• 6 cups watercress
• 1 avocado
• ¼ cup sweet onion
• 1 pomegranate
• ½ cup slivered almonds

Prepare watercress by rinsing in cold water, then removing and yellowed or limp leaves. Trim excess stems. Peel slice avocado. Finely slice sweet onion. Seed pomegranate.
Toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Dressing

• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 4 teaspoons tamari
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  

Whisk together vinegar, tamari, and honey until blended, then stir in oil.

Salad
Toss watercress with enough dressing to coat, stir in onion, pomegranate seeds and almonds.

Serve
Divide watercress among plates, garnish with avocado slices.

Preparation:15 minutes
Serves:4

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