Rainbow Garden Salad with Creamy Lemon Basil Dressing

Are you looking for a healthy dish to serve for St. Patrick’s Day? This rainbow chopped garden salad is the perfect dish! You can serve it in a rainbow style on each plate like the picture, stack the ingredients by color in a glass bowl, or simply mix all the ingredients together in a salad bowl. However you serve this salad, it will look and taste delicious!

Rainbow Garden Salad with Creamy Lemon Basil Dressing

Servings: 4–6 | Time: 30–40 minutes | Difficulty: Easy

Rainbow Garden Salad

Ingredients:

• Grape tomatoes, cut in half
• Carrots, peeled and sliced
• Sweet yellow peppers or yellow bell peppers, diced
• Cheddar cheese, shredded
• Lettuce of choice, shredded
• Cucumber, diced
• Broccoli, cut small
• Red cabbage leaves, cut in thin slices
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 cup water
• 1–2 drops lemon essential oil

Instructions:

1. Place water and quinoa in a small pot, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add lemon essential oil, fluff with a fork, and continue cooking for 5 more minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water.
2. Meanwhile, wash and cut the vegetables and other salad ingredients, and mix or stack the ingredients in a salad bowl or on a plate.

Note: It is best to prepare the dressing first so it has at least 30 minutes to sit in the refrigerator and allow the flavors to mix while you prepare the salad.

Creamy Lemon Basil Dressing

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (or a combination of the two)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper or 1 toothpick black pepper essential oil
• 1–2 drops basil essential oil

Instructions:

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl or blender bottle.
2. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.