Salads are some of the healthiest treats on the planet. Using fresh and organic ingredients and with the addition of the right dressing, you can be sure that your body will be supplied with loads of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, antioxidants and plant enzymes. There’s a particular salad known to have healing properties — basil and cherry tomato salad. Below you can find the recipe for it. When you read further, you will know how consuming it can help you attain optimum health.
INGREDIENTS
4 cups of fresh, organic and locally-grown cherry tomatoes
1 cup of basil leaves, freshly picked and packed
1 cup of walnuts, crushed
1/2 cup of kalamata olives
Sea salt
PROCEDURE
After washing your cherry tomatoes, cut all of them in half and place in a bowl. Chop basil leaves into thin strips and sprinkle them over the halved cherry tomatoes. Slice your kalamata olives and add them into the mix together with your crushed walnuts. Toss after seasoning with olive oil and sea salt. This recipe yields 8 servings.
That’s the very simple basil and cherry tomato salad. As promised earlier, here’s why regularly consuming this salad can help you stay in the pink of health:
- Basil has antimicrobial properties that protect you from bacterial and yeast infection. Thanks to this aromatic herb popularly added to pizza and pasta dishes, you can save yourself from the constant need to take antibiotics and risk being resistant to certain strains of bacteria.
- Volatile oils in basil make this herb possess valuable anti-inflammatory properties. A compound known as eugenol, in particular, helps prevent and even reverse chronic inflammation, a condition linked to a host of health problems — cancer, diabetes, arthritis, obesity, joint pain, acne, psoriasis, fatigue, brain fog and many others.
- Antioxidants in basil and cherry tomatoes help neutralize excess free radicals, saving healthy cells from being damaged and slowing down the process of aging. Free radicals are also responsible for chronic inflammation, something which antioxidants help improve. In addition, antioxidants help lower bad cholesterol, normalize blood pressure and safeguard the heart and blood vessels from damage.
- Cherry tomatoes have lycopene, a plant-based bright red pigment that is known as a powerful anti-cancer agent. Lycopene also protects the skin from the sun, prevents diabetes, wards off heart disease and promotes good reproductive health. Cherry tomatoes also contain vitamin C necessary for wound healing, healthy skin and a strong immune system.
