Cool Cucumber Salad – Summertime Snack

Cool Cucumber Salad – Summertime Snack

When I’m in the middle of the dog days of summer, I like to change my diet up to reflect the season by eating lighter food and foods that are water-rich, like cucumber. Today I am going to share my cool cucumber salad recipe which you will LOVE on a hot summer day!

Naturally low in calories, carbohydrates, fat, sodium, and cholesterol, cucumbers are a great addition to your daily diet. These vegetables are actually 95% water and a cup of them is nearly as hydrating as a glass of water! On top of the water content, cucumbers also contain important nutrients that support hydration such as magnesium and potassium, bam! Take that thirst! And as if those weren’t reasons enough to eat more cucumbers, here’s one I know will catch your attention; research suggests cucumbers promote anti-wrinkling and anti-aging! That’s right, eat more cucumbers to look younger! I can already imagine the sales of cucumbers going up all over the country now!

Now, you want to make sure that you’re eating the skin of the cucumber because that’s where a lot of the nutrition lies. The peel of the cucumber is where most of the fiber is, which helps sweep through your digestive tract and cleanse the body while it eliminates constipation. The skin is also rich in Vitamin K which is great for your bone health and cell growth. Cucumbers also have a lot of beta-carotene, a type of Vitamin A known for supporting eye health and vision. Is there anything this vegetable doesn’t do?

Let’s talk about the dressing for this cucumber salad for a minute though; it’s 100% vegan but still super creamy and amazingly versatile! The yogurt I used is made of cashews so it’s full of good-for-you fats and only has one gram of sugar per serving! Yay for delicious non-dairy alternatives! I’m not a vegan or even a vegetarian, but I do like to switch it up on occasion and eat vegan or vegetarian from time to time. I also like to have bold, fresh flavors in my dishes so I’ve added fresh dill (and lots of it) and garlic to this dressing! I don’t *DILL* well with bland food!  Seriously though, cooking with fresh herbs not only adds a punch of flavor to your food, but there are a lot of healing and protective properties to herbs! I try to cook with herbs when at all possible! 

One quick tip; if you are making this for an event, make sure you make it a little bit ahead of time so the dressing can mix with the cucumbers and each piece can really get infused with flavor. You will be the hit of the party with this delicious, fresh, and creamy side dish! I promise you, you will be making this all summer long!

Also, are you ready to learn how to lose belly fat and easily drop some weight while healing your body? Come and join me in my next online class where I teach you how to intermittent fast! You can learn more about it over at www.the816way.eventbrite.com. I can’t wait to see you in class! 

copy by Marci West

recipe and photo by Leslie Nance