There are certain meals I come back to over and over again, not because they’re complicated or trendy, but because they taste good, make me feel good, and are easy enough to actually make on a busy day.

This salad is one of them.

It’s simple: lots of crunchy organic cabbage, freshly grated raw carrots, sliced almonds, good quality chicken, and a homemade honey sesame dressing with one very Roots and Leaves addition: Fire Cider.

And yes, I eat the raw carrots very intentionally.

Why I Eat Raw Carrots Almost Every Day

Estrogen dominance is something I personally deal with, so eating raw carrots has become one of those simple things I intentionally work into my day.

Raw carrots can help support the body's natural detoxification and elimination of excess estrogen, and a big part of that comes down to fiber.

Our bodies are constantly metabolizing hormones. After estrogen is processed by the liver, some of those estrogen metabolites are sent through the bile and into the digestive tract to be eliminated. Fiber helps keep things moving through the gut and can help support that natural elimination process rather than allowing as much estrogen to be reabsorbed and recirculated.

Research on higher fiber diets has found increased estrogen excretion through the stool and, in some studies, lower circulating estrogen levels.

So when I say that I eat raw carrots to help detox excess estrogen, this is what I mean. I'm supporting one of the pathways my body already uses to process and eliminate hormones.

And there is research behind this connection. In one study, women eating a higher-fiber vegetarian diet excreted significantly more estrogen through their stool and had lower circulating estrogen levels. Another study found that women consuming a higher-fiber diet excreted about three times as much estrogen through the digestive tract compared with women eating a typical Western diet. Researchers believe dietary fiber can influence the enterohepatic circulation of estrogen, helping support its elimination through the gut rather than allowing as much to be reabsorbed back into circulation.

Other research in premenopausal women has found that increasing dietary fiber intake can reduce circulating estrone and estradiol levels. So while the research isn't specifically saying, “eat a raw carrot to detox estrogen,” it does support one of the reasons I intentionally include fiber-rich foods like raw carrots in my diet every day.

I usually grate one or two right into this salad.

No complicated protocol. Just a really easy way to add more fiber to something I'm already eating while intentionally supporting my body at the same time.

And Then I Added Fire Cider

The dressing is a simple honey sesame dressing, but instead of using only rice vinegar, I replace part of it with our Roots and Leaves Fire Cider.

I usually use one tablespoon of Fire Cider and two tablespoons of rice vinegar. It gives the dressing just a little extra bite without making it overwhelmingly spicy.

Our Fire Cider starts with raw apple cider vinegar with the mother and is never heated. It’s cold infused with organic herbs, roots, fruits, and vegetables like ginger, turmeric, garlic, horseradish, chili pepper, rosemary, thyme, citrus, and onions.

Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, which has been studied for its potential role in supporting a healthy blood sugar response, especially after meals.

I also love incorporating raw apple cider vinegar into my diet as part of supporting digestion and overall gut health.

And if you already love Fire Cider, use more.

You can replace two tablespoons of the rice vinegar, or even all three, with Fire Cider. The more you use, the more of that spicy, tangy Fire Cider flavor you'll taste.

My Everyday Crunchy Chicken Salad Recipe

This isn't a fussy recipe. Adjust the amounts depending on how many people you're feeding or how hungry you are.

For the Salad

• 1 bag organic shredded cabbage

• 1 to 2 raw carrots, freshly grated

• Sliced almonds

• Grilled chicken or gluten free, seed oil free breaded chicken. I love using Good Ranchers.

• Fire Cider Honey Sesame Dressing, to taste

Crunchy vegetables, protein, almonds, and a really good dressing. That's it. Of course you can make it fancier by adding romaine, chow mein noodles and mandarin oranges but I am in my "let's keep things simple" era. 

Fire Cider Honey Sesame Dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (check out my homemade mayo recipe HERE)

• 1/4 cup honey (preferably raw and local)

• 1 tablespoon Roots and Leaves Fire Cider

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Want More Fire Cider?

Mild:
1 tablespoon Fire Cider + 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

A Little More Kick:
2 tablespoons Fire Cider + 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Full Fire Cider:
3 tablespoons Fire Cider + no rice vinegar

I usually start with one tablespoon, but this is one of those recipes where you really can't mess it up. Taste it and make it yours.

To Make It

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together until smooth.

Cook your chicken however you prefer. I either grill chicken or cook my gluten free, seed oil free breaded chicken until crispy and slice it into bite sized pieces.

Add the shredded cabbage and freshly grated carrots to a large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat everything, then add the chicken and finish with sliced almonds.

That's lunch.

And honestly, it's one I could eat almost every day.

Wellness Doesn't Have to Be Complicated

I think sometimes we make supporting our bodies much harder than it needs to be.

For me, wellness often looks like small things repeated consistently.

Grating raw carrots onto my lunch.

Choosing vegetables with crunch and fiber.

Getting enough protein.

Making my own dressing so I know exactly what's in it.

And finding another delicious way to get Fire Cider into my day besides taking a straight shot of it, even though I still do that daily because I love it. 

None of these things on their own are magic. But those little choices add up, and this happens to be one of my favorite ways to make them taste really, really good.

XOXO,
Haley

Studies & Sources:

Goldin BR, et al. Estrogen excretion patterns and plasma levels in vegetarian and omnivorous women. New England Journal of Medicine. 1982. PMID: 7144835.

Gorbach SL, Goldin BR. Diet and the excretion and enterohepatic cycling of estrogens. Preventive Medicine. 1987;16(4):525–531. PMID: 3628202.

Rose DP, et al. High-fiber diet reduces serum estrogen concentrations in premenopausal women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1991;54(3):520–525. PMID: 1652197.