Plan to be blown away by this amazingly fresh, flavor explosion, crunchy, amazing, must-be-enjoyed-al-fresco-in-a-backyard-lounge-chair-still-warm-from-the-summer-sun while watching the sun go down.

Not to be too specific or anything lol.

I love this recipe because it is such a scrumptious combo of flavors and it brings together all of my favorite things of summer: tomatoes, sweet corn, and basil!

My mom and dad always said: “there are a few things that money can’t buy … true love and home grown tomatoes”. Nothing has ever been truer. Love you guys so much!!

Okay onto the recipe.

This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Salad Samurai by Terry Hope Romero. You will ever eat a boring salad again if you buy this book!

I have adapted many recipes from her book over the years because I love the way she incorporates so many fabulous flavors, textures, and all the gifts of the plant kingdom.

I am all about innovating and changing things up depending on my mood and my tastes, plus I like to bring my own flair to things.

While I’m not a vegan, I definitely consider myself plant-based because the bulk of what I eat are plants. I don’t think you need to be a vegan to be plant-based or plant focused or plant centric.

You’ve gotta do what works for you. And eating a small amount of animal protein works best for me!

Why I love this recipe:

I love it because it is the perfect dish to enjoy in the summer time. It is also the perfect dish to enjoy when you are in your ovulatory phase, or your INTERNAL summer.

When we enter into our ovulatory phase (3-4 days post follicular phase), our bodies are in an internal, natural summer. So when our internal worlds match the outer world, we are in epic balance and its wonderful to tap into the energy that follows when our bodies and the seasons align!

What’s happening hormonally during these 3-4 days is there is a sharp rise in FSH, followed by an increase in LH. This stimulates one follicle to swell and burst, which will then release an egg into one of our fallopian tubes. Estrogen continues to increase, continuing to thicken the uterine lining in case that egg gets fertilized. Testosterone surges too, hence our increased feelings of juicy, randy, fertilize me baby energy, lol.

THE OVULATORY PHASE IS A WONDERFUL TIME TO CONSUME RAW OR LIGHTLY STEAMED FRUITS AND VEGGIES BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE A BUTTLOAD OF ANTIOXIDANT SUPPORT AND ENZYMES

ANTIOXIDANTS PROMOTE VASCULAR AND ANTIOXIDATIVE WELLBEING FOR YOUR OVARIES SO YOU CAN RELEASE THE HEALTHIEST EGG POSSIBLE WHEN ITS TIME TO OVULATE!

You do have a surplus of estrogen circulating (this is normal), so you want to make sure your body is metabolizing and eliminating this estrogen efficiently. Filling up on veggies is wonderful for the above mentioned antioxidant support, but also for adding fiber to your diet so you can, yep! Poop out all that estrogen.

Also, because it’s summer, and because your body is in its internal summer, it can tolerate foods on the raw side or prepared in a lighter way like steaming.

(no wonder fresh watermelon, raw salads, stone fruits, freshly picked berries, and tomatoes straight off the vine taste so good in the summer — the body naturally craves them!)

You can enjoy this dish with the lemongrass tofu that comes suggested with this dish (recipe below), but I added a scoop of ground bison meat and it was DIVINE. But my vegetarian husband would tell you that the lemongrass tofu was ALSO divine. So everyone should be happy whilst eating this dish :) Most of all your ovaries and that cute little egg you’re about to ovulate!!

OKAY ONTO THE GOOD STUFF!!

Roasted Corn Summer Salad For Ovulation

(pro tip: start soaking the cashews as soon as you’re ready to start prepping dinner, b/c they need about 30 minutes to soak)

Cook up 1 cup of quinoa to serve along with this dish

Ingredients for the salad:

• 4 cups roasted sweet corn

• 4 scallions

• 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

• 2/3 cups of the dressing (see below)

• 2 TBS lime juice

• 1-2 tsp siracha (depending on how spicy you like it!)

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

• 1 tsp garam masala (optional, but AMAZING)

• 1/2 avocado (optional)

Ingredients for the lemongrass tofu:

• 1 pound extra-firm tofu

• 2 TBS maple syrup

• 4 tsp tamari

• 1 TBS finely chopped fresh lemongrass

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 2 tsp EVOO

Directions for the tofu:

Preheat your oven to 400.

Press your tofu (to eliminate the excess moisture).

Slice the tofu into thin strips.

Combine the maple syrup, tamari, lemongrass, garlic, and EVOO in a baking dish and whisk together.

Arrange the tofu slices in a ceramic baking dish, and pour the marinade over top of the tofu.

Make sure all of the tofu has been coated with the marinade.

Bake for 20 minutes, then flip the pieces of tofu over.

Bake for another 15-ish minutes until the tofu is golden brown and the marinade is absorbed.

Ingredients for the dressing:

• 1/2 cup unroasted cashews

• 3/4 cup hot water

• 2 TBS lemon juice

• 1 TBS EVOO

• 2 cloves garlic

• 2 tsp white miso

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

Directions for the dressing:

Soak the cashews in the hot water for 30 minutes.

Then pour into a blender like the vitamix, blendtec, or a nutribullet (including the soaking water) and blend until very smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth.

Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to use!

Directions for the salad:

Cut the corn off the cob and roast it in a cast iron skillet until the corn starts to brown. Or you could roast the corn cobs on a grill, and then cut the kernels off the cob after they are roasted.

Combine the corn, scallions, cilantro, basil, and tomatoes in a large bowl.

Whisk together the dressing, the siracha and the lime juice until smooth.

Now would be when you would add in your lemongrass tofu or your bison meat or any other protein that you like.

Add the dressing to the veggies + tofu/bison/protein, and toss.

Transfer to serving bowls with a scoop of cooked quinoa in the bottom.

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the coconut, stirring for about 5 ish minutes, or until they turn goldeny brown.

Remove from the pan and sprinkle the coconut over the salads.

Finally, top with the garam masala and avocado and serve immediately!

**I served this salad over quinoa because it’s a complex carbohydrate, full of protein, and a wonderful seed to consume during your ovulatory phase. Plus the quinoa gets to mop up all that sexy dressing goodness and is just a nice addition to beefing up the salad. And I think avocado is a nice addition to any salad, especially with flavors like tomatoes and cilantro. The whole thing just marries together in the most lovely way!

What did you think of this recipe? Do you like learning about eating for your cycle? Tell me in the comments below!

Xoxo,

Emily 😊