A delicious and beautiful side salad made with red cabbage and apple.

We’re only a few days into January and we’re already exhausted by the fact that we’ve got so much riding on this year. In addition to all our work, blog, and family goals, we have our own personal goals too. We join the masses who, when the clock chimes midnight, commit to healthier living. We’re not unhealthy in general. We don’t smoke, we don’t drink excessively, we don’t eat dessert every day…but we know we can do better. Maybe we could take the stairs instead of the elevator. Maybe, when we finally get into bed, we can go to sleep instead of scrolling through Instagram. Maybe when we eat koulourakia, we can stop at two instead of seven. Or maybe, if we eat more salad, we don’t have to do any of that!

Kale, quinoa and apple salad is the perfect Fall salad

Those of you who grew up in Greek households would probably not be surprised to learn that quinoa didn’t feature prominently (at all) in our childhood diets. In fact, it was only while in university, exposed to so much, that we learned of this ancient Incan food. That was long before the United Nations declared 2013 the “International Year of Quinoa”. One of us was exploring a downtown health food store, an activity which felt other-worldly. At that time, natural health food stores and organic food was something that only the most eclectic concerned themselves with. We were by no means eclectic. We were simply curious, fascinated, and hungry.

One of us loves orange!  One of the brightest and most vibrant of colours, it just screams happiness, don’t you think?  That’s part of the reason this carrot salad is so loved.  How could you be sad, or stressed, or frustrated when you’re eating a salad that is joyful, refreshing and so, so easy to put together?

Carrots have long been a staple in our family meals.  Our parents always tried to find ways to incorporate this versatile root veggie, super rich in beta-carotene and other vitamins and minerals, into our diet.  They add carrots to their fakes and fasolatha, they add a few to the roasting pan when they make roasted lemon potatoes and to the chicken stock when they make avgolemono soup.  When we were young, as we would head out to play, our parents would often pass us raw, peeled carrots that seemed to appear out of nowhere, to have as a snack.  These were never chopped up into rounds or carrot sticks and placed neatly into a plastic bag; they didn’t have time for that.  These were whole carrots, meant to be chomped on as Bugs Bunny would.

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