Unsure about fennel? Make this salad

with citrus, avocado, and wild salmon!

Hello and happy Thursday! I hope you are well. I have a lot packed into this week’s newsletter, including:

• a winter citrus and fennel salad that is sustaining me this week (a great meal prep salad that won’t turn soggy on you!),

• a fresh green ginger smoothie that I’m also very much into right now;

• a few of the heartwarming ways people are stepping up to help our L.A. neighbors;

• my takeaways from a week-long functional medicine detox.

---

What I’m loving this week

First, I want to share a few of the things I’m loving this week. Amidst the tragic L.A. wildfires that have claimed so many structures and homes, and the thousands of people under evacuation orders, it is incredible to hear about the big and small and very tangible ways people are supporting one another, from both near and far.

So this week’s list is dedicated to that— the kind acts that can mean everything to someone in the midst of a crisis.

• World Central Kitchen, founded by chef José Andrés, has mobile locations across Southern California, providing free hot meals to first responders and families affected by the wildfires.

• When traditional cooking isn’t available, the Crockpot can make a home-cooked meal possible. Beth Bollinger put together this free resouce, a PDF featuring 25 nourishing, slow cooker recipes. It’s a wonderful resource for us all, but especially for anyone without access to a stovetop.

• Gaby Dalkin of What’s Gaby Cookin is sharing needs in the form of Amazon lists for families and individuals who have lost so much, and people are stepping in to help “clear the list” every day. ❤️

• Carly Jean Los Angeles (a brand I love!) crowdfunded and contributed over $20k worth of clothing gift cards to give to women and families who lost their homes, clothes, belongings, everything.

This short list is just a few of the heartwarming ways I’ve seen neighbors help neighbors. In my own small effort to do something, I’m donating all new paid subscriptions this week— both monthly and annual subscription amounts— to World Central Kitchen. There’s nothing like a hot meal to nourish and comfort. To upgrade, click on the button below and manage your subscription from a browser (not possible from the app). Thank you so much for your generosity. ♥️

An ode to fennel

This salad will turn you into a fan of fennel, if you’re not already. I realize that’s a bold statement to make, since fennel can be a very polarizing vegetable. But I firmly stand by it because this combo is everything I need in a winter salad, and I hope you love it as much as I do.

I’ve been trying to use more fresh fennel in salads for its lovely crunch, refreshing taste, and health benefits. Fennel’s strong flavor can be off-putting to those who don’t particularly like the taste of licorice or anise (🙋🏻‍♀️), but when paired with the right ingredients, it’s so lovely.

Really, I think fennel is a misunderstood vegetable. Not everyone knows how to use it, what it goes with, how to cook it, etc. etc.

If you’d like a brief 101 in fennel, here’s a good read. This step-by-step from Martha on how to cut a fennel bulb is also worth watching.

This week’s recipe, a main-meal salad, combines thinly-sliced fennel with sweet citrus, creamy avocado, crunchy cucumber, torn radicchio leaves, fresh mint, pomegranate, and wild salmon. I’ve been raving about this salad all week, and have enjoyed different iterations of it a couple of times while on a functional detox (more on that in a minute). It brings together in-season, winter ingredients for a fresh and easily-adaptable meal.

It’s great on its own and extra great when served alongside this creamy cauliflower soup.

Paid subscribers will find the recipe, PDF and nutritional info below- keep scrolling!

Detox recap

I wrapped up the final day of my detox a couple of days ago (I shared a bit about the detox organized by Beth Bollinger last week). It was a really eye-opening experience into how I should better support my health, not just through nutrition and exercise, but by giving it a much-needed reset every so often, removing toxins, focusing on hydration and rest and sleep and energy levels.

Someone in the detox group had made the comment in our chat that she was doing this as a gift to herself. I love that. It made me think about how a simple reframe can switch us over to a mindset of gratitude instead of one centered around deprivation.

What a privilege it is that we can choose to do this for our health and longevity. That we have access to nourishing foods and supplements. That we can control aspects of our own health. That we have grocery stores to make wise food choices for ourselves and our families. That we have kitchens to cook in. That we have information and resources available to us. Indeed, that’s quite a gift.

My biggest takeaways for my own health were these:

• I need to better hydrate (I’ve always been bad at this!) and reach for water and electrolytes throughout the day (instead of that iced coffee).

• I need to better prioritize rest and sleep (I’ve always been bad at this too!). As a working mom of three, including a one-year-old, I know there will be more optimal sleep seasons to come, but trying to prioritize proper rest as much as I can will have a positive ripple effect on other aspects of my health.

• Practice being open minded about new foods and ingredients. We all get stuck in our cooking ruts from time to time and tend to turn to the recipes and ingredients that are familiar. What I was reminded of during the detox is that limitations are bound to push you out of said rut. A week of eating extra clean— including no eggs, nuts, or dairy— helped me re-discover other ingredients that I have strayed away from in low-carb cooking. Plant-based proteins like tofu and tempeh, complex carbs like sweet potatoes and lentils and chickpeas. I’d like to change that. And I hope to creatively incorporate more of these ingredients into a low-glycemic lifestyle.

I plan to do this detox again, hopefully with the full protocol next time which includes a two-day fast.

If you were part of the detox, or have ever done a functional medicine detox before, what was your experience like?

---

Citrus, fennel, and salmon salad

There is tons of crunch in this salad: from the fennel, the cucumber, and the radicchio. Juicy citrus segments and pomegranate (if you have it) add pops of sweet, while the avocado’s creaminess mellows out all the flavors and contrasts all of that crunchiness.

The highlights:

• This salad, with its sturdy and crisp ingredients, will keep for at least two days. So whether you end up with leftovers or you’re looking to meal prep, you can rest assured there will be no soggy salads here (just keep the dressing and the citrus separate if possible).

• It’s super adaptable. If you don’t care for salmon, toss in some grilled or shredded chicken instead! Increase or decrease certain ingredients to suit your own taste.

I wrote the recipe to include two individual portions of salmon, but you can easily scale this up or down, or bake an entire side salmon filet for additional servings.

It also works great with Traeger grilled salmon or these easy air fryer chicken bites.

Yield: 2-4 servings

Prep time: ~20 minutes

Ingredients