Detox Salad (Whole Foods Copycat Recipe)

If you are looking for a way to get more vegetables into your menu, try this delicious Detox Salad. It's a copycat of Whole's Food's version, but it'll save you money and you can control the ingredients.

A neighbor of mine brought this salad to a potluck party and it was a huge hit! Of course, I needed the recipe and she told me it was a variation of “Whole Foods Detox Salad,” but she had made some modifications. I immediately made a batch and modified it even further. Here is what I came up with…

Yield: Serves a large crowd

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Soaking Time: 7 hours

Total Time: 7 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup organic sunflower seeds
1 tsp sea salt
1 head organic cauliflower
1 head organic broccoli
5 large organic carrots
1 cup organic parsley
½ cup organic currants (or raisins or unsulfured apricots)
4 tsp kelp granules
1 TB Himalayan sea salt
Juice of 3-4 organic lemons

Instructions

Soak the sunflower seeds in a bowl of filtered water that has one teaspoon of sea salt added to it. Leave for 7 hours before draining well.
Gather your remaining ingredients.
Trim the cauliflower and broccoli into smaller florets. Peel and roughly chop the carrots. Pick off the larger stalks from the parsley, but you can leave most of them in as we blitz it all anyway.
Blitz the cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and parsley in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Tip the mixture into a large bowl.
Add the drained sunflower seeds, currants, kelp granules, and salt to the bowl. Slice the lemons in half and squeeze in the fresh juice (catch the seeds!).
Mix well to combine before serving.

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Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 90Total Fat: 4.5gSaturated Fat: 0.5gSodium: 470mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 4g

Detoxifying Salad

Let me tell you a bit about why this detox salad is detoxifying:

Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli & cauliflower):one of the phytochemicals found in cruciferous vegetables (sulforaphane) can stimulate enzymes in the body that detoxify carcinogens. This prevents the carcinogens from causing damage to the tissues in our bodies. The sulfa components also boost liver detoxification pathways.
Carrots: Raw carrots are one the best foods to eat when doing a cleanse or detox program because they bind to toxins and waste material and remove them from the colon.Carrots have a lot of fiber which makes your stools larger. Larger stools expose fewer toxins to colon walls and press against colon walls to promote peristalsis. This means that carrots keep you regular. Regularity = toxins out!
Currants: have been the object of phytonutrient research primarily for their unique phenol content, which helps prevent oxygen-based damage to cells in the body. Thus, they reduce oxidatively.
Sunflower Seeds: They are high in selenium which is an important regulator of the heavy metal mercury. Selenium binds to mercury and removes it from the body. They are also high in Vitamin E, which is a potent antioxidant. Vitamin E protects against oxidative damage. Sunflower seeds also aid the liver’s ability to detoxify.
Kelp: Kelp promoted detoxification in the body. It also helps regulate your thyroid due to its iodine content.
Lemons: Lemons alkalize the body and they jump-start digestion.

I pack it in Mason Jars and take it to work for lunch. So easy and portable!!!

Watch the video below for more info:

CLICK HERE to Pin this Recipe

Detox Salad (Whole Foods Copycat Recipe) - Real Food RN (20)

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The sunflower seeds look like they are still in the shell. Are they soaked while in the shell? I have never soaked seeds before. Thank you.
Reply
1. No they are not in the shell, I buy a large bag of raw shelled sunflower seeds (they even sell them at Trader Joes raw and shelled). I keep them in the freezer and they last for months.
  Reply
I am deathly allergic to sunflower ….can you recommend an alternative? Thanks!
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Reply
1. You could either omit them or use something like pumpkin seeds.
  Reply
  1. Thanks, I LOVE pumpkin seeds! I will try this.
    Reply
  2. Perfect!! I just bought some and making it this weekend 🙂 Thanks!
    Reply
2. Yum! I think this would be very tasty with slivered almonds or pine nuts as well. Who am I kidding. This looks yummy with any seed or nut.
  Reply
Wow! Nice recipe. Love it. I like the way you explained the benefit of each ingredient. That is so useful and educational. This actullay reminds of a Sri Lankan salad called ” Gotu Kola ” which looks so similiar. Quite exotic. Just google it and see.
My only question is will this salad keep? I would presume it has to be made fresh and eaten within a day at the most.
Reply
1. I have had it last up to one week in the fridge, in mason jars!
  Reply
Hi,
We’ve recently launched the website Mytaste.com. It’s a search engine that gathers all the best recipes from US websites and blogs in one place. Mytaste.com is part of the world’s second largest family of recipe sites, with sites in 37 countries and hundreds of thousands of visitors every week. We’ve noticed that you have a lot of great looking recipes on your blog that we would love to feature on our site. To read more about how it all works and to sign up with your blog, please visit: https://mytaste.com or send us an email on [emailprotected]. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Site Manager
Reply
Thank you for explaining why each ingredient is important. The texture looks great. I never would have thought of using my blender to make a salad. Thank you for sharing this with the HomeAcre Hop. I hope you’ll join us again this Thursday.
Reply
I just graduated nursing school, and will be taking my NCLEX here in about 2 weeks. I am OVERJOYED to see another nurse who is passionate about real, whole food. I am so excited to start my journey, and to read your recipes! 🙂
Reply
1. Good luck on the NCLEX!!! Glad you are enjoying my recipes 🙂
  Reply
  1. You look good Kate and the recipe is so great. Great blog and the baby so cute, healthy and you sure is shining:) XOXO
    Reply
    1. Thanks Tati! 🙂
      Reply
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing this so that more people can learn the healing power of real food! I would love it if you would link up with us at Healing With Food Friday! https://peelingbacktheonionlayers.com/healing-with-food-friday-5/
Reply
Looks great! How much of this salad should be eaten every day and for how long?
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1. It’s just a healthy salad, not prescriptive 🙂 Eat it as often as you like.
  Reply
Can I assume that the yield is 3 quarts since that is what is pictured?
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1. Yes, plus one bowl that I ate after I made it 🙂
  Reply
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Hi the salad look wonderful and will make it today but, my mum has hashimotos would this be healthy for her to have everyday. Thanks
Reply
1. Goitrogens can be an issue. I would not eat it as frequently. Thyroid conditions do better with cooked cruciferous. You certainly could try steaming the broccoli first to be safe.
  Reply
Thank you for all your outstanding efforts/information; all are enlightening as well as effective! Non dairy turmeric milk (went from 5 to 8/9 hrs. sleep), pumpkin pie refrig.’d oatmeal (no-mus, no-fus, SOOoo KOOL) and am presently embarking on the Detox Salad expressway.
When stress creeps around, DO NOT allow it to get you down! Always remember, good air IN – BAD air out. I am a 66, vet/ptsd, adhd & a pacemaker. We WILL wait on you. You are paying it forward. Thank you 🙂
lb.
Reply
1. Thanks Butch! I am so happy to hear you are sleeping better. Sleep is so important!!! I really appreciate the positive feedback 🙂
  Kate
  Reply
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Could you add protein i.e. chicken/tuna to this?
Reply
1. Yes, it would be different than the detox salad from Whole Foods, but it would still taste great!
  Reply
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I was skeptical because I hate brocolli, but this is actually quite good!
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1. Glad you liked it 🙂
  Reply
Wish I’d seen this recipe first! Early this morning I posted a similar one, perhaps the one you mentioned that started it all, as Recipe of the Day on a fledgling Facebook page I curate, “Cooking with Whole Grains & Whole Foods.”‘
With all the information you provided about how these foods help us detox, this one makes the perfect follow-up to the earlier posting, so I shared it too. Hope it brings you a little traffic.
Thank you!
Reply
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Hi There! I wanted to stop by and tell you how delicious this salad looks. My daughter discovered it on Pinterest. I also wanted you to know that I’ve linked to your recipe on my Weekend Healthy Recipes Roundup. I’ll be giving it a try for sure.
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This looks delicious! I’ll definitely be making this soon. I am not supposed to eat kelp though. What would you recommend as an alternative?
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1. You can just leave the kelp out.
  Reply
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Detox Salad (Whole Foods Copycat Recipe) - Real Food RN (2024)

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Detox Salad (Whole Foods Copycat Recipe) - Real Food RN (2024)