Vegan Summer Salad & Dandelion Tea

I have been wonderfully busy freelancing, and being a Beachbody coach. So, as of now I have only one day to blog, along with hosting Real Food Fridays, which kicks off tonight at 6:00 pm central.

We have a Fresh Market here which carries a variety of organic foods with some junk mixed in. Usually when we go we get hungry, they have an area where you can purchase different types of salads. You can get things like chicken salad, tuna salad, spinach deep and much more. One day I was digging on this salad that had broccoli, tomato, cheese, with a yogurt dressing, oh it looked so good. We had bought this in  Illinois from a similar store, theirs had bacon in it, and it was so good. Well this one fell short, it did not taste as good, and did not have much yogurt dressing on it, it was bland.

Well I decided it was easy enough to make my own so I purchased some cherry tomatoes, broccoli, vegan mozzarella cheese, and vegan creamy garlic dressing. I mixed everything together except the cheese, southern man would not appreciate vegan cheese, I added it to my own. So, simple, so good, so healthy, and great for a summer lunch.

Due to my slight high blood pressure I have been retaining water. I do not want to take any meds and discovered that dandelion tea is a natural diuretic. A friend told me she got some organic at Target, so I set to get me some. First let me say it does work, and it is great for that monthly bloat, which I mentioned in my post "Natural Remedies for Monthly Cycle." The thing I thought was so neat about Organic Roasted Dandelion Root Tea by Traditional Medicinals was the little messages on their tea bags. Look at them are they not cute?

Natural diuretic is not the only benefit that dandelion tea holds. Many might know this already, but for those who don't here's a list of other health benefits of dandelion tea.

• Prevent or cure liver disease 
• Gentle diuretic 
• Cleanse the system
• Dissolve kidney stones
• Improve gastro-intestenial health
• Assist in weight loss
• Cleanse the skin including acne
• Improve bowel function both constipation and diarrhea
• Prevent/lower high blood pressure 
• Prevent/cure anemia
• Lower serum cholesterol 
• Eliminate or reduce acid indigestion and gas buildup 
• Prevent/cure various types of cancer
• Prevent/cure diabetes 
• Vitamins and minerals, iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, A, C, B and D

While it is said that dandelion tea is safe for pregnant and nursing women always consult with a health professional first. It is recommended that if you have any present health issue, are on medication, or scheduled for surgery you should consult your health professional before taking this or any other herbs.