[Bright and enticing Magical Peach Arugula Salad is vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, yeast-free, and low glycemic. Suitable for Stage 2 and beyond on an anti-candida diet.]
If you’ve ever been disappointed with answers from medical professionals about your chronic illness–whether candida, Lyme, rheumatoid arthritis or something else–then you likely have delved into more alternative approaches and what they can offer. Even if you haven’t seen a holistic practitioner, you may have spent a good deal of time on Google searching for answers, listening to summits, or reading studies and journals as a way to find out more about what will help you to heal.
Over the years dealing with candida, I’ve come to believe more and more that what lies beneath the illness isn’t always what we think. Chronic conditions are multi-factorial and often manifest differently in different people; finding how to deal with them can be like pulling the knots out of skein of yarn, one thread at a time.
In her new book, Eating Clean, Amie Valpone shares her own experience as a patient with long-term chronic illness that baffled most of the practitioners she saw. In the end, she was forced to dig deeper than any of the doctors whose treatments didn’t help her, and devise what was her own, individual, healing path.
Along the way, she discovered tasty, clean food and a detoxification regimen that finally helped her turn the corner on her health. Today, Amie lives a vibrant, happy, healthy life.
I first met Amie back in 2012, when we were both participants in the Dole Salad Summit in Monterey, California (and yes, it was an astonishing trip!). Even then, barely at the midpoint of her health trials and tribulations, Amie was a lively participant with a positive attitude and optimistic outlook on her health. She didn’t let dietary restrictions of her illness stop her from joining in all the activities and being a major part of the trip.
Luckily for all of us, Amie also began to share her recipes and continued to pursue her passion as a healthful chef on her blog, The Healthy Apple. She brought the same passion and energy to her quest to detox her body, her environment and her mind–and she shares all of that with us in her book.
Along with over 200 scrumptious whole-food recipes that are simple to prepare (almost all are vegan), Amie offers a wealth of information on how to detox, from background information on why detoxing is healthful to a 21-day detox plan; to what to do when traveling, how to detox your home, personal care and cleaning products; and appendices on everything from a 2-week meal plan to anti-inflammatory pantry list, resources on testing and docs, plus “Amie-Approved” products and vendors.
All in all, Eating Clean contains everything you need for a complete overhaul of your food, your life, and your psychological approach to healing. I’ve studied holistic healing and detoxification for some time, yet I came away with lots of new knowledge and ideas from this book. It’s truly a wonderful resource for anyone who’s serious about cleaning up her food or lifestyle.
Amie has generously shared today’s recipe for Magical Peach Arugula Salad. Deceptively simple, this salad is a symphony of flavors, colors and textures. It’s a good thing you can prepare it incredibly quickly, too; you’ll want to dig in just as soon as you’re done.
Magical Peach Arugula Salad
reprinted with permission
Here’s a dish that provides a big payoff for very little effort. It takes about five minutes to throw this salad together, and the combination of peppers, peaches, and arugula is simply beautiful. Serve it in a wide bowl to show off its good looks.
10 cups arugula
5 medium ripe peaches, pitted and diced
2 yellow or orange bell peppers, diced
1/3 cup (80 ml) finely chopped raw walnuts
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, preferably organic
2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar [I used apple cider vinegar]
1 tablespoon (15 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) freshly ground black pepper
In a large bowl, combine the arugula, peaches, bell peppers, and walnuts. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the arugula mixture, toss, and serve.
Serves 6 to 8
Excerpt from Eating Clean by Amie Valpone. Copyright © 2016 by Amie Valpone. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Suitable for: ACD Stage 2 and beyond; refined sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, yeast-free, vegan, low glycemic.
Eating Clean on amazon
Amie’s blog, The Healthy Apple
The Healthy Apple on Facebook, twitter, and instagram
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase using those links, at no cost to you, I will receive a small percentage of the sale, which I use to support myself and keep this site running. So, thank you for supporting rickiheller.com this way!
Subscribe for recipes and more about sugar-free living! Click here to subscribe to RickiHeller.com via email. You’ll receive emails sharing recipes and videos as soon as they’re posted, plus weekly updates and news about upcoming events. A healthy lifestyle CAN be sweet!
Hi! I'm Ricki, cookbook author, professional recipe developer, holistic nutritionist and anti-candida crusader. Let me show you how easy it is to eat plant-based, sugar-free, gluten free food that tastes great! 
I’m loving the peach mixed into salad. It sounds so refreshing and delightfully sweet! Pinned
Thanks, Rami! I thought it was fantastic. 🙂
They will love it! It’s so yummy ; ).