For a long time, even after beginning AIP most raw vegetables were off limits for me. They would tear me up and give me indigestion for days. I dreaded going over to someone’s house who had kindly cooked for me only to find that salad was on the menu. I knew how healthy it was and I wanted to eat it, but my body just couldn’t handle it. Looking back now, that just makes me happy for how far I have come. I eat salad almost daily now an no raw veggie sends me running for the hills.

Even though I am still in the process of fine-tuning my digestive health my overall improvement has been remarkable and there are days where I need to remind myself of that.

It is so easy to get bogged down in whatever the challenge of the day is, which for me, right now, is battling intestinal parasites and a tapeworm that I had no idea I had. I get frustrated by the small battles lost; the one day of low energy, the unexpected test result, the site of a small drop of blood, the slight bloating of my belly and I forget about the many wars I have won. I forget about years I spent with my stomach distended to look 7 months pregnant, I forget about the months on end when I couldn’t get out of bed, I forget about the tears I cried in the doctors office when I thought the bleeding would never stop. Honestly, I forget because I don’t often want to remember. Its easier to move forward without too many past memories weighing me down, but at the same time the past adds value to the present. Which is why, I actually look at this simple recipe as a celebration of a healing victory.

You don’t appreciate the deliciousness of a fresh raw vegetable until you can’t enjoy it, so fill up your summer with lots of green goodness, take a break from today’s battle and remind yourself of you victories.

Fresh Broccoli Salad (AIP/Paleo)

Ingredients:

3 cups of fresh broccoli florets

5 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled

¼ cup of raisins

½ red onion chopped

¼ cup of full fat coconut milk

2 TBS honey

1 TBS ACV

½ tsp salt

Directions:

In a large bowl combine your broccoli. Bacon, raisins and onion. In a small bowl combine your coconut milk, honey, apple cider vinegar and salt to make your dressing. Pour your dressing over the salad and toss until all of the broccoli is coated. Serve cold.