Zesty Cucumber Salad with Pine Nuts

Zesty Cucumber Salad with lemon-mint dressing and pine nuts is a fresh and simple side dish – perfect to beat the heat during the hot months of the year!

Cucumbers are not just for putting over your eye sockets.

It’s because of this salad that I no longer look at cucumbers just through closed eyelids.

It’s because of this salad that I will be the talk of the barbecue all summer long.

It’s because of this salad and this smoothie that I am no longer bloated.

It’s because of this –

I’ll stop.

Now that it’s sufficiently toasty outside, I’ve been eating salad for lunch pretty much every day.

Creature of habit right here.

As much as I love my chock-full-of-goodies go-to green salad, I like to shake things up and keep it interesting – you know – really push the envelope.

I was perusing the Cooking Light website for something fun and different and I caught a glimpse of this Cucumber and Herb Salad with Pine Nuts. Sold!

I already had a bunch of mint on hand, so I replaced the parsley and celery leaves with it.

It’s because of this salad that I learned about cucumbers. Ready to geek out?

Health Benefits of Cucumbers:

For reasons unbeknownst to be, I’ve always assumed cucumbers have zero health benefits. But after a little research, I learned I was wrong.  

They aid with digestion, strengthen your connective tissue (which helps relieve arthritis), help reduce cholesterol, and lower your blood pressure.

They contain electrolytes and also have a fair concentration of B vitamins and vitamin C, which makes them a nice little hangover cure.

Word has it, eating cucumbers after tying one on will help prevent headache the next day. Wish I had known that little tidbit years ago.

The fact that cucumbers are also an anti-inflammatory is the reason we’ve been looking at them through closed eyelids. They help ease puffy eyes and swelling throughout the body. Hence the lack of bloating.

So now you know. you can add them cucumbers to your water for a little energy boost (or hangover prevention/cure).

What’s the state of your lemon zester?

I had been using a cheese grater to zest lemons all these years; however, I had been looking for an excuse other than cocktails to commandeer a fancy Lemon Zester that makes long zest strips, and this salad provided that excuse.

My zest will forever be changed.

Also check out my Easy Asian Cucumber Salad!

May your weekend be filled with zest and cucumber salad.

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Zesty Cucumber Salad with Pine Nuts

Yield: 3 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Zesty cucumber salad with lemon-mint dressing and pine nuts is a fresh and simple side dish - perfect to beat the heat during the hot months of the year!

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon rind strips
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 3 cups cucumber, sliced (about 1.5 large cucumbers)
• 3 stalks green onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Instructions

1. Whisk together the first 6 ingredients.
2. Peel the cucumbers and slice them into 1/8" rounds.
3. Add the cucumber, green onion, and toasted pine nuts to the bowl and stir everything together to combine.
4. You can serve the salad as is, or add avocado and hard-boiled egg to make it more substantial.

Nutrition Information

Yield 3 Serving Size 1 of 3
Amount Per Serving Calories 145Total Fat 12gUnsaturated Fat 0gCarbohydrates 12gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 2g