Happy Foodie Friday! When Heather selected watercress for this month’s “Meatless Monday from A-Z” ingredient, I was excited but stumped. I have had watercress at restaurants, and I’ve read a lot about its health benefits – it has tons of antioxidants, making it one of the healthiest (and under appreciated!) greens out there. It’s particularly rich in Vitamins A, C, K, calcium, potassium, and manganese. I often use NutritionData’s system of ranking a food’s fullness factor and nutrient rating, and Watercress scores at or near the top on both! One small study showed that athletes who ate watercress had decreased DNA damage, even after just one serving! And there are several other studies showing benefits as far-reaching as potential cancer prevention (although one such study was funded by The Watercress Alliance, which always makes me discount it a bit!). The point is that Watercress is pretty darn good for you … but I also wanted it to taste good! I remembered that watercress had a bit of a peppery and almost bitter taste, so I knew I’d want some sweetness to balance it out. I decided on a light, lemony dressing with a hint of sweetness, as well as bursts of flavor from red pepper and corn! Do you ever eat raw corn, straight off the cob? I love adding it to salads – so fresh, juicy, and sweet!
To have even more fun with the recipe, I decided to serve the salad straight out of the red peppers. I mean, who doesn’t like an edible bowl? When eating mine, though, I ended up dicing up the pepper and enjoying bites of it throughout the salad … and I’d definitely recommend this, as it was delicious! This fun, colorful, Spring salad is full of veggies and healthy fats, so enjoy it with a side of lean protein for a complete meal!
Watercress Stuffed Bell Pepper Salad
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0
Keywords: side salad gluten-free nut-free soy-free vegetarian vegan avocado peppers vegetables
Ingredients (2 servings)
- 2 large red bell peppers
- 2 cups watercress, roughly chopped
- 2 radishes
- 1 small or 1/2 large cucumber
- 1/2 ear fresh corn on the cob
- 1/3 medium avocado
For the dressing:
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. minced garlic (or 2 cloves minced)
- 1 tsp. agave nectar (can substitute honey or eliminate)
Instructions
Thinly slice your radishes and cucumbers, then cut slices into quarters.
Scrape kernels from half an ear of corn, and add kernels to radishes and cucumbers.
Roughly chop watercress, add to other vegetables, and toss lightly.
Dice avocado (I like to score it like this so the chunks slide off nicely). Add to salad bowl and gently toss again.
Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and agave, with a sprinkle of black pepper if desired. Pour over salad and gently toss until combined.
Cut tops off of bell peppers. Either stuff the whole peppers with salad mixture, or slice in half and serve as “boats” for the salad. Enjoy!
Each serving contains 12g fat, 20g carbs, 4g protein
1-Year Celebration Giveaway Winners!
Thank you all for your kind comments, helpful feedback, and encouragement on my 1-year celebration post. I’m excited to announce the winners – I’ll be emailing you today! Congratulations!
- 1 month of online Barre3 classes … Emma from Be Mom Strong!
- Polar FT4 heart rate monitor …. Kerry from Adventures of Z and K!
- Arctic Zero sampler pack … Jill S.!
- myMix nutrition custom blend … Erin K.!
- Healthy basket of food items … Katie L.!
*By the way, I’ll likely be ordering Katie’s healthy food items from iHerb.com … if you’re a first-time shopper and want $5 – 10 off your own healthy food items, you can use coupon code QSS908!
So tell me in the comments … Do you eat watercress? What’s your favorite type of edible bowl?
Excellent writing. keep it up.
Just discovered your blog while googling Runner’s Box! Congrats on 1year + all the winners. Just wanted to say that this recipe looks so adorable (and easy to make it look presentable to guests!) yet so simple! Will definitely have to give this a try!
Thanks, Carmy! I’m so glad you find my blog! Excited to get to know you better!
You actually found watercress!! This looks so yummy and fresh, I love that you jumped to radishes too. They just go together.And I’m like you – love the presentation of the pepper, but I would make a mess and chop it up before devouring. 🙂
Yes! I had to go to 3 stores, but it was worth it! Thanks for hosting MMAZ!
Oh watercress….I’ve had it at restaurants before on a salad or something but always thought of it as fancy weeds!!! I love using red peppers to stuff ground meat and spices in it but my favourite edible bowl is a recipe I’m tryong to perfect involving a bread bowl!
Apparently, Mcdonalds at one point were going to make their burger boxes edible!!
Haha, it is kind of a fancy weed :). But a delicious and healthy fancy weed!! I also love stuffed peppers with meat, veggies, and spices, and can’t wait to see your bread bowl recipe. And ugh … McDonalds … gross.
Edible bowls? Avocado, peppers, zucchini (more of a boat than a bowl), acorn squash…I kind of have a thing for edible bowls 🙂
Ooh yes, zucchini has to be one of my all time fave edible bowl/boats. Believe it or not, as much as I love acorn squash, I’ve never used it as a bowl!
This sounds so light and refreshing!!
It is definitely light and refreshing, Lauren! Hope you enjoy it!
I’ve never even thought of Watercress as a veggie! How did that happen? I will definitely try this one it looks great
I hope you like it, Deborah! Wish I had reminded you guys of it during the Spring Reset, because I bet most people could have used it for their “new” fruit or veggie!
Haven’t tried watercress, looks good!
I hope you like it, Michele!
I have actually never heard of water cress, but now I want to try it!
I’m glad to introduce you to something new, Becky! When I did my Spring Reset recently, I challenged the group to try to find a fruit or veggie they hadn’t tried before, and to try it. I thought there was NOTHING I hadn’t tried, but I’m slowly finding more and more options!
Watercress ??? Hmmm…..I will give it a try. I’m not sure I’ve ever had it. Can u sauté it like spinach? Hopefully they sell it here in Colorado. 🙂
PS. I loved the picture of the salad plate – it was so……..happy.
Yes! I have never actually sautéed watercress myself, but I’ve read lots of recipes including sautéed watercress, so give it a shot!
Can bread be my favourite type of edible bowl? With french onion soup inside?! Pretty sure that’s the opposite of healthy lol! I need to stop skipping over the watercress and radishes!
Hey, at least you’re getting onions in your soup :). Health is all about balance sometimes, too! As much as I adore soup, French onion is really not my favorite … I know! Go get yourself some watercress and radishes :).
This is such a good idea! I’m always too lazy to cook a pepper, lol! I love watercress, too. When my dad had cancer the doctor suggested eating it because it’s good for shrinking tumors apparently.
I read about some of the cancer shrinking thoughts, Laura! I didn’t post about that in detail because I couldn’t find solid research to back it up (I’m absolutely not saying your dad’s doctor was wrong, just that I only spent a little while looking and didn’t find something I was happy with). Very interesting, thanks for sharing!
First – congrats to all the winners, and again congrats for ONE YEAR of an amazing blog! As I said before, I find that going back to your first post is little different than now – same great voice, same great message!
I have seen watercress, but never had it except as part of a salad, and never bought it for us to use. But hey – Kale is now part of our weekly routine (grilled veggies last night, amazing!), so why not try it on my next shopping trip! Thanks for the suggestion as always!
Can’t go without a smiley 🙂
I hope you do try watercress, Michael! Fun to just have some variety. It’s a bit hard to find, though – I came up short at Kroger and Albertson’s and eventually found it at my dear old Whole Paycheck.
“Whole Paycheck” … hehe, good one 🙂
I have tried a couple of local stores without success, but when I am downtown Corning next week I will stop at the Wegman’s which has loads of gourmet stuff. I don’t even know where the nearest Whole Foods is located (actually just checked, it is over 4 hour drive away)!