Healthibella's Salade Niçoise...

I can't tell you what an honour and privilege it is to have my beautiful friend Juli Bailer grace her presence and unified mind-body-soul eating with us. She is the Founder of Healthibella, a Board Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, a Certified Yoga Instructor and Therapist and a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Ambassador for Spain. Korean-born, raised in New York and living in Palma de Mallorca, Spain with her German husband and two children, her diverse background and extensive travels garners her as a culturally-rich life voyageur. She captivates me with her warm sunny personality, simple but radiant healthy food inspirations and her pleasures with wholesome clean eating. Without further ado, here's Juli sharing her gorgeous salad recipe I am deeply in love with...

Juli Bailer, Mallorca Spain

I’m on a mission to prove that healthy food doesn’t have to be dull or stressful. I wholeheartedly believe that whether you're a busy professional or parent, you can learn how to prepare fresh, simple, beautiful meals for you and your loved ones because food is one of life's greatest pleasures and it should be gorgeous and nourishing! That's why I'm so excited to help my Healthibella clients overcome their unhealthy food cravings and dependence on processed Frankenfoods and transform to eating whole, body-loving food and stop yo-yo dieting for good.

I may be a New Yorker living in Spain, but the other half of my heart adores France. A good Salade Niçoise has come to my rescue many times in my travels throughout France-- partly because I adore salads, but also because I strictly limit wheat and dairy and I don’t eat meat, making eating on the road a bit more challenging. (Thankfully, I don’t have severe food intolerances, so once in awhile, I can enjoy “all things French” and carry on.)

In my take on the great French salad, I obviously veered a bit from the tradition, but kept the ingredients I love to have the most: green beans (French haricots verts when you can find them), tomatoes (I used cherry ones in this case because they’re sweet, cute, and less watery), boiled potatoes, cucumbers for crunch, radishes, olives (the Niçoise-type if you can find them), and of course tuna. It isn’t traditional to use fresh tuna and I don’t eat endangered bluefin tuna, so I prefer to use line-caught olive oil-packed Spanish bonito tuna, which are small-- usually weighing less than 12 kg and are therefore less contaminated with mercury than larger species.

The traditional Nice classic also doesn’t include lettuce, which can water down the other ingredients, but if you’re keen to add more greens (which I usually very much advocate!), a crispy Cos lettuce would work well. I like the various textures of this salad and because it has bonito tuna and hard boiled eggs, it is also very satisfying as a meal-- making it the perfect summer lunch. Prepared in this manner, it makes an excellent and gorgeous plate to bring to a garden party-- simply add the dressing just before serving! Bon appétit!

Healthibella's Salade Niçoise
Serves 4 as a main

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and halved
250 g olive oil packed bonito tuna, drained
4 cups green beans (preferably haricots verts), trimmed and steamed
1 large cucumber, seeded and cut into small pieces
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved and lightly sprinkled with sea salt
4 cups small white potatoes, boiled in salted water
1/2 cup niçoise olives
8 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
anchovy fillets (optional)

Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tsp. raw honey or maple syrup
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. fresh tarragon, minced
2 tsp. dijon mustard
pinch of sea salt
dash of freshly ground black pepper
1 anchovy filet, minced (optional, if you know everyone is on board with the fishy flavour)

On a large platter, arrange a row of each: tuna, eggs, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes. (If you’re serving a group, it’s probably better to put the eggs and tuna on one end in case someone on a vegan diet wants part of the salad). Scatter olives and radish slices evenly around the salad. Combine all dressing ingredients well in a clean jam jar or your fabulous Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker. Drizzle with dressing just before serving.

Susan says, "Absolutely exquisite! Beauty on a plate and for the palate and soul!"

Head over to healthibella.com for more about Juli's health coaching programs, Farm To Table cooking courses, health and wellness tips, superfoods, and recipes! Rest assured, the Healthibella way of eating is about balance, not starvation or liquid-only diets, and there is no outdated calorie counting because all calories are not created equal. All Juli's recipes are sugar and wheat-free, and most are gluten and dairy-free, with the majority being purely plant-based and even compatible with the Clean Program 21 day detox-- but you wouldn't know that from a taste test! Her recipes are designed for you to reap nature's whole food goodness to help you reach and maintain your ideal weight, have clear glowing skin, and amazing energy!

Here's to your radiant health, inner serenity, and to gorgeous food for life!... Juli