If 2023 was the summer of Barbie pink, summer 2024 is Barbie's bratty counterpart thanks to Charli XCX's newest album. You might have seen a distinct shade of green sweeping across your social media accounts lately–called “Brat green”. If the sudden popularity of green and the mentions of “Brat summer” are so confusing, don’t worry! Brat summer is about having fun, letting go, and not taking things too seriously.

That’s why, while both these recipes are a bright Brat green, they’re also super easy to make so you can enjoy them all summer long without any fuss in total “brat” fashion. In fact, you’ll end up wanting to make them 365 days a year.

Brat Green Salad and Avocado Toast

Let’s talk talk about why this recipe is one of my faves. A crisp, light salad in the summer is always refreshing, and pairing it with avocado toast is a great way to make sure you feel full but not heavy and tired after a meal so you can still enjoy your day in the sun.

Of course, I was inspired by the bright green making waves online as a starting point–but make no mistake. This recipe isn’t just made to look good. It’s also filled with nutritious goodies that will sustain and nourish you throughout the day.

You’ll get healthy fats through the avocado and cashews, antioxidants and anti-inflammation from the radishes, vitamin C and quercetin (immune system boost) from the scallions, and more!

To gush a little more about how great radishes are in particular, did you know that they are the only common food high in beauty minerals sulfur and silica, and one of the best vegetable sources of Vitamin C? They also stimulate your liver and help to increase bile flow, all of which contribute to glowing skin. Even better, radishes also contain raphanin, a substance that helps balance thyroid hormones.

Dressing Ingredients

• 1 cup of loosely chopped scallions
• Tip: include the green top part as well as the white stalks towards the bulb. They help create a creamy consistency during the blending process.
• 1 cup of flat-leafed parsley

• 1 cup of avocado oil
• Tip: Olive or sunflower oil make good alternatives if you don’t have avocado oil on hand.
• 4 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1 small, raw clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of minced, fresh herbs
• Tip: I like thyme, rosemary, sage, or mint.
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• Sea or mineral salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• Tip: Use organic pepper as regular pepper is typically covered in pesticides.
• Optional: 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
• Tip: Use an organic lemon as pesticides build up on the outer rind of regular lemons.
• ⅓ cup raw cashews, soaked and strained
• Tip: Sunflower or hemp seeds make a good alternative to cashews.

Salad Ingredients

• 1 lb of mixed salad greens
• Tip: My favourites for this recipe are butter lettuce, spinach, arugula, and/or iceberg lettuce.
• 1 cup of fresh, sliced radishes
• 1 tablespoon of finely chopped scallions
• ¼ cup fresh or dried pomegranate seeds
• Tip: While I prefer fresh seeds, using dried lets you save time since you don't have to de-seed a pomegranate.

Avo Toast Ingredients

• Sourdough bread
• Tip: You can brush a small amount of the avocado oil on the bread before toasting for a nice crisp and added flavour.
• Pesto of your choice
• Tip: I recommend making my pesto recipe.
• Avocados
• Tip: You’ll likely use about a ¼ avocado per slice of sourdough.

Instructions

1. Soak your cashew in advance. They need to soak anywhere from a few hours to overnight to blend easily in the dressing.
2. Wash all your veg thoroughly and dry your greens.
3. Chop up your scallions, radishes, and avocado. For the scallions: Loosely chop the majority, including the green tops, bulbs, and white part of the stalks. With the remaining scallions, finely chop. For the radishes: slice into thin, almost translucent discs. For the avocados: thinly slice or mash (depending on how you like your avocado toast). 
4. Add all your dressing ingredients into a large measuring cup and use an immersion blender to pulverize the ingredients. Mix on high until everything is emulsified.
5. Adjust the taste of the dressing with salt and pepper.
6. Toast your sourdough.
7. While your bread is toasting, toss your salad greens in enough dressing to coat well. Sprinkle in the finely chopped scallions, pomegranate seeds, and radishes.
8. Onto the toasted sourdough, add your pesto, avocado, and some salt and pepper.
9. Serve your salad and toast together for the ultimate green meal!

This recipe is so good that I think about it all the time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.