Salads. Is there anything you can’t do?
Why should you eat salads everyday?
- This is your chance to get at least half of your vegetable quotient for the day.
- You can mix up your bases so that they are never boring – organic mixed greens, romaine, arugula, spinach, red leaf lettuce, micro-greens, kale.
- Prepare your raw veggies that make it easy to switch it around: grate carrots and beets, have extra spiral zucchini ore squash, chop up celery and cucumbers, think about all the vegetables you loved as a child – snap peas, green beans, radish. Explore not only the rainbow, but textures.
- Roast extra vegetables for storing in the fridge for salads – roasted squash and sweet potato, cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli, carrots. Throw them on.
- Make a “salad” bar and even add anti-oxidant rich fruit like berries for a sweet and savoury combo.
- Add cooked quinoa or brown rice to make it a bowl.
- Add sliced chicken breast or salmon.
Alternate Endings
Simple Dressing
Take one mason jar and place 1/2 cup good quality olive oil with 1/4 cup white wine, red wine, or tarragon vinegar. Add 2 heaping tbsp grainy mustard, 1 heaping tbsp maple syrup and 1/4 cup finely chopped tarragon (or basil). Add 1 tsp toasted sesame oil to switch it up. Shake mason jar).
ACV for ME
I love the bite and the healing properties of apple cider vinegar. Here’s my favourite dressing
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 tsp dijon
- 1 tsp sesame oil (adds a nutty taste to the dressing)
- 2 tbsp water
Whisk all the ingredients in a mason jar
Creamy Caesar
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for one hour
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp dijon
- 1 tsp EACH garlic and onion powder
- Sea salt and pepper
Soak the cashews, the place all the ingredients in a high speed blender. Whiz on High for one minute then store in a mason jar.
Instructions
Prepare your salad ingredients and take 1-2 tbsp salad dressing per person.
Alternate Endings:
The Protein Power Salad: Take three cups salad and add 1/2 cup warm quinoa, a dollop of hummus and sprinkle with chopped almonds.
The Seedy Joint: Take 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds and 2 tbsp hemp seeds. Toss with 2 tsp of maple syrup and 1/2 tsp chili powder. Gentle toast in a non-stick pan for 5 minutes, tossing frequently.