Super Salad Bowl

INGREDIENTS

Salad bowls are a common meal choice for me and I tend to make them different every time. When I make a salad bowl for lunch or dinner, it’s often because I have a few leftovers in the fridge. When I’m cooking a grain like brown rice or quinoa, I’ll always make extra so that I can add it to a salad bowl the next day. The same goes with foods like roasted veggies, proteins like salmon, chicken or tofu, and salad dressings. So my tip is to always make extras so that you can turn your leftovers into a delicious and nourishing salad bowl the following day.

This is not really a set recipe but more of a guide of what you can put in your salad bowl. So what can we include in our salads for optimal nutrition?

• Greens- 2 big handfuls of: think a mix of dark leafy greens (kale/silver beet/swiss chard), and softer leaves (lettuce/rocket/baby spinach/watercress)

• Grains- handful of cooked wholegrains: you can try things like brown rice/quinoa/millet/farro/pearl barley/rice or soba noodles

• Protein- small handful of protein of choice: cooked chicken breast, oily fish, eggs, lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu, tempeh, falafels

• Vegetables- 1 cup of a mix of any of the of your favourite veg: carrot, cucumber, capsicum, fennel, avocado, olives, celery, left over roast vegetables, green beans, beets, zucchini, grated cabbage, broccoli, ect

• Crunchy things- ¼ cup of any of these or a combination of: almonds, walnuts, pistachio, cashews, sesame/sunflower/pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds 

• Herbs & Sprouts- sprinkle over some coriander, parsley, basil, alfalfa/broccoli/cress sprouts or micro greens

  Dressings options: (whisk all ingredients together)  

• Olive oil based dressing- 2 Tbsp olive oil/ 1 Tbsp vinegar of choice/ salt and pepper)

• Creamy Tahini and Miso- 1 Tbsp tahini, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp Lemon juice, 1/2 Tbsp light Miso paste, 1 Tbsp water, 1 garlic clove finely chopped, salt and pepper to taste

• Asian inspired- 1 ½ Tbsp macadamia nut oil, splash of toasted sesame oil, juice of 1 x lime, ½ thumb size piece grated ginger, 1 x clove garlic finely, ½ small red chili seeds removed and finely chopped, 1 Tbsp Tamari soy sauce, ½ Tbsp of sweetener of choice: honey/agave syrup/maple syrup

  Optional Yummy Extra elements: dukkha, hemp seeds, sauerkraut, goats/sheep of vegan cheese, fruit (apples, oranges, figs, mango, etc)

  Tip: Make larger batches of dressings and keep in air tight containers so that you always have some dressing on hand. If you are taking this salad to work for lunch, take the dressing in a separate container and dress just before eating.