I used to think I was just really bad at making salads and so would avoid them at all costs. My idea of a salad was some chopped up tomato, cucumber, lettuce and some bland tuna and for some reason I was confused as to why it didn’t taste any good, go figure. These days a big salad bowl is my go to for lunches.
The combinations are endless and there are millions of ways to add extra flavour and texture to a salad but I thought I would just give you a basic recipe which you can tweak and change depending on what you like and what you have in the fridge! I haven’t added in any quantities, because this isn’t like a regular recipe. I really want you to just use whatever you have at hand and get used to mixing things up each time!
Basic Salad Bowl Combinations
- start with a big handful of mixed fresh greens like lettuce, spinach and rocket
- you can also use kale but its best if you slice it finely and add lemon juice and salt and massage it for a few seconds first
Roasted Veggies
I always roast my veggies with some sort of spices over them, these days there are loads of pre made spice blends out there just be careful they dont have tonnes of added salt if your buying them. Other delicious options are dukkah, zaatar, smoked paprika, oregano, curry power, cumin and basically any other spices you have in your cupboard.
- Pumpkin *my fave
- Sweet potato
- Potato (added bonus, cooked and cooled potato is high in resistant starch – great for gut health!)
- capsicum
- zuchinni
- cauliflower
- carrots
- beetroot
- Brussel Sprouts
Steamed / Raw Veggies
- Broccolini * another favourite of mine, anyone else love it way more then regular broccoli?
- Sugar snap peas
- Green beans
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cabbage
- Cucumber
- Peas
- Red onions or spring onions
Obviously there are millions of other options these are just some of my favourites!
Protein
- Roasted chickpeas
- grilled chicken
- Tinned tuna in olive oil
- Marinated tofu
- Lentils
- Black beans
Basically whatever you have on hand, leftovers from dinner the night before are always delicious
Fermented Veggies
- Kim chi
- Sauerkraut
- Pickled veggies
Fats
- Mashed avocado
- oils – hemp, olive or flaxseed are fantastic options
- tahini
Extras
- feta cheese
- nutritional yeast – if you haven’t tried it yet you are missing out
- seeds – hemp, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin are all great
- toasted nuts like almonds and cashews are great additions
- Any herbs you have -chives, parsley and mint are some of my favourites
Carbohydrates
I like to try and get most of my carbohydrates from fruits and veggies however you can definitely add extras into your salads if you choose, some of my favourites are
- quinoa
- brown rice
- freekeh
- buckwheat
Dressing
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- seeded mustard
- lemon juice
- *fire tonic is delicious when added to salads!
I hope this gets you inspired to get creative with your next salad bowl, I truly believe the best and easiest thing we can do for our health is to eat more veggies!
