Strawberries and avocado are pretty much guaranteed to turn out a good salad when they are paired up. Spinach, a delicate leafy green, bulks it up and adds some iron, an important mineral for energy production. The pre-washed clamshells of baby spinach are a really fast and easy option, the smaller ones have about 8 cups in each, a good size for a large salad for around 4 people. I find spinach to be one of the dirtiest leafy greens and their tenderness makes them get kind of limp if handled too much, so they can take a while to prep for a salad. Continue Reading →
Mediterranean Salad with Spiced Lemon Vinaigrette
The first time I ever went camping was with three foreign foodies in a remote site on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Like many of the best hideaways in BC we had to spend over an hour on an old gravel logging road to get there. Accompanying me was a girl from Turkey who maintained connections to her homeland through flavourful Mediterranean cuisines, a girl from Australia of Lebanese descent who could add just the right spices to make simple dishes impressive and a guy from Australia who had picked up many diverse cooking techniques in his extensive world travels. Needless to say we had more exotic food than the traditional American options like hot dogs and smores (not that I don’t love those too). We made this salad every day and it never got old, a few years later it has come to be one of the main dishes I associate with easy summer food and hot, lazy evenings sitting around with loved ones sharing food and stories. Continue Reading →
Cherry Edamame Salad with Peach Dressing
Eating the rainbow is especially accessible in the summer when vibrant produce is freshly available. A salad like this provides a range of flavors, textures and nutrients through combining vegetables and fruits with seeds and legumes. Continue Reading →
Dragon Fruit Salad Bowl
Dragon fruit adds some interest to a regular fruit salad, both because of it’s name and it’s unique look and texture. This tropical fruit has hot pink skin with large green scales, the characteristic that earned its name, and the white fruit inside dappled with tiny edible black seeds is full of nutrients. Continue Reading →
Tropical Mango Edamame Quinoa Salad
Quinoa salad loaded with a fresh vinaigrette and a rainbow of fruits and vegetables is easily portable, nourishing and light but satiating. They are perfect for picnics and BBQs because they are more food safe then mayonnaise based salads and they will provide lots of energy for fun and games without leaving anyone with weighed down or bloated feelings. The fiber, healthy fats and protein make a whole grain salad like this very filling because it provides everything needed to keep our bodies optimally fueled. Continue Reading →
Mexican Ceviche Boats
Ceviche is a light, simple dish that can be served as an appetizer or side salad. It is prepared by marinating raw seafood in acidic fruit juice and salt, with no cooking required. It originated with the Incas of South America as a way to preserve fish and was then adopted and spread by Spanish conquistadors. Ceviche is versatile and many different regions have different variations, though some of the best and most delicious main ingredients to use are prawns, scallops and rich fish like salmon and ahi tuna. Continue Reading →
Cherry Balsamic Arugula Salad
Arugula is a delicate leafy green with a unique peppery taste. Like some of the other vegetables that are harvested early in Spring arugula has a slightly bitter taste, a flavor not too common in Western cuisines but one that is prized by some of our oldest nutritional schools of thought including Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, “the science of life” from India. Foods with bitter flavors are connected to improved digestion, enhanced cleansing and increased strength and vitality. Continue Reading →
Guacamole Salad with Roasted Chickpeas
Unblended guacamole is basically a salad, and definitely becomes one if you add some lettuce and a light lime vinaigrette. Instead of fried tortilla chips I added in some sautéed chickpeas for extra protein and fiber. Continue Reading →
Fresh Green Spring Rolls with Ginger Miso Dressing
When salad boredom strikes but you are still looking for something full of greens and nutrients, fresh spring rolls are the perfect meal. Here I added in some lime juice doused avocado and used a really salty miso dressing to keep them from being too light. For the rest of the fillers I used some springtime ingredients- pea shoots, fresh basil, spinach, slices of green onion and long strips of daikon radish. Continue Reading →
Chickpea Herb Salad with Spicy Orange Yogurt Dressing
Fresh herbs are an underutilized source of nutrients. Dark leafy greens like kale and collards are well known for their health properties but we often overlook simple herbs. They can be strong tasting but a salad like this with a thick dressing, hearty legumes like chickpeas and the sweetness of carrots can balance them out well. Continue Reading →