Healthy Salad RecipesHealthy salad recipes can create the usual light green salads, or they can make a hearty salad that can be a full meal. I often eat a hearty salad for lunch, made with a grain like brown rice, plenty of vegies, and a good homemade dressing. If your grain is already cooked, then lunch is quick and easy. I always make my own dressing; it's so easy to do. This way, I avoid MSG, aspartame and all the chemical ingredients found in packaged dressings. I use a good quality olive oil, fresh lemons, balsamic or rice vinegar, garlic and sea salt or herbal salt. These basics make any salad taste good. For a creamy dressing, you might like to add tahini, avocado, almond butter, yogurt, or soft tofu. The olive oil I like is Napa Valley Naturals extra virgin olive oil, organic. I think it's one of the best. Also, flax oil can make a good dressing and gives you healthy omega 3 fats. Be creative with salads. Think outside the bowl! You might like to try sunchokes, corn kernels, edamane (young fresh soybeans) peas, olives, capers, almonds, walnuts, toasted seeds, raisins, beets, marinated vegies, hard boiled eggs, beans, avocado, steamed asparagus, and steamed new potatoes.
Here's some Healthy Salad RecipesHealthy Salad Recipes: Hearty Rice Salad with Turkey serves 1-2 1 cup cooked brown rice 1/2 cup cooked turkey, diced 1/4 to 1/2 cup minced parsley 1 minced garlic clove 1 Tbsp purple onion, diced 3 diced red radish 1/2 grated carrot lettuce leaves The dressing: 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp rice vinegar 1 tsp fresh lemon pinch of sea salt Directions: Mix all salad ingredients in a bowl, and mix dressing separately in a small bowl. Add dressing to salad, taste and adjust seasonings. Serve on a bed of lettuce. In summer, I add cherry tomatoes and basil. yum. Healthy Salad Recipes: Oriental Rice Salad This recipe serves 3-4 people 3 cups cooked rice 2 toasted nori sheets, crumbled 1/4 cup sesame seeds 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas or edamame (if frozen, lightly steam them.) 1/4 red bell pepper, diced mung beans for topping (optional) Dressing: toasted sesame oil, 2 Tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp salt, a pinch rice vinegar, 2 tsps fresh squeezed ginger juice, about 1 tsp Directions: Lightly toast the sesame seeds on medium-low heat in a pan, stirring occasionally. Toast until seeds begin to change color. If you have a suribashi or mortal and pestle, you can grind the seeds a bit. Mix together in a bowl the seeds, rice, crumbled nori, peas, and bell pepper. Mix together dressing in a small bowl. To make ginger juice, grate ginger root, about 1/2 handful, and squeeze it in your hand over the bowl. Add dressing to salad and mix. Serve salad and top with some mung beans sprouts. Healthy Salad Recipes: Simple Green Salad I like to use romaine lettuce because it's crunchier and heartier than most lettuce, but you can use any lettuce for this simple salad. To reduce the salt in olives, rinse them in water, then soak them overnight in filtered water. 3 cups Romaine lettuce, torn into bits size pieces 1/2 cucumber, sliced into half moons 3 red radishes 1/2 grated carrot 1-2 tomatoes, in season 1 clove garlic, minced 6 black olives, sliced, optional 1-2 Tbsp diced purple onion Fresh herbs: basil, parsley, or arrugula, a handful Dressing: 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp rice or balsamic vinegar 1 tsp lemon juice pinch sea salt Directions: Mix all vegetables in a bowl, set aside and make the dressing. Add dressing to salad and serve. Tip: if you have an organic lemon, you might like to use lemon zest. I use a tool called a microplane that is a tiny grater, and I grate the yellow part of the lemon peel. That's the zest, and it's lemony, good for lemon lovers! Return from healthy salad recipes to Home Page
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