Exciting Recipes for salads and vegetables

I've been making a new salad a lot lately and I love it:

Baby spinach/arugula blend
chopped cucumbers
chopped bell pepper (doesn't matter what color)
a little bit of chopped red onion (I chopped all the veggies and put in a ziplock bag to save time for future salads. Lasts all week.)
goat cheese
cooked beets
slivered almonds
homemade dressing (EVOO, balsamic, dijon mustard, minced garlic or garlic powder, pinch of brown sugar, salt and pepper)

I've also been experimenting with bean salads. I made this the other day and it was delicious:
canned chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
fresh parsley
chopped cucumber
chopped grape tomatoes
feta cheese
bottled light greek dressing

Just a note about the quinoa - make sure you rinse it thoroughly to get the bitter coating off before you cook it. I use 2 mesh strainers together cause those little buggers want to fall right through the little holes.

My typical salad includes:

spinach
tomatoes
onion
red and green bell peppers
black beans
chickpeas
carrots
some type of cheese
sometimes chicken and/or avocado
olive oil and red wine vinegar

Bump

I really like oven-baked cherry tomatoes. Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small baking dish, put in 400 grams of cherry tomatoes (for 2 servings), toss the tomatoes around in the olive oil so they're coated. Add some italian herbs, garlic powder and a little bit of salt and bake at 180 C for about 20-25 mins. The tomatoes should be soft and the skin should be cracked, but they should still be firm enough to pick them up without them falling apart completely. They're delicious and sweet and very good for you as well :flowerforyou:

I love a variety of textures in my salads. Water Cress is divine along with raw beetroot grated and also grated carrot adds a bit of sweetness. Green beans, raw peas, celery, sweet corn, spring onion, raisins nom nom nom!!!! Toss it all in a lovely light dressing and munch!!!

224.5 per serve serves 4 people




ingredients
1L (4 cups) water
1 brown onion, halved
2 single chicken breast fillets
1 carrot, peeled, cut into matchsticks
150g snow peas, trimmed, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, deseeded, thinly sliced
1/2 wombok (Chinese cabbage),hard core removed, finely shredded
3 green shallots, ends trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1 tbs fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded, chopped
instructions
Step 1
Place water, onion and chicken in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until cooked. Drain chicken and discard onion.

Step 2
Place carrot and snow peas in a bowl. Cover with boiling water. Set aside for 1 minute or until bright green and tender crisp. Refresh under cold running water.

Step 3
Shred chicken. Place chicken, carrot, snow peas, capsicum, wombok, shallot and coriander in a bowl. Combine lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and chilli in a jar. Pour over salad and combine. Divide among serving bowls to serve.

Some lovely and yummy idea's mentioned here...
Keep in mind on days you need more carbs or are working out that roasted chickpeas and roasted butternut squash are great ways to make a salad more filling..
Plus if you have calories to use up throw on dried fruit/walnuts and I love sun-dried tomatoes and olives for a little 'pow' and flavour...