SALAD SEASON

After a long hard winter of storms and snow the sun is finally shining!!  I’m sure everyone has welcomed the bit of heat on the bones with open arms.

If we’re meant to eat according to the seasons then sunshine has to mean salads, and lots of them.  Salads don’t need to be boring.  In fact you can do so much to make them interesting.  The only limit is your imagination J

For me, eating healthy and staying on track with my nutrition is all about being organised.  I start to get nervous when I see my stocks of plastic containers stacked up in the fridge depleting.  No matter what I make I make a big batch in one go.  That way I have a few days where I don’t have to cook a thing and I’m less likely to find myself getting hangry which is always a good thing.  I divide each dish into (carefully measured) individual portions so that I can take it with me wherever I go.  So I thought it would be a good idea to use this week’s article to share some of my favourite meat free salads with you and hope that they will inspire you to put a little twist to your salads this summer.

COUSCOUS WITH ROASTED VEGGIES

Couscous is such a handy lunch to make ahead of time that you can easily bring with you to work or eat on the go.

These are the veg I use most often but don’t be afraid to experiment.  You can change the spices around too depending on what you like.

The sky’s the limit!

Ingredients

200g couscous

1 red onion diced

1 courgette diced

1 aubergine diced

1 red pepper diced

16 white mushrooms diced

2 cloves garlic diced

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

Juice 1 lime

1 tin chickpeas

40g sultanas

1 large orange cubed

40g cashews

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Place the couscous, sultanas and spices in a bowl stir well and cover with boiling water

Place a lid on the bowl and set aside while you prepare the veg

Place all the diced veg in an oven dish and bake at 150 for 20 minutes

Mix the roasted veg with the couscous fruit and lime juice

Mix in the chickpeas

Season to taste

Top with some homemade hummus

This makes 4 big portions and will keep in the fridge for 3 days.  This salad would be great with some feta crumbled on top.

HOMEMADE HUMMUS

I started making my own hummus after attending a cookery class with chef Paul Power and I haven’t had store bought hummus since.

It’s so much tastier and healthier.

Give it a go, I promise it’s worth it.

Ingredients

1 tin chickpeas rinsed

2 tbsp tahini

2 cloves garlic

Juice of ½ lemon

¼ - ½ cup chickpea juice

1 tsp paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Drain the chickpeas but keep the juice as I use this instead of oil to get the right consistency

Add all the ingredients (except the chickpea juice) to the food processor

Blitz and add chickpea juice as needed until you get a lovely smooth, creamy texture

Season to taste

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days if it lasts that long!!

QUINOA SALAD

They say you should never eat anything you can’t pronounce except for quinoa; you should eat lot’s of quinoa.  Quinoa is so versatile.  I have quinoa porridge, quinoa chilli and quinoa salad.

Did you know that quinoa is a super grain?

This recipe makes 4 portions and like most of the dishes I make will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days.  You can use absolutely any salad veg you like in this dish, a little bit of what you fancy at the time.

Ingredients

200g quinoa

1 red onion

1 yellow pepper

16 cherry tomatoes

½ cucumber

200g cooked beetroot

200g frozen corn defrosted

200g petit pois defrosted

1 tin mixed beans rinsed

Salt and pepper

Method

Cook the quinoa according to the packet and allow to cool

Defrost the corn and petit pois

Dice all the veg

Mix everything together and add a little beetroot juice to keep it moist

Stir in the beans and season to taste

I like to have this salad with some hummus on top.  It’s so fresh and hearty!

FALAFEL WRAP

This wrap is a real treat.  You can eat it like a flat bread like I did or you can put in a little less filling and wrap it up so you can take it with you.  Again, you don’t need to be rigid with the ingredients.  Use whichever salad veg you like the best.

Ingredients

1 wholemeal wrap or pitta bread

Iceberg lettuce

Red onion

Yellow pepper

Cucumber

Beetroot

Avocado

Beetroot falafels (Aldi)

Hummus or pesto

Method

Bake the falafels for 20 minutes at 200

Warm the wrap

Assemble the wrap and enjoy with a nice cuppa