The Epic Winter Salad
One of the things we miss most about the summer, other than the obvious, is the gorgeous summer salads that always hit the spot. When the temperature drops, the last thing we feel like is cold lettuce, but fear not – we have a solution. Enter the Epic Winter Salad, which is epic for more reasons than one.
Firstly, it ticks all the boxes when it comes to nutrition.
- It’s super high in fibre. This one meal has over 20g and is sure to keep you feeling fuller for longer.Secondly, it is bursting with flavour.
The ginger maple dressing combines heat, sweet, and umami for the ultimate salad topper. There’s also an option to add 1 tbsp of runny tahini (IYKYK) to add some creaminess to the texture.
Finally, it’s super versatile.
And, easy to prep for the perfect weekday lunch. Whilst it does take a little more effort than a lettuce-only salad, it’s still incredibly easy. We love making the lentils and traybake vegetables on the weekend and then assembling for lunches throughout the week. You can switch up your proteins, add different nuts and seeds, and mix up your fresh veg to keep the salad varied as well.
For the base:
1 cup of cooked lentils, like green, brown, or puy lentils (if making for the week ahead, make 3-4 times this)
For the traybake:
Mixed vegetables of choice; we love cauliflower, sweet potato, red pepper, onion, and orange pepper, but you can use anything you'd like. Chop the vegetables roughly and top with olive oil, salt, pepper and roast at 160F for 30 minutes or until soft, depending on the vegetables. Make ahead and assemble as you go.
For the Salad:
Choose your protein -
- 1 chicken breast: 32g- 100g tuna: 28g
- 1 salmon fillet: 25g
- 200g firm tofu:16g
- 2 eggs: 13g
Choose your raw -
Tomatoes, shredded carrot, shredded beetroot, chopped celery, snow peas, peppers, sprouts, or essentially anything you fancy.
Choose your crunch -
Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or any chopped nuts of choice.
For the Dressing -
During the winter, we add ginger to anything going because of its potent immune supporting properties. This formula is to make a batch ahead and keep it in the fridge to use throughout the week.
- ½ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tbsp of freshly ground ginger (feel free to add more depending on your taste)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Throw everything together in a jam jar and shake to combine. This will keep in the fridge for the week.
Optional -
Top your salad with 1 tbsp runny tahini (which also gives you an extra 2.5g protein).
