Six Ways To Sex Up Your Weekday Salads

Tired of eating the same bland chicken salad? Try coconut poached chicken, instead. It’s high in protein and the perfect way to spruce up your salad and, the best part, you can prepare it on a Sunday for the coming week. Coconut milk is rich in fibre, vitamins C, E, B1 and minerals including iron, selenium, sodium and calcium – so it gets a big tick in the nutritional department. Poaching chicken also means you avoid frying and unnecessary oils.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups (375ml) coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 6 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
• 3 x 200g chicken breast fillets, trimmed

Method:

Place the coconut milk, lime juice, lime leaves and salt in a large non-stick frying pan over very low heat and stir to combine. Add the chicken and poach for 12 minutes each side or until cooked through. Allow to cool slightly before refrigerating chicken while still in the liquid. Allow to chill before serving.

* Reserve the rest of the poaching liquid and drizzle over your chicken and salad to finish

Recipe via Donna Hay.

Adding nuts to salads is a great way to add some crunch to your greens. If you’re looking to take it to the next level, try lightly roasting almonds (or any nut of choice) in some honey for a hint of sweetness.  Honey can be high in calories, but it contains flavonoids and antioxidants that reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of almonds
• 4 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Sprinkle of salt

If your everyday garden salad is beginning to bore you, try adding a little citrus fruit. Fruits such as oranges, grapefruit and mandarin are not only great for adding flavour but their nutritional value is also a fabulous way of getting more vitamins into your daily intake. Oranges, for example, are packed full of Vitamin C and are high in antioxidants and dietary fibre – ah-mazing!

Adding whole grains to our salad rotation is an awesome way of incorporating low-GI foods that will keep you fuller for longer and keep energy levels high. Grains such as quinoa, brown rice, and Israeli couscous are perfect for adding that little bit extra whilst also being packed full of vitamins. Eating foods that a high in fibre are important for digestion and great for weight loss – you are less likely to reach for the sugary snacks at 3:30pm.

Try this quinoa salad with pomegranate dressing for a weekly change.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 cups parsely chopped
• 2 cups mint, chopped
• 2 large handfuls, baby spinach leaves
• 1 small red onion or 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 2 Lebanese cumbers, chopped
• 2 ripe tomato, chopped or 250 g cherry tomatoes
• 20 g pumpkin seeds
• 20 g almonds or pistachio, chopped
• Jewels from 1 fresh seeded pomegranate or a handful of goji berries

Pomegranate Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 80 ml cold pressed olive oil fresh ground pepper

Method:

Combine all the dressing ingredients until creamy and spoon over your salad.

Recipe via The Healthy Chef

If you’ve got a green thumb (like we try very hard to) then your veggie garden is probably packed with fresh herbs. Even with the change of season, your plants have likely still had a good dose of sunshine and regular watering, allowing them to hold onto their goodness. Herbs such as mint and flat leaf Italian parsley are great added flavour and also aid with digestion.

This mint, pea and feta salad is the perfect summer addition to our salad roundup.

Ingredients:

• 200g podded fresh peas or frozen peas
• 200g sugar snap peas, topped
• 200g small snow peas, topped
• 100g pea shoots (see note)
• 2 cups mint leaves
• 200g marinated Persian feta

Salad dressings can be very high in calories, making the hard work of eating salads go right out the window. But, never fear – we’ve searched and found a few amazing low-cal dressing recipes that are high in flavour without breaking the healthy balance.

Classic French Dressing

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3-4 tablespoons or 45-60 mL cold pressed olive oil – based on your own taste black pepper and a little sea salt (optional)

Combine vinegar and mustard. Whisk in the oil until creamy looking.

Parsley & Mint Salsa Verde

• 2 bunches parsley
• 1 bunch mint zest and juice from ½-1 lemon – depending on taste 1/2 cup cold pressed olive oil

Combine all the ingredients into a high speed blender like a Vitamix and blend until smooth.

Recipes via the Healthy Chef