Every now and then, when I talk to people about improving their health, I receive comments like ‘I don’t want to just eat salads all day’, and I probably don’t do much to help quash the stereotype that healthy eating is all about eating salads! This is because I really enjoy salads and I find them tasty and versatile and with a salad, there really are no limits. Take a look at my Healthy Eating in Spring blog to see just what I mean!
Salads are a great, often low calorie, healthy meal option and at the same time they can be a great way to include a good few portions of your 5 A Day too. On top of this, salads can be really cheap, quick and easy to prepare as well as a good way to include a balance of foods from all the food groups.
When making a salad, I try and always include:
- 2-3 portions of salad and or vegetables/fruits
- A portion of carbohydrates to help give me energy and keep me fuelled for longer
On top of these two, I often include some dairy in the form of grated or grilled cheese and/or a portion of protein-rich foods such as beans, hummus, egg or lentils…
However, one of my favourite healthy salad recipes this spring has been the healthy salad recipe below. Mainly because it takes no time, is incredibly quick and tasty and allows for total creativity too.
Ingredients: (Serves 1)
- Around 4 leaves of spring greens (very cheap at this time of year). Or you could use kale or lettuce
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- ½-1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- Some stale bread chopped into little cubes
- Olive oil
- Rosemary
- And then whatever veggies you like. I like using tomatoes, avocado, peppers and spring onion, simply because they really work with this recipe
Method:
- Chop up all the vegetables you’re going to use and chop the spring greens roughly and add them all to a mixing bowl
- Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a sauce pan and allow it to heat for a minute
- After a minute, add the chopped cubes of bread – turning every 30 seconds so they don’t burn
- Meanwhile add lemon juice and the garlic to the spring green mixture and combine all ingredients together well
- Just before the bread has browned, add a few sprigs of rosemary to the saucepan and leave to heat for a minute
- Once the bread is browned and crisp on the outside add it to the bowl with the salad mixture, mix well and serve.
