We’re on a salad kick this week at Brit + Co, and we can’t even carry enough totes to stock up on all the veggies we’ve been seeing at our local farmers markets. But who says a salad is just a bowl of greens and a few key toppings?
There are tons of different ways you can remix your healthy lunch staple, from creating hummus-topped crostini to a tabouli-style bowl of goodness. Here are the 5 ways we changed up our salad routine.
Ingredients:
– arugula
– asparagus
– radishes
– scallions
– edamame, shelled
– red onion
– lemon
– walnuts
– feta
– olive oil
– romaine lettuce (for lettuce wraps)
– salt and pepper to taste
How yummy and fresh do all those ingredients look together? One important (and healthy!) thing to note about each of these recipes: No dressing was involved – aside from a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
For most of these, the prep for each vegetable was the same.
– Arugula: Wash and let dry – use a salad spinner if you have one.
– Radishes: Wash and slice.
– Scallions: Chop.
– Edamame: We used frozen edamame so we boiled ours.
– Red Onion: Dice.
– Asparagus: Cut off woody ends and slice all the way up to the top of the spears. Saute the sliced parts for 5 minutes and add in the asparagus tips for 1 minute at the end.
1. Standard Salad: It starts with a standard salad in a bowl.
Toss all of your ingredients together with a drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon, and add salt and pepper to taste. When taking this for lunch, we recommend prepping all of the veggies at home the night before. Then you can make your lunch in less than 2 minutes.
We’re pretty much obsessed with radishes.
2. Arugula Edamame Hummus + Crostini: For this one, we’ll turn a few of our ingredients into hummus!
Throw edamame, arugula, and a few walnuts into your food processor. Add a small amount of red onions if you like. Blend! Add a 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and a wedge of lemon juice and process again. Spread onto a baguette and top with a radish, an asparagus tip, and a little bit of feta. Yum!
We served our darling crostini on a chalkboard cheese tray, of course.
3. Salad in a Jar: If you’re always on the go but want to get your greens, this Pinterest classic (yes, things can be classics on Pinterest) is a great go-to.
Here’s how we layered ours: arugula, edamame, red onions, asparagus, radish slices, scallions, feta, walnuts, and a lemon wedge.
Throw into a bowl when you’re ready to eat!
4. Radish Arugula Tabouli: Okay, we’re using the definition of tabouli pretty loosely here as there aren’t any grains, so you can also think of this as a super chopped salad that doubles as dip.
Place all of your ingredients in a food processor except for edamame. You don’t want it to turn into hummus! Process and then place in a bowl. Chop up some more radishes and add them, as well as edamame. Add arugula and stir together.
You can serve this with pita chips, rice crackers, or just eat it plain.
5. Lettuce Wraps: That’s right. We’re putting a salad in a piece of lettuce – it’s like salad in salad. Meta!
Take your standard salad and up your quantities of radishes and feta. Place in a piece of romaine lettuce or an endive, and chow down!
This is a great way to serve salad at a cocktail party if you want a healthier appetizer alongside those goat cheese arancini.
Which of these salad remixes is your favorite? What other ways do you like to get your daily dose of veggies? Tell us in the comments below.
