Superfy Your Salad
Salads are one of my go to meals, especially during the warmer months. They’re packed to the brim with nutrients, are filling and are loaded with exciting flavours. It’s true what they say…you can make friends with salad! If you’re yet to be convinced, or if you’re getting bored with your usual salad, here are some of my favourite ways to superfy any salad.
To start, let’s go back to basics for a second and chat about how to build a great salad:
Begin with a nutrient dense base: take your pick of leafy greens to form the base of your salad, the darker the better as it indicates more nutrients – options include romaine lettuce, baby spinach, roquette, silverbeet, kale, and mixed greens. I also recommend adding some wholegrains for a source of complex carbohydrates – take your pick from the likes of quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice and more.
Go crazy with vegetables: this is when you load your salad with veggies. Aim to include a variety of colours – tomatoes, cucumber, snowpeas, carrot, capsicum, onion, beetroot, eggplant, pumpkin, cauliflower, the list goes on. Also feel free to get creative with techniques and texture – options include chopping up your veggies raw, grating or spiralising them, roasting them in the oven with herbs and spices, and steaming them. With endless vegetables to choose from and lots of preparation techniques, you’ll never have the same salad twice.
Add quality protein: this is one of the most important steps that’s often overlooked, but protein plays a big role in keeping you fuller for longer and providing you with lasting energy. Make sure you pick a quality protein source like eggs, chicken, salmon, tuna, tofu, tempeh or legumes.
Finish with some quality fats: top your salad with avo, a dollop of tahini or some extra virgin olive oil.
…and now, let's SUPERFY!
Add crunch
My favourite salad topping is my spicy savoury seed sprinkle (deeelicious, easy to make a big batch, and easily stored in the fridge). Other suggestions include hemp seeds, chilli lemon toasted peanuts, buckinis, sprouts such as mung beans or fenugreek, toasted mustard seeds, slivered almonds, roasted walnuts or pecans, toasted pepitas and sunflower seeds, dukkah, za’atar, sesame seeds or nigella seeds.
Get zesty
Use lemon, lime or orange juice as part of a dressing or the zest as a salad topping. Even just add a wedge to the side of your salad and squeeze it on…easy peasy!
Spice it up
Sprinkle dried child flakes on top, mix cayenne pepper into a dressing, or slice up some fresh chili to mix through the salad, or add a dollop of wasabi.
Load with herbs
Fresh herbs are chock full of flavour and all sorts of nutrients. Simply chop or tear up the likes of coriander, parsley, basil, Thai basil, dill, chives, rosemary...or a whole bunch more! If you don't have any fresh, try dried herbs. Also, you might be surprised to discover that your yard hosts all sorts of 'weeds' that are edible and delicious...it'll depend where abouts you live but you might find some celery weed or mallow hiding in your garden (check out Pat Collins work to find out more)!
Dress it up
A wholesome and easy salad dressing doesn’t have to be bland. Try mixing together some miso with lime and ginger for an Asian inspired dressing, lemon and tahini for a creamy dressing, almond butter and chili for some nutty spice, chopped coriander with mashed avo for a hint of Mexican, or extra virgin olive oil with lemon and apple cider vinegar for a dressing with zing.
Finish with ferments
Add some fermented goodness to your salad. There are so many options out there these days – my personal favourite is this fermented salsa (Lewis and Son do a bunch of other fun ferments too). Other great options include sauerkraut and kimchi.
So go on...make friends with salad!