Tag: Salads

Asian Kale and Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing

3 Comments

Hi! The recipe that I have for you guys today is a delicious Asian Kale and Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing. About a year ago, I tried making a salad with spinach, chicken, and a so called “peanut dressing” that I’m pretty sure was just peanut butter and soy sauce mixed together. Then last month I wanted to improve upon that Salad, and so I created a dressing that is about 1000 times better than my original attempt, and it doesn’t even have any soy sauce in it because we didn’t have any! I call it a dressing, but really it’s a super versatile sauce. This could go in stir-frys, on roasted veggie bowls, and would be killer in wraps. But for me, it really shines in this Salad full of kale, quinoa, cucumbers, carrots, chickpeas and cabbage. Hope you enjoy!

Asian Kale and Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing

Serves: 3 as a main, 6 as a side

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

  • 3 cups kale, chopped and with the stems removed
  • 3 cups purple cabbage, chopped
  • 1 grated carrot
  • 1/2 a cucumber, diced
  • 1/2 cup roasted chickpeas (optional)
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa

For the Peanut Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp Chile flakes
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup water

Directions:

  1. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. If it’s still too thick, add more water until you reach the consistency of ranch dressing.
  2. In a larger bowl, toss together the Salad ingredients. Add in the dressing and mix until everything is coated.
  3. Enjoy!

Now that I think about it, adding some peanuts on top of this salad would definitely take it to the next level, as well as add some crunch. I’ll have to try that next time! So you Friday;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))))

Greek Pasta Salad

2 Comments

Hi there! When I think of summer I think of barbecues and potlucks, and at these gatherings there’s often a pasta salad. But it’s usually covered in a heavier mayo based dressing, and contains little to no veggies. This Greek Pasta Salad is full of different textures and flavours, while being super healthy at the same time. Crispy chickpeas, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, red peppers, and pasta all get tossed together with a delicious greek dressing. You can even toss in some feta and red onion if you’d like. This is the perfect recipe to bring to a barbecue, or to enjoy as a light lunch;)

Greek Pasta Salad

Serves: 4 as a meal, 6-8 as a side

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Chickpeas:

  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tbs cumin
  • 1/2 tbs Chilli powder
  • 1/2 tbs paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 two allspice
  • 1/2 the garlic powder

For the Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 2 tbs red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 tbs dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad:

  • 2 1/2 cups cooked rotini ( I used pasta made from chickpea flour)
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1/2 a cucumber, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 a can of black olives, sliced

Directions:

  1. In a medium sized bowl, toss the chickpeas with the olive oil and spices. Place them on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.
  2. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients with the roasted chickpeas. Add in the dressing and toss until everything is coated.
  4. Enjoy!

I hope you like this summer recipe! I’ve posted a video of myself making it on Instagram if you need extra directions. See you Wednesday!

Your Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;)))

Basil Week: Tomato, Basil and Avocado Salad

Leave a comment

Hello:) I think that basil is my favourite herb out of the ones that I’ve posted about- the smell of it when you pick it off the plant is just amazing! This salad really showcases fresh basil, along with plump Roma tomatoes and perfectly ripe avocados. The simple balsamic dressing ties everything together. For this recipe, you’ll need to Chiffonade your basil, which basically means to cut it into thin strips. I’ll show you how to do this before giving you the recipe to this tasty salad. Enjoy!

How to Chiffonade

You can use this technique on any other flat leafed vegetable that you want to cut into strips. To chiffonade your basil, lay the leaves on top of each other, then roll them lengthwise.

Proceed to cut the rolled basil the opposite way that you rolled it. Does that make sense? When you unravel the leaves they should be cut into long strips that look like this:

There you go! Use this technique to chop the basil for your salad;)

Tomato, Basil, and Avocado Salad

Serves: 1-2

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 Roma tomatoes cut into eighths
  • 1 ripe avocado, cut into small chunks
  • 10-12 leaves of basil, chiffonaded (I just made up that word)

For the dressing:

  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Toss all of the ingredients for the salad and dressing together in a bowl, and season to taste.

Super simple, but also very fresh tasting and delicious;))) Hope you like it! I’ll see you later this week for the last post of Basil Week, and of Herb Month!

 

Yours Truly,

 

MyDayIsBooked

Dill Week: Hungarian Dill and Cucumber Salad

Leave a comment

Hi!! To continue on with Dill Week, I have a great recipe for a Dill and Cucumber Salad, which I adapted from a Hungarian cookbook:) It traditionally uses sour cream, but I created a lighter version with Greek yogurt. Hungarian food is very homey and fresh-tasting, and I feel like this salad embodies that. The dill really comes through, and the dressing just enhances everything.

To slice the cucumbers really thin, you can use a mandalin if you have one, or you can just use a knife. My cheese grater has one side where you can move the cucumber up and down and it slices thinly. I sliced the onion by hand, and split up the layers so that when I was done I got thin strips. Hope you enjoy this dill-ightful recipe! (Sorry for the bad puns this week😂)

Hungarian Dill and Cucumber Salad

Serves: 2

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2-3/4 of a large cucumber, sliced thinly
  • 1/4 of a medium onion, sliced thinly
  • 2 tbs of fresh dill, chopped
  • 1/2 cup non fat Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Toss the cucumber, onion, and dill in a medium sized bowl.
  2. Whisk together the yogurt, vinegar, maple syrup, paprika, salt and pepper together in a separate bowl. Pour over the cucumber and onion and mix together until everything is coated.
  3. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend everyone! My final dill post will come out soon;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked❤️❤️

Orange Kale Salad

1 Comment

Hi guys;) For lunch today I made a delicious Orange Kale salad. I feel like salads really get a really bad rep, because most of them aren’t very exciting. When I first started eating healthy, all I made was salads, and they were really boring and not very tasty. This kale salad, though, is what a salad should be: fresh, light and delicious!

I know that I’ve posted a lot of recipes this month, and that’s mainly because I’m in a book drought right now and I don’t know what to read next. I’m re-reading the Divergent series. If anyone has any book recommendations for me, please let me know! Anyways, here’s the recipe for my Orange Kale Salad.

Orange Kale Salad

Serves: 2 people as a main and 4 people as a side

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups chopped kale
  • 1 Orange, cut into small chunks
  • 1 Carrot; use a vegetable peeler to create carrot ribbons
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed

For the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

  1. Toss all of the salad ingredients in a bowl.
  2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together.
  3. Add the dressing to the salad and mix well.
  4. Enjoy!

Hope you like this quick and delicious salad! Keep your eyes open for my April Bullet Journal Set- Up coming later this week!

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))