Lettuce-Free Salad Options

Hello kitchen lovers! Tis the season to start watching what you eat in preparation for the holiday food parade. For me, this means SALAD and lots of it. If you’re anything like I am though, you go to the grocery store, purchase the biggest box of salad greens you can get your hands on, and subsequently watch most of it go slimy in your fridge. After years of wasting some seriously pricey arugula I’ve finally collected a good selection of lettuce-free salads to tantalize your taste buds and keep that salad-wasting in check! Here are three favs to get you started on your own collection:

 

Quinoa Salad

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1/4 cup diced celery
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp fresh grated orange rind
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

  1. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add quinoa. Return to a boil and simmer until water is absorbed, approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a large mixing bowl to cool.
  2. Add tomatoes, celery and parsley to the bowl. Mix together with quinoa.
  3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients to make dressing. Pour over salad and toss well to combine.

 

Nutrients per serving: Calories: 200, Total Fats: 6 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Trans Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 161 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 30 g, Dietary Fiber: 4 g, Sugars: 1 g, Protein: 7 g, Iron: 1 mg

 

Kale Salad

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:

  • 1 large bunch of kale
  • 3 tbsp pine nuts
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 3⁄4 cup chopped red onion
  • 1⁄4 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 1⁄2 cups sliced baby carrots
  • 1 6-oz package Hickory Baked Tofu, sliced on an angle
  • 3 oz diced portebello mushrooms
  • 1 cup defrosted frozen corn
  • 1⁄2 cup golden raisins
  • 1⁄4 cup dry sherry
  • 1 tbsp tamari
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Instructions:

  1. To prepare kale, first rinse the leaves thoroughly, then strip them away from the tough stalk, tearing into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
  2. Toast pine nuts in a small, dry frying pan over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, shaking the pan frequently until the nuts just begin to brown and are fragrant. Set aside.
  3. Heat oil and garlic in a 14-inch stir-fry pan, or wok, for 1 minute. Add onion, bell pepper and sliced carrots. Cook for 3 minutes and add kale. Cook until kale begins to wilt. Add tofu and mushrooms. Cook mixture for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add corn, raisins, pine nuts, sherry, tamari and nutritional yeast. Reduce heat and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve.

 

Nutrients per serving: Calories: 345, Fat: 15 g, Sodium: 366 mg, Carbohydrates: 42 g, Fiber: 7 g, Protein: 14 g

 

Orange Fennel Salad

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:

  • 3-4 Oranges, peeled and sliced
  • Juice and zest of 1 orange
  • Salt
  • Olive Oil
  • A medium-large fennel bulb
  • Balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

  1. Salt the orange slices and drizzle generously with olive oil. Put aside while you cut the fennel to allow salt to bring out the juices.
  2. Clean and quarter a medium-to-large bulb of fennel and slice it. Toss it with the oranges and season with some more salt, and also pepper at this point. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, orange juice, zest, and toss one more time.
  3. Garnish with fennel leaves. Serve.

 

Nutrients per serving: not available

 

Have any recipe suggestions? Looking for a way to make your favourite dishes healthier? Send me your questions and thoughts at info@kalevfitness.com !

Sarah Rathwell – Kalev Fitness Solution

w: https://www.kalevfitness.com t:604-568-6006

e:Info@KalevFitness.com

1 Comment

  1. Christina on March 15, 2012 at 4:22 pm

    Made the quinoa and fennel salad delish ! Going to try some of the other recipes!!! 🙂