Salubrious Salads

The wonder of goodness….

A salad dressing can make or break a great meal.. always think of the ingredients in your salad before adding a dressing to make sure they are going to complement each other.

Examples are:

Extra Virgin Olive oil with Italian herbs and seasonings

Coconut oil with curry type spices works well plus the addition of a little hint of sweetness such has a few sultanas, pineapple peices or diced mango.

The Salad

Fresh Greens, baby spinach, rocket, cos lettuce, or your favourite.
Carrot – grated or diced
Cucumber – diced
Sprouts – Mung bean, Adzuki, alfalfa, fenugreek, lentil, chickpea etc
Zucchini – grated or diced
Tomato – chopped
Spring onion or normal onion of your choice
Beetroot – grated or juilienned
Snowpeas – sliced
Sugar snap peas – sliced

Good Fats

Avocado – diced
Extra Virgin Oive oil
Flax seed oil
Nuts or seeds

Place your choice of ingredients into a bowl or container if taking to work, party or picnic etc. Layer the ingredients starting with the hardest on the bottom and place the greens in the center so that you can add the dressing and they will not be sitting in the liquid going soggy….

The dressing

Either in a jar or straight over the salad add

Extra Virgin Olive oil, coconut oil or Flax seed oil
Balsamic vinegar or Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Agave, mirin, fresh orange juice or honey

this is the base of the dressing to which you can add any of the following

Crushed garlic or garlic granules
Fresh ginger grated finely or ginger powder
Fresh or dried herbs, eg Mixed Italian, parsley, coriander, basil, tyme, etc
Freshly ground pepper
Sea salt or Tamari

Sprinkle over salad or place into a jar and shake until combined, then pour over salad when ready to eat.

Extras for that special oomph…

Crumbled Kitz Crackers
Chopped Kitz Active Almonds – flavour to match salad
Sundried tomatoes
Sundried capsicum
Pine nuts
Pastatios
Chopped almonds, macadmias or walnuts
Dried fruits
Chopped apple, mango, pineapple etc
Grated coconut

Let your imagination run wild but do not overdo the amount of ingredients used or you will lose the freshness and wholesomeness of the salad. Keep it simple and it will be amazing.
Remember if your salad is going to be a complete meal to make sure that you have a good balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates by adding a few nuts, seeds, avocado and protein. If you are not vegan you can add fresh soft white cheeses such as ricotto, cottage cheese, boconcini or camembert/brie, eggs or any other type of protein you enjoy. Raw cheeses are fairly hard to find but if you can they would work well in a salad.