The Ultimate Healthy And Easy Summer Salad Recipe
The term ‘salad’ can, nowadays, be applied to a whole range of foods that a few years ago may not have fallen so easily into the ‘salad’ category. Generally (according to google), a salad is ‘a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients’. By this definition, I feel like a salad could be basically anything as long as there are veggies and it’s cold…
I tend to see a salad as the healthier (but no less tasty – in most cases) option on any given menu. As long as there are some leaves involved, it’s a salad. This allows you to get super creative if you’re making your own, and at the moment, with veganism and healthier options on the rise, most restaurants will be able to offer some unexpected and really interesting salads. For me, they will always get bonus points if it’s a warm salad – none of this ‘cold dish’ bull google is trying to feed us.
My favorite summer salad recipe at the moment is a wonderful:
Halloumi, roast carrot, and chickpea couscous salad
This recipe has few ingredients and is extremely healthy and easy to make. Its other ingredients include kale (there we have our leaf, so it’s officially a salad), orange juice and zest, and cumin seeds. It’s a lot fresh, a lil’ spicy, and the couscous can be substituted with quinoa for those who can’t eat gluten like myself – so very adaptable!
The Benefits.
With only 605 calories per serving (if you’re someone who wants to count), this meal is a filling but balanced option. It apparently gives you 65% of your daily protein intake with just one serving too which is fantastic for everyone, not simply the particularly active amongst us.
There are also some more underlying benefits provided by eating some of these ingredients. For example, with the orange juice, zest and kale all packed in there, you’re receiving a nice dose of vitamin C! The cumin seeds are an excellent source of iron and promote a healthy digestion as well as providing a number of other surprising benefits. You receive much of your protein in this meal through the chickpeas which are, in my mind, little super health legume warriors and are particularly beneficial for those following a vegan diet.
Perfect for a summer bbq side, or whole meal!
Everyone knows that one of the best ways to cook halloumi is to grill it – and to grill it on a bbq is even better. This summer salad recipe is one of the best to get everyone outside and round a table, working the grill and eating healthily all together. Remember what I said about a warm salad? Well, this one can be made earlier in the day when it’s not so hot outside, then brought back out when chilled and topped with toasted and grilled warm halloumi. Alternatively, you can make it whenever you want and bring it out of the oven ready to eat then and there! Do what works for you.
It’s a big boy.
This summer salad recipe is cheap and cheerful, but it does go a long way. The whole recipe makes a big tray for the oven, and with two big eaters in my house, it goes at least 3 large meals. I’d advise you to make double or even triple the recipe for a big family sit down, and you’ll be rolling! Not too leafy. Not lacking in taste. Just salty, zesty, sweet filling goodness that’s perfect for sharing.
