So Christmas Day & Boxing Day are well past, but I have been having too much fun with family and friends to post recipes until now.
The salads I enjoyed with my family on Christmas Day & Boxing Day are worth sharing...they were delicious! I have written all the details below for the 4 salads enjoyed on Boxing Day & will happily share more ideas from Christmas Day if you let me know that you would like more, in the comments below. These 4 will give you a cracker start! But first...
It's now 2015...have you had time to sit down & really think about what you would like to achieve?...Have you given yourself time to just sit, feel, think and breathe about what you would like to create, enjoy, accomplish and experience this year? Either in your business, life, or both? The tool that has really helped me this year, asking all the right questions is Leonie Dawson's Create Your Shining Year workbook.
CHICKPEA & GOJI BERRY SALAD (Salad captured bottom left in the above photo)
2/3 cup slivered almonds
400g can organic chickpeas, drained & rinsed
300g orange or mandarin segments
2/3 cup dried goji berries
1 small red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2.5cm piece fresh ginger, minced
1 small red chilli, seeded & diced
1 cup parsley, chopped
125g feta cheese (organic goats would be best - & yummiest - if you can)
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1. Toast almonds in frying pan over medium heat, until golden brown, for about 4 minutes, stirring often.
2. Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Store in refrigerator for several hours before serving. (Serves 4).
PEACH & STRAWBERRY (CHICKEN) SALAD (Salad captured bottom right in the above picture)
Now, this recipe has chicken in it & we made it with organic chicken, however, I just picked it out & feel it would be a delicious salad without the chicken. You could also use Butter Beans, which I think would be delicious, or perhaps marinated tempeh. Yum!
150g mesclun lettuce
2 organic chicken breasts pan fried & diced (optional) - Butter Beans or organic marinated tempeh
250g punnet strawberries, washed and sliced in half
1 avocado peeled & sliced
2 peaches, seeded & cut in to thin wedges
1/3 cup macadamias
Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp raspberry vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1. Pan fry chicken breast & slice (optional ingredient like Butter Beans or organic marinated tempeh)
2. Combine mesclun, chicken (optional), stawberries, avocado, peach & macadamias
3. Dressing: In a small jar whisk all ingredients together & pour over salad just before serving. (Serves 4).
4C SALAD (Orange coloured salad captured in the above photo)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup raw cashew nuts
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp oil
4 carrots
1/4 cup lemon dressing (1/2 cup oil, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup lemon juice)
3 tbsp honey or date puree (dates & a dash of water)
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1/2 cup coriander freshly chopped
1. In bowl combine coconut, cashews, ground coriander, oil and mix.
2. Pour onto an oven tray and bake at 150 degrees for 10mins or until just brown.
3. Grate carrots.
4. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix gently.
NICOISE SALAD (Captured in the above photo)
12 small new potatoes (washed & boiled)
150g baby spinach
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
200g green beans, trimmed & blanched
400g can tuna in brine (you can choose more ethical tuna options at health food stores)
8 pitted black olives
1/3 cup basil leaves
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled & quartered
Dressing:
1/4 cup soya mayo (available from health food section of supermarket or health food shops)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
1. Boil eggs then cool (boil for 8mins & then place them in cold water straight away after boiling them)
2. Steam beans for a few minutes (then place in cold water straight away to make them crispy)
3. Boil potatoes in saucepan for 10-20mins, or until cooked. Drain.
4. Combine spinach, tomatoes, beans and potatoes in a large serving bowl.
5. Flake tuna over the top & scatter with olives, basil & eggs.
6. Combine mayo, mustard & lemon juice & drizzle over the salad. Season with pepper. (Serves 4-6).
** We omitted the potatoes in this salad because we had roasted some organic white potatoes & sweet potatoes with rosemary & served them separately, as we were feeding a lot of people on Boxing Day. This salad is perfect to serve alone, for lunch of dinner, as it is very filling.
So...with all of these delicious new salads at your finger tips, why not make it your mission to try a new one each week? That is one of my new years resolutions - to make one new recipe each week. I have so many fabulous recipes at my finger tips yet I find time skips by & I don't get to making all that I would like. So, this year I plan to make one new recipe each week - by the end of the year I will have tried 52 new recipes! I also endeavour to trust myself more, this is a big one for me, in many facets of my life.
What New Year's resolutions do you have? Let me know in the comments below, I would love to have you share your New Year resolutions (with me & the Seeds Of Health community), in order to keep each other accountable. I would also love to hear from you when you try one of the above salads!
Happy New Year to you all!
It's going to be an amazing 2015...I can feel it! I'm so excited for what lay ahead this year.
Janelle.