Creative Ways to Build a RESTART®-Friendly Salad

Summer is almost here and the farmer’s markets, CSAs and your own gardens will be producing a ton of fresh vegetables that are ripe and ready for a summertime favorite – SALAD! Building a salad might feel daunting and if you’re not sure that you have all the ingredients for a recipe, it’s time to wing it! So look in your fridge and see what colorful vegetables, quality protein and healthy fats you have on hand. And let’s get started!
RESTART® Instructor and The RESTART® Cookbook contributor, Kariman Pierce, came up with this guide/template to make it easy to create a salad when you can’t decide what to use, or if you have a just a few things in your refrigerator. We added a few other ideas, too!
The idea here is to be creative, think “outside the box” and discover new taste combinations.
Create a Salad
Start with your vegetables and build a good base. In the picture above, you can see some roasted Brussels sprouts on the edge of the greens plate. That’s a great place to start. Then add some colorful vegetables.
Vegetables
- Greens (green leaf, red leaf, romaine, spinach, arugula etc.)
- Fresh herbs-mint, basil, rosemary etc.
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Celery
- Tomatoes
- Radishes
- Bell peppers
- Sprouts
- Roasted Root Vegetables – beet, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, celery root
- Roasted summer squash, zucchini or cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli or Brussels sprouts
- These are just a few ideas – use whatever is fresh, available and your favorites!
Add some quality protein. We’re showing hard-boiled eggs, lamb meatballs, and sardines.
Proteins
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Chicken, Beef, Pork, Fish – shredded, ground or chopped
- Bacon
- Sardines
Then go for some good fats! A small handful of nuts, avocado and/or a nice simple vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and sea salt add flavor and crunch.
Good Fats & Toppings
- Avocado
- Raw or Dry Roasted Nuts & Seeds – pistachios, pecans, slivered almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds
- Sauerkraut
- Homemade vinaigrette. A great simple one is 2-3 parts olive oil, 1 part lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, 1 clove freshly minced garlic and a pinch of salt, basically to taste.
Here are the directions for easy accessibility!
How to Create a Salad
- Prep 2 large handfuls (per person) of greens and place in medium or large size bowl.
- Choose 2-4 raw vegetables, chop to the desired size and add to bowl.
- Choose 1-2 soft or cooked vegetables (hint, root vegetables or avocado?).
- Choose a protein and add.
- Choose any other ingredients for texture, color and flavor.
- Toss with salad dressing and enjoy!
Hope this is helpful for you and your family! To find more great RESTART® friendly recipes, check out The RESTART® Cookbook on Amazon and Amazon Kindle.
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