This salad is inspired by a quote I saw recently: “May your day be full of magic and may you not be too busy to see it”.
I’ve banned the word busy from my vocabulary, simply because we seem to use it to prove our productivity and success. The thought of not measuring up because we decide to indulge in relaxation or stillness every now and again, rather than chase the hamster wheel is a little scary, especially for someone who loves naps as much as I do. Storytelling at the dinner table is a lost art, too.
So! May you make this salad and share it with someone else and talk about your day, pack it for a picnic or race down to the beach at sunset and eat it after a salty dip. Or maybe you eat it alone in the backyard with your feet up and listen to the tree frogs. I don’t mean to sound like I am up with the fairies but there is something to be said about catching ourselves every now and again amongst the whirlwind. I see stress as one of the biggest ways our health goals are hindered and I know from personal experience it can be hard to see the magic when you are bogged down and not feeling your best, which is where nutrition becomes even more important to build you back up.
This is a one-stop-shop kind of salad; good quality fats, protein, carbohydrates and a variety of colourful vegetables. It all gets chopped and goes into one bowl, not many dishes and leftovers are great. The base of this salad is spinach, crimini mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, all providing a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals and about four servings of vegetables per person. For those who eat eggs, they are an easy source of protein and omega 3 fatty acids. They are also rich in choline, a nutrient we don’t often hear about but that is a building block for healthy cell membranes and neurotransmitters function that helps to govern mood, memory and muscle function. Choline is most widely available from animal sources but is also found in chickpeas and mushrooms, vegetarians just need to be more mindful.
Ingredients:
1 box or bag of spinach
1 punnet of crimini mushrooms
2 cups of fingerling potatoes
1 sprig of rosemary
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes (or sub zucchini, summer squash, frozen green peas or more greens)
¼ red onion, sliced very thin
1 avocado, diced
½ cup lightly toasted walnuts
6 eggs, boiled
Handful of herbs, chopped
Sea salt
Mason Jar Vinaigrette:
1 tbsp. Dijon
1 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp.
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tbsp. chopped herb (parsley basil etc.)
Sea salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven the 400F. Sliced the fingerling potatoes in half and toss in light olive oil (or avocado or ghee), sea salt and rosemary. Roast for 40 minutes.
While those are roasting, boil the eggs if you haven’t done so already and let cool. In a mason jar, add all the ingredients and shake vigorously.
Chop the cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and red onion. Toss with the spinach and set aside. Chop the eggs or use an egg slicer and add those in.
Once the potatoes are crispy and lightly golden brown, toss them into the salad, along with the herbs, walnuts, avocado and coat the salad generously with the vinaigrette. Lots of fresh ground black pepper and a dash of sea salt to taste.
Sarah is a qualified Nutritional Therapist. Follow her on Instagram at swnutrition.bm
