Tag: salads

Brussel Sprouts Salad with Cranberries and Almonds

Melissa King 10 Comments

The other day, we ate at Whole Foods.  I love the selections in their salad bar.  So many items are actually organic now.  Anyway, I had this delicious Brussel sprouts salad.

So I took a picture of the ingredients and tried to re-create a similar dish at home.  My Brussel sprout salad is slightly different.  It is also very tasty!

 

Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries and Almonds - My Whole Food Life P

 

Now that the weather is warming up, this Brussel sprouts salad would be perfect to take to a spring party.   Or you could make it for Easter as well.

I have only recently become a fan of Brussel sprouts.  If you are on the fence about them, I highly advise you to try my Maple Glazed Brussel Sprouts or my Honey Balsamic Brussel Sprouts.

Read More

Toasted Sesame Asian Dressing

Melissa King 42 Comments

Toasted Sesame Asian Dressing.  It’s so hard to find sesame Asian salad dressing without a lot of sugar and other additives.

That is why I make homemade salad dressing.  Homemade sesame Asian salad dressing gives you the freedom to add whatever you like, without all the added sugar.

Homemade Asian dressings are notorious for adding lots of sugar or high fructose corn syrup.  This homemade toasted sesame dressing is packed with flavor and without the sugar.

All you need is 3 ingredients and under 5 minutes!  The nutty flavor of the toasted sesame oil really makes this Asian Sesame Dressing stand out.

 

Toasted Sesame Asian Dressing - My Whole Food Life 1

Read More

Black Rice, Squash and Pomegranate Salad

Melissa King 4 Comments

I love salads all year round.  In fact, the majority of the meals I eat are salads.  I know, boring right?  In the winter months, I just try to create heartier versions.  This meal was inspired by my Wheat Berry Salad with Cranberries.  I wanted to create a gluten free version of that.  So here you go.

 

Black Rice, Squash and Pomegranates - My Whole Food Life

 

This is a meal that will keep you full for quite some time.  It also makes about 4-5 servings.  I love the earthy and nutty flavor of black rice.  You can also use wild or brown rice.

 

Black Rice, Squash and Pomegranate Salad

Black Rice, Squash and Pomegranate Salad

print shopping list
Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 45 min

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked black rice
  • 2 cups butternut squash cubed
  • 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 2 T fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme
  • 2 T apple cider vinegar
  • 1 T olive oil (optional)
  • Juice of 1/2 an orange or 1/4 cup orange juice
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Peel and chop the butternut squash into cubes.
  3. Place it onto a greased baking sheet with a little salt.
  4. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes.
  5. Once the rice and squash are cooked and cooled, add them to a bowl with the remaining ingredients.

by

Recipe Notes

This makes about 4-5 servings and should last in the fridge for at least a week. Enjoy!

Green Lentil Salad (Vegan and Gluten Free)

Melissa King 10 Comments

Green Lentil Salad recipe.  I love cold salads.  They are just so good and easy to make.  This is one that my mother in law came up with.  She said I could share it with all of you.  I have several of her recipes on my blog.  One of them is Red Lentil Soup.

 

green lentil salad

 

This is another recipe that is inexpensive to make and very healthy too.  I think one of the flavors that makes this recipe great is the pomegranate molasses.  You can find it at most health food stores and also at Middle Eastern markets.

In fact, the Middle Eastern markets may have better prices.  That is also the case when it comes to buying olive oil.

I have also included an Amazon link for those that do not have either of those options nearby.  A little goes a long way too.  We have had the same bottle for months.

Green Lentil Salad

Green Lentil Salad

print shopping list
Serves 3 servings     adjust servings

Ingredients

    Salad

    • 1 1/2 cups green lentils
    • 3-4 cups water
    • 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
    • 3 green onions chopped
    • 2 cups baby spinach chopped
    • 1/3 cup flat leaf parsley chopped
    • 1/3 cilantro chopped

    Dressing

    Instructions

    1. After you wash/rinse lentils place in a large cooking pot, cover with water and bring to boil.
    2. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat down to simmer and cook until tender/soft (add more water if needed), for about 30 minutes or more.
    3. Drain lentils and set aside to cool. 
    4. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine sliced red onions, parsley, cilantro, spinach, green onions. 
    5. To this mixture add cooked lentils. 
    6. Now prepare the dressing by combining pomegranate molasses, sumac, salt, paprika and extra virgin Olive Oil.  
    7. Mix well, drizzle over lentils and greens mixture and toss them well.
    8. Keep refrigerated for an hour or two before serving.

    by

    Recipe Notes

    I find that this gets better the next day after the flavors have time to marinate. Enjoy!

    Wheat Berry Salad with Corn and Peppers

    Melissa King 8 Comments

    I love the nutty flavor that wheat berries have.  If you haven’t tried them yet, you really should.  They are delicious!  I also have a Wheat Berry Salad With Cranberries on the blog.  Since it’s summertime, I am still on my cold salad kick.  My husband and I came up with this meal from scraps we had in the fridge.  It turned out to be really good!  We used some of our organic and non GMO corn we had stashed in the freezer.

    wheat berry and corn watermark

    Sometimes when you clean out the fridge, you get the best meals.  This came out so good, we made a second batch the following day.  If you have a gluten allergy, you can replace the wheat berries with quinoa and this will be equally delicious!

    Wheat Berry Salad With Cranberries

    Wheat Berry Salad with Corn and Peppers

    print shopping list
    Prep Time 20 min

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    1. Throw all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

    by

    Recipe Notes

    To make this even better, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours so the flavors can develop further. It’s even better the next day! This made 4-5 servings. Enjoy!