I have a habit of making batches of salads that will last me next few days. I keep telling myself I’ve got to eat more a variety of foods though when I’m addicted to something, then I tend to stick to that for a while. When my main meal is salads, I want it to be interesting, delicious and full of good stuff. So here I am. I cooked like a storm in my little kitchen and put up a few different salads on a plate, which I think is beautiful and vibrant. It is also wholesome, healthy and nutritious. I have to admit it took me an hour plus cleaning up a mess I made in the kitchen. But if you can invest an hour or so on cooking like this, your life gets easier at least next couple of days. Bam! Work lunch and dinner is sorted.
Let’s discuss how this plateful of goodness was made up.
Spicy Chickpea and Pumpkin Salad: I soaked chickpeas in cold water for about 10 hours. Do this before you go to bed or when you leave to work in the morning. Quickly rinse and cover them with water in a pot and boil for 15-20 minutes until cooked. Meanwhile, heat coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat and add chopped pumpkin. Sprinkle cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, sea salt and ground pepper. Drain cooked chickpeas and add to a frying pan. Add a bit of more smoked paprika over chickpeas and stir well. Take it off the heat once pumpkin and chickpeas are browned and cooked.
Mediterranean Rice Pasta Salad: Boil rice pasta for 8-10 minutes to al dente and drain. Roughly chop sun-tomato, black olives and parsley and mix with cooked pasta in a large bowl. Simply drizzle e.v.o.o and season with salt and pepper.
Stir-fried Cabbage and Red Onion: Finely chop green cabbage and red onion and cook with coconut oil in a frying pan until browned. Season to taste and sprinkle caraway seeds and sesame seeds.
Tzatziki: Mix thick Greek yogurt, chopped cucumber and chives, lemon juice and sea salt in a bowl.
