We are experiencing a heat wave here in the UK, and whenever the weather turns hot, it can be harder to get enough nutrient dense foods into the diet. Most of us crave cold foods – fruits and veggies – which, despite containing a colourful array of vitamins and minerals, may not contain enough calories to fully nourish us. By adding in foods such as cheese or chicken, we can increase the nutrient density of our salads.
Today I wanted to share my current favourite salad recipes, perfect for the summer heat!
I love adding fruits into my salads such as ripe watermelon. I find fruit is easier to digest than lots of raw leafy greens, especially if someone is experiencing digestive issues such as bloating. If you are consuming salads regularly, I recommend not adding too much lettuce and instead focus on adding other carbohydrate sources such as fruit and vegetable fruits (tomatoes and cucumbers) or root veggies such as cooked beetroot. Always ensure you are adding a good source of protein to your salads too (cheese, chicken, eggs, fish, legumes).
Watermelon and feta salad
- 100g watermelon
- 100g feta cheese, crumbled
- half a cucumber, diced
- a handful of cos lettuce leaves
- 1 tbsp toasted mixed seeds
- fresh mint, to taste
- olive oil
- sea salt
Greek Salad
Ingredients:
- 50g feta cheese, diced
- 1/2 cucumber, diced
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 10 kalamata olives
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- lemon juice to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Caprese Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 mozzarella (I like buffalo!)
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Balsamic vinegar
- Basil leaves
Chicken Caesar Salad
Salad ingredients:
- 1 cooked organic chicken breast
- Cos lettuce leaves
- parmesan cheese, grated or shaved
- sourdough croutons
Caesar salad sauce:
- 1/2 garlic clove, grated
- 1 anchovy
- 2 tbsp avocado oil mayonnaise (I like Hunter & Gather)
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
To make the sourdough croutons, simply dice some stale sourdough bread and toss in some olive oil and salt, then oven bake until crispy.
Arrange the sliced chicken over the salad leaves, mix in the croutons, add the sauce and shaved/ grated parmesan cheese.
Tonno e fagioli (tuna and bean salad)
- Ingredients (serves 2)
- 80g can tuna in olive oil
- 1 tin cannellini beans
- 2 large ripe tomatoes
- ½ red onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 3-4 fresh basil leaves
- Salt & pepper to taste
Fennel and Orange Salad (side dish)
Ingredients:
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1 orange
- Olive oil
- salt
- Slice the fennel bulb in very thin slices
- Rub in ½ tsp salt and massage the fennel
- Slice the orange into thin slices
- Mix in with the fennel
- Add a tsp of olive oil (or more to taste) and mix all the ingredients well
- This is a lovely side salad to accompany a grilled fish dish
