Protein-Packed Salad
Whoever says a salad is not a real meal has been eating the wrong kinds of salads. Add some legumes in there, maybe some nuts, and you have yourself a hearty bowl of everything you need. If you use the freshest ingredients in the right combinations, your salad can be the most delicious and simultaneously the healthiest meal option out there… and filling too!
What you'll need
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1 ripe tomato
1/4 red onion
variety of lettuce greens & sprouts
1/3 cup kidney beans
1/4 cup olives of your choice
1/4 of a cucumber
1/2 an avocado
sprinkle of hemp hearts & chia seeds
OPTIONAL
1 egg
1-2 slices of multigrain bread
DRESSING
Juice of 1 lemon
1-2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2-3 TBSP balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
1 TSP minced garlic
This recipe is extremely straightforward. Wash the lettuce and greens and dry them on a towel. In the meantime, chop the tomato, avocado, pepper, cucumber and onion and put them in a bowl with with the olives and beans.
Boil your egg for about 8 minutes. If you want it more runny boil for less time or leave it boiling longer for a harder egg. I find that 8 minutes is the perfect amount of time because the yolk comes out almost completely cooked but still soft. If you let your egg get too hard its not as delicious and loses many of its nutrients from overcooking.
In the meantime, combine all the lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, salt & pepper and mix well. The amount of dressing you want is up to you but if you are not eating the salad right away keep in mind that the salt will leach out much of the water from the ingredients and make it much more watery than it is when its fresh. Leafy salads are always best eaten fresh.
Now all thats left is to put it all together! If you are adding egg and bread, slice them both and place them on top. The bread makes for a great soaker of the residual dressing at the end. Sprinkle your salad with chia seeds and hemp hearts and enjoy fresh.
