If you are like me, you are in-tuned with a season and, also enjoy eating seasonally. At least most of the time. Over the years, we have been receiving organic box from Riverford – which helps with planning our meals ahead.
We need fibre or protein in our meals for healthy diet. if we don’t have enough protein & fibre, we might feel hungry or not satisfied enough with a meal, then, we reach for some extra to fill us up – like desserts. Not saying you can’t have a dessert, I like a good slice of vegan cake, however not as a substitute of your meal but, as an additional that brings you a joy ( for example; sharing a slice with your friend ).
This week, finally felt like a Summer in UK, with few good sunny and warm days and, when I saw Romaine Lettuce in the box, I craved for something light but still with some fibre and plant based protein. So here it is Summer Salad with cooked quinoa and green lentils and some fresh herbs and home made delicious Tahini sauce. Also, Quinoa. I only discovered Quinoa about 5years ago. I absolutely love that super whole grain! Quinoa it’s a high in nutritional fibre and contain a full protein. ( all 9 essential amino acids which we need and, that our bodies cannot make on its own. ) Fibre in Green Lentils – perfect for keeping your gut happy. Romaine lettuce – a full of magnesium, calcium, potassium. Antioxidants in radishes. Fresh basil – which improves your blood flow and contain chlorophyll – great for detoxification. Pumpkin seeds – a good source of zinc – helps with immune system. Organic Tahini – highly nutritious, a full of antioxidants. Fresh Coriander – rich in immnune – boosting antioxidants and promotes good digestion.
Quinoa Lentil Summer Salad
What you need for this Fresh Quinoa Lentil Summer Salad:
Serve 4 people ( it was only 2 of us for all of that food but we don’t normally eat dinner so this was 4pm late lunch, no dessert. )
- 1/2 cup of Green Lentils
- 1/2 cup of Organic Quinoa
- 1 Red pepper
- 6 Radishes
- 1 grated Purple Carrot
- 9 leaves of Romaine Lettuce
- Handful of Pumpkin seeds
- Handful of Fresh Coriander
- Handful of Fresh home grown Basil
Process:
Cook a quinoa and green lentils in separate pans. I measure 1/2 cup to 1 full cup of water. That is just right. It normally takes appx. 20mins to cook both – but, on low heat. If you have induction it is n.4 after boiling. Once is cooked, I keep it to cool down esp. you don’t need to eat super hot in Summer. The rest is everything raw and fresh so you want to balance those temperatures. Take your lettuce, radishes and pepper outside of the fridge at least 30mins before eating. Once your quinoa and lentils cool down, start presenting your ingredients on the plate. Be as creative as you like. I put lettuce in the circle but you can present in a different way. Grated purple carrot with yellow colour inside. More colours on your plate, the better. We had a fresh coriander and fresh basil so I added these fresh herbs too. But, you can add others like fresh parsley and fresh dill – which I love!
Tahini Dressing:
- 2 large spoons cup of Organic Tahini. Its the best Tahini liquid form we had. It’s a light and creamy and it’s perfect for hummus making or adding to sauces
- 1 fresh Lime – squeezed ( if you don’t have Lime, use Lemon instead )
- 2-3 tbsp of good Olive oil
- 2 tbsp gluten-free Soya sauce
- 1 tbsp Organic Maple Syrup ( look at the ingredients carefully when buying maple syrup – majority contain a lots of sugar! )
- a bit of Himalayan salts
- Fresh ground black pepper
In a small bowl, you can put 2 spoons of Tahini, soya sauce, olive oil, maple syrup, squeezed lime juicy, add salt and pepper. You want to kind of liquid-y so see if you need to add more lime juice. You can serve it straight away on your salad or leave it in the fridge to cool down and, it will be ready when you decide to eat. A short video on my instagram page if you like to see it. Follow me, I usually post few times per week – food inspiration wise.
Most our organic foods including Tahini sauce comes from buywholefoodsonline.co.uk.
The weather is getting warmer so enjoy making this Summer salad and enjoy with a friend or family.
Till next time, for some more from the healthy living recipes.
Listen to your gut and feed it well!
Julia xx