CHICKEN SALAD with ZESTY DIJON DRESSING

This recipe was initially going to be a Quinoa salad dish, however I wanted something light for a light dinner and decided to leave out the quinoa carbs. You could use whatever raw vegetables you have on hand, such as capsicum, cabbage, shallots, the list goes on. I like adding lentils or legumes to my salads for an additional hit of protein. As you may have realised with the ingredients in my recipes, I do not prescribe to the Paleo way of eating and think that eating lentils, legumes and grains is very important for my health.  You can also add a touch of crumbled feta or toasted almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds to this salad for more texture and flavour. Look back at my Poaching Chicken recipe for steps on how to poach correctly or if pressed for time, buy a free range cooked chicken! The zesty dijon mustard is a favourite of mine, as it is filled with flavour and is low in calories- try to use apple cider vinegar as it contains less sugar than other vinegars. 

INGREDIENTS

• 300g cooked chicken breast, shredded 
• 150g green beans, trimmed & roughly chopped
• 2 generous handful of baby spinach
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 x 400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed & drained 
• 100g carrot, grated 
• 1 Lebanese cucumber or 1/2 continental cucumber, diced 
• 1 small to medium ripe avocado, diced 
• 3-4 tablespoons fresh chives / basil / parsley, finely chopped 
• a generous amount of ground black pepper 

Zesty Dijon Dressing

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or minced 
• 1 heaped tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• the juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime 
• 2 tablespoons water 
• ground black pepper 

COOKING 

1. Combine all the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl and toss well to combine. 

2. Make the salad dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and stirring with a fork to combine. If the salad dressing is too thick, try adding a little extra water. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / around 20 minutes 

x Emily 

HAM & TURKEY DIJON SALAD

I've become a great fan of super light dinners, as I do not get home any earlier than at least 8:45 four nights a week. This simple salad is such a dish. It is light, full of protein and vegetables and has a very zingy dressing. Even my salad hating fiancee Chris ate it and loved it! 

This salad is also great to eat on a terribly hot summers day, as the prep time is minimal and you don't have to slave in a hot kitchen. If you have other lean meats on hand you are welcome to use them. The mustard dressing is my favourite part of this dish. Ever since my dad started to make his own salad dressings, I have enthusiastically followed suit. The difference between homemade and store bought dressing is vast, as homemade dressing tastes a million times fresher. Try it out for yourself!

INGREDIENTS

Dijon Dressing 

• the juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed or finely chopped 
• 1 tablespoon water 

Salad

• 100g lean sliced turkey breast, chopped roughly into small pieces
• 100g lean sliced ham, chopped roughly into small pieces
• 100g cucumber, diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced 
• 2 generous handfuls of baby spinach 
• 1 handful of iceberg lettuce, torn 
• 50g low-fat feta, chopped into small pieces
• Optional- garnish with fresh herbs, such as finely chopped chives 

METHOD  

1. Place all dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake well to combine. 

2. Place all salad ingredients in a medium serving bowl and toss well to combine. Drizzle mustard dressing over the top of the salad and enjoy! 

Serves / 2 
Total Preparation time / 10 minutes max

VIETNAMESE GRATED & SHREDDED SALAD

This is the type of food that I love to eat. Fresh, filled with vegetables and light. My family often jokes that I (and most of them) were Asian in a past life as we could eat Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The idea for this grated / shredded salad was born from the Sarah Wilson 'I Quit Sugar for Life'. She has dedicated 2 pages to grated salads and I thought to myself 'what a great idea; I can feed these types of salads to Chris (my fiancé) without him really catching on that they are in fact salads, due to the various textures and potential for meat in the dishes. If you are looking for a heartier meal, toss in some rice vermicelli noodles. 

Ingredients

Salad

• 2 x 250g (or similar size) chicken breasts
• 3 cups finely shredded red cabbage
• 2 cups finely shredded wombok
• 2 medium carrots, finely grated
• 3 tablespoons white sesame seeds
• Optional- a generous handful of finely chopped coriander, mint, chives and/or green shallots

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• the juice of 1 large lime
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed 
• 2 tablespoons water

Cooking

1. Place the chicken breasts in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, covered, then simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the saucepan stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove the poached chicken from the pan and leave to cool for a few minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir well. 

3. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into small pieces. 

4. Combine the chicken pieces, cabbage, wombok, carrot, sesame seeds and herbs if using in a large serving bowl. Drizzle the dressing on top and toss well to combine. 

Serves / 4 as a light meal

Total Preparation time / 10 - 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 25 minutes approx. 

x Emily 

SPROUT SALAD

This meal in a salad does involve a little pre-preparation- such as cooking the beetroot, cooking the lentils (or draining and washing canned ones if you prefer or are time-poor) and hard-boiling the eggs. Luckily I had all those ingredients in my fridge ready to go yesterday night as all I wanted to do was sit down with a big bag of salty, greasy chips. Yes I do get those cravings occasionally, especially when my body and mind feels very tired and overwhelmed. That is one of the main reasons why I try to prepare as much food as possible on Sunday- I hard-boil eggs, I roast beetroot, I cut green beans, carrot and celery, I made date balls to combat my weekly desire for sugar. It stops me from reaching for the chips…most days. Everything in moderation, including moderation, as a beautiful client of mine says. 

INGREDIENTS

• a generous handful of snow pea sprouts, roughly chopped
• 100g mung beans
• 100g brown lentils, cooked
• 1 beetroot, cooked & cut into thin wedges
• 1 large tomato, cut into small pieces
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped into wedges
• a handful of sunflower seeds 
• sea salt & garlic flakes 
• balsamic vinegar, to dress 

PREPARATION 

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium to large salad bowl and toss well. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, if desired. 

Serves / 2 
Total Preparation time / 5 minutes 

x Emily 

TEX-MEX BROWN RICE SALAD

Calling all lovers of Texan-Mexican food! After living in Washington DC for 7 months in 2009, I came home packing quite a few more kilos than when I had left, thanks to the famous ‘Tex-Mex’ cuisine that has become increasingly popular in the land of the free. Two and a half years have passed since then and I still crave Chipotle takeaway more often that I’d like to admit. Yesterday afternoon I had a particularly strong desire for this food and decided to make my own, healthier version of tex-mex cuisine. This rice dish is gluten free and sans cheese, which they would shoot you forgetting in the United States. The coriander, tomato, red onion and avocado add beautiful colours to this dish and taste extremely fresh. The red kidney beans are a nice additional to add more protein to this salad. You could also try brown lentils or chickpeas.

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 cup brown rice 
• pinch of smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons burrito or taco seasoning
• 500g chicken breast, cut into even sized 3-4cm pieces 
• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil
• 1 x 400g tin red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 medium tomatoes, diced
• 150g cucumber, diced  
• 1 medium sized avocado, roughly chopped 
• a handful of roughly torn fresh coriander 
• 1 lime, cut into wedges 

COOKING 

1. Combine chicken breast, burrito or taco seasoning, smoked paprika and oil in a medium bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes to marinate. 

2. Meanwhile, heat a medium saucepan, covered, with rice and 2 cups of water over high heat. When water begins to boil reduce to a simmer and leave rice to cook for around 10-12 minutes. When water has completely absorbed remove the rice from the stove. 

3. After the chicken has marinated for 10 minutes heat a medium to large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken to the pan, stirring often for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is lightly golden in colour and no pink flesh remains. Remove from heat and place a cover over the meat so it stays warm. 

3. When rice has cooked, place it on a large plate. Top with chicken, red kidney beans, tomatoes, cucumber and avocado. Add a pinch of sea salt to the chopped avocado if you wish. Top with coriander and lime wedges. 

Serves / 4 
Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 
Total Cooking time / 25 minutes 

x E