Vegetarian Meal Salad Recipes

Meatless Greek, California and Simple Spinach Main Dish Salads

© Jill Harris

Jul 14, 2008

What makes a salad a meal?

Meal salads should contain all of the food groups for balanced nutrition, fibre and staying power. Balance the salad with bread or grains, fruit or calcium-rich vegetables like kale, broccoli and almonds.

Here are three popular recipes for meal salads and complementary salad dressings:

• Greek Salad with Romaine, Feta, and Olives;
• California Salad with Grated Carrots and Trail Mix; and
• Simple Spinach Salad with Chickpeas.

All salads should be tossed or arranged just prior to serving, to keep crunchy vegetables crunchy. For vegan salads, be sure to omit hard-boiled egg, honey and cheese.

For dressing recipes, simply mix all ingredients together with a whisk and toss with salad.

Greek Salad Recipe

Serves 4

Greek salad is a simple meal. Traditionally, Greek salads rely on a base of cucumber or tomatoes. This recipe is non-traditional, but delicious and filling as a main course. For potluck or picnic meals, replace the Romaine with cooked penne pasta.

Greek Salad Ingredients:

• 1 head Romaine lettuce or 1 (10 ounce) bag pre-washed lettuce
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved OR 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup diced cucumber
• 1 medium red onion, sliced or diced
• 1/2 cup whole Kalamata olives
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas (optional)
• Fresh dill or mint, optional, to garnish

Greek Salad Dressing Recipe:

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¾ tsp. salt
• Dash pepper
• ½ cup olive oil
• 4 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• Dried oregano, to taste

Directions:

1. Wash and dry lettuce; tear into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a large bowl, toss together lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and olives. Sprinkle with feta cheese.
3. Add dressing and toss gently to preserve the crumbled feta.
4. Serve immediately.

Suggested bread: focaccia

California Salad Recipe

Serves 4

California salad is perfect for fresh summer produce but can also be adjusted for out-of-season cravings.

Chock-full of healthy fats from trail mix and avocado, California Salad makes every meal feel sunny.

Ingredients:

• 1 (10 ounce) package mixed greens (red and green leaf lettuce), OR one head leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 2 organic carrots, washed and grated
• 1/3 cup trail mix with raisins OR ¼ cup raisins and shelled sunflower seeds
• 1 thinly sliced Vidalia or red onion
• 1 small can Mandarin orange slices or substitute in-season fresh sliced strawberries
• 1/2 head broccoli floreta, chopped (optional)
• 1 small avocado, sliced (optional)
• 1 sweet bell pepper, chopped (optional)

Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing Recipe:

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey (substitute maple syrup or sugar for vegan dressing)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• salt and pepper to taste

Bread: Flatbread or pita

Simple Spinach Salad Recipe

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 1 Roma (Italian) tomato or 2 Tbsp. chopped sun-dried tomatoes (the kind packed in oil)
• ¼ - ½ cup cooked drained chickpeas
• ¼ cup sliced mushrooms
• ½ small can drained mandarin orange slices
• 1 hard boiled egg (optional, ovo-vegetarian)
• Toasted slivered almonds, to garnish

Simple Spinach Salad Dressing:

• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil (may substitute up to half with flaxseed oil)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Bread: crusty multi-grain roll

Meal-Sized Salad

Greek Salad from Greece

Spinach Salad with Orange Slices

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