Chopped Lentil Salad

I;m a salad girl. Given the chance I would chose a salad over almost anything. As part of my resolutions for the New Year I vowed to get better at bringing my own lunch. Not only does it save me money and time but it take the hassle out of deciding what or where to eat. Sometimes I make my lunch while I make my breakfast, but if I know my morning will be busy I will sometimes prep in the morning and leave the lunch on the fridge for me to grab the next day. Bringing a salad is great, but there is just one small problem. I love a big salad, and lugging around a big container in my purse all day is a little frustrating. Enter the knife - but chopping all the ingredients in my salad it reduces the volume and gives me just as much food. One of my favorites are this chopped lentil salad. This recipe uses broccoli stems, one of the parts of the broccoli that is usually ignored, but oh so underestimated. Gluten-free and vegan this can be enjoyed by almost everyone.

Chopped Lentil Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup spinach
• 1 cup kale
• 1/2 cup cooked brown lentils
• 1/4 avocado
• 1 oz red onion
• 1 oz shredded carrots
• 1 oz shredded broccoli stems
• 1/2 lime
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Cooking Directions

1. Chop the spinach, kale, avocado and onion into small pieces. Add the shredded carrots, broccoli stems and lentils. Squeeze the lime over the salad and add the balsamic vinegar. Enjoy.

Thai Shrimp Salad

A few years ago I went backpacking in Thailand and feel in love with Thai food. There is something about the cuisine that never fails to put a smile on my face. The food is probably the reason why Thai people always smile. If I ate this food every day I would smile too.  I love that one dish can be both spicy, sour and sweet at the same time. My absolute favorite dishes are Larb Gai ( minced chicken), Tom Yum ( sweet and sour soup) and Plaa Goong ( Shrimp Salad). The last dish is the subject of this post.

Cooking Thai food can sometimes seem a little daunting. A typical recipe includes numerous ingredients that you would probably not stumble upon in your local grocery store. Most of the complicated ingredients can usually be replaced by more conventional ingredients.

This Thai Salad is a great introduction to the wonders of Thai cooking.

Thai Shrimp Salad:

Salad:
- 3 oz cooked shrimp. (Peeled and deveined.)
- 2 cubs of baby spinach
- 1/2 tomato or grape tomatoes
- 1/3 pepper
- slices of red onion ( to taste)

Dressing:
- 1 lime
- cayenne pepper
- black pepper
- salt
- grated ginger
1 tsp tamari ( gf soy sauce)

Steam, pan-fry or grill the shrimp. Allow the shrimps to cool down. Toss the salad. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. Add the shrimp to the dressing. Mix the shrimp and the remainder of the dressing with the salad. Enjoy

Lots of love