Put aside those dull leaves and spruce up your salads for 2021 without adding the calories.
Hello, 2021 — a time to reflect on 2020 perhaps? I’m sure like myself you’ve been bombarded with pop-up ads offering weight loss and diet plans. How many times have you read ‘New Year, New You’, with a promise that if you followed a diet plan you could ‘lose 7 pounds in seven days’.
I’ve always been a little sceptical of these claims. Could they be true, is it possible? Honestly, the answer is a big fat no, unless your meal plan was bowls of ice — for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
So why so much pressure to shed the holiday pounds? I guess it sells.
It’s no secret diets and weight loss programmes aren’t fun. From Joe Wicks, The Body Coach to former Love Island stars, my social media feed has been flooded with promoted ads for online fitness plans and weight-loss offers.
Before this years’ restrictive lockdowns, I’ve been out for dinner and witnessed friends order a ‘healthy salad’, only to watch them drench the leaves in calorie-loaded dressings and a sneaky side order of fries.
OK, the fries were a mistake, but it’s the dressing that turns what should be a low-cal lunch into a leafy burger of sorts, in terms of calorie content.
‘I’ve always been a little sceptical of these promises. Could they be true, is it possible? Honestly, the answer is a big fat no, unless your meal plan was bowls of ice’
As we look forward to a better year, let’s say goodbye to limp leaves, bland carrots and over ripe tomatoes. Instead of calorie-heavy dressings, try a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice and some garlic salt, adding taste and texture minus the calories. Or add pulses like chickpeas — these little boys will plump up your salad and keep you feeling full. I love sun-dried tomatoes from the deli; I add them to a leafy salad and use the herbs infused oil as a dressing.
One of my tips to dress a salad is balsamic gel. Available in most stores, this little gem is genius, and rather than sink to the bottom of your salad bowl it sticks to the leaves, so every mouthful is tasty, and packed with flavour. Without leaving a pool of tart vinegar at the bottom of your bowl.
The two recipes below kick salads into 2021. Spice it up — I’ve seasoned chicken with five-spice, grilled it with a little oil, then served it on a bed of bean sprouts and cabbage, served in lettuces leaves, so you can even eat the bowl. Crunchy, spicy and most of all tasty.
I’ve mentioned bulking up a salad with pulses, so add kidney or butter beans and sweetcorn, or like in my second recipe, fruit. I’ve talked fruit in savoury dishes before, but this really works. The avocado and mango with the zest of the lime, coriander complement each other, and guess what? No heavy dressing.
Five-Spice Chicken Salad
Serves 2, prep time 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 grilled chicken breasts
1 tbsp Chinese five-spice
4 iceberg lettuce leaves
½ red pepper sliced
2 handfuls of bean sprouts
2 grated carrots
2 handfuls of chopped red cabbage
A few sprigs of coriander
1 chopped red chilli
Salt & pepper
TO SERVE
Sesame oil
Black sesame seeds
Green chilli sauce
METHOD
Season both sides of the chicken with five-spice.
Heat the oil in a pan and cook evenly on both sides, 3-4 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Wash and place the leaves in small bowls.
Layer in the pepper, bean sprouts, carrot and cabbage.
Slice the grilled chicken and add to the lettuce cups.
Top with coriander, chillies, and season.
Dress with sesame oil, black sesame seeds and green chilli sauce.
Cabbage, Mango & Avocado Salad
Serves 2, prep time 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
6 spring onions chopped (green part only)
1 cup of chopped coriander
100g of sliced white cabbage
2 tbsp of sesame oil
Salt & pepper
1 ripe avocado
1 ripe mango
1 red chilli sliced & de-seeded
Juice & zest of a lime
METHOD
Chop the spring onion and add to a mixing bowl.
Then add the coriander, cabbage, sesame oil and season.
Combine the ingredients, then using a small melon baller scoop out the avocado and add to the bowl.
Slice open the mango and scoop out the flesh.
Add the lime juice, mix, then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Finally, serve topped with fresh chilli, lime zest and a drizzle of sesame seed oil.