30 Oct Rustle Up Easy Summer Salads

In the heat of summer and in the business of the holiday season – whipping up a simple summer salad for a meal is a great way to enjoy healthy, tasty food without too much time-consuming fuss.

Cranberry-Nut Couscous Salad

Using Cous cous in salads is a wonderful option as it’s been precooked, so is so quick to prepare and adds that extra body to turn it into a filling meal (couscous is made from durum wheat though, so it’s not suitable if you have a gluten intolerance).

Artisan Grains Tricolour Couscous 200g

Artisan Grains Tricolour Couscous is a colourful meal made with durum wheat cous cous, tomatoes and spinach. It’s been precooked so the cous cous is ready after a quick soak

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Ingredients

• 1 package plain couscous
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions
• 3/4 cup chopped sweet yellow or red pepper
• 3/4 cup almond flakes, toasted
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

How to

• Follow the instructions on the packet to prepare your couscous
• Put it in a large bowl, fluff with a fork, then cover and refrigerate for half an hour
• Stir in the cranberries, onions, yellow pepper and almonds
• Separately, whisk the lemon juice, oil, paprika, salt and pepper together
• Pour over salad and toss
• Cover and refrigerate until serving

(Thanks to: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cranberry-nut-couscous-salad)

By Nature Dried Cranberries 500g

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Spicy Thai Lettuce Wraps (with couscous or quinoa)

Ingredients

• Prepared/cooked: 1 cup couscous, or quinoa
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 avocado thinly sliced
• 1 baby cucumber thinly sliced
• shredded carrots
• 1 Tbsp sweet chili peppers
• Asian Peanut Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

How to

• Prepare the couscous or quinoa according to package instructions
• Stir in the coconut oil
• Set aside to let cool
• Chop the veggies except the lettuce
• Gently pull the lettuce leaves apart and rinse, keeping them whole
• Layer the couscous or quinoa with the veggies in individual lettuce leaves
• Drizzle with dressing

(thanks to:http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Spicy-Thai-Lettuce-Wraps-1114144)

Asian Peanut Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup of grapeseed oil
• 2 tbsp of xylitol or erythritol
• 4 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• Pinch of red pepper powder

How to

Either by hand, or with a blender, thoroughly blend the ingredients and viola! Drizzle over your Thai dishes.

(Thanks to: http://danicasdaily.com/quick-and-easy-peanut-vinaigrette)

Oh Mega Smooth Peanut Butter 400g

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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Kale Salad

And for those of you who feel like something a little lighter, decadent, delicious and packed with antioxidants, as well as being gluten-free here’s a salad drizzled with a divine chocolate balsamic dressing.

Ingredients

• 10 large kale leaves
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces
• 1 large avocado diced
• 4 sprigs of mint

The Dressing

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple/agave syrup
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Make the Dressing first

In a small bowl whisk the sauce ingredients – it helps to warm the balsamic and maple/agave syrup first (you can do it over a low heat in a saucepan)

The Salad

• Rinse, pat dry and loosely chop the kale leaves
• Rinse the mint and tear into pieces
• Rinse the strawberries, chop off the tops and slice
• In a salad bowl, first massage some of the dressing into the kale leaves
• Throw the rest of the ingredients in and toss
• Drizzle the rest of the dressing over it

(Thanks to: http://www.oneingredientchef.com/strawberry-kale-salad/)

By Nature Raw Walnuts 500g