Raw food is considered by many to be the healthiest way to eat food. And in summer, and particularly, on those days where the temperatures soar, I find turning a salad into a meal is a great way to eat.

It is easy to make a delicious and filling salad: you are only limited by your imagination. Here are a few ideas to follow –

Protein – add any combination of the following that appeals to you

Nuts, seeds, cheese, falafel, legumes such as chick peas, lentils, cannellini beans. You can add meat or chicken also. About 15% of the salad can be protein.

Carbohydrate – it is not necessary to add carbohydrate but most males like some carbs with their meals.

Croutons, pasta (choose an attractive design to enhance to the appearance of the salad), rice. Again, about 15% of the salad can be carbohydrate.

Fruit – some people love to add a little fruit to their salad. Pear is my favourite but  you can also add apple, orange and pomegranate seeds look fantastic.

Cut the fruit into small pieces and add it before serving. If you don’t fancy adding fruit, a nice touch is to add some to a salad dressing.

Herbs – Add your favourite herb/s finely chopped – parsley is always great.

The Salad – choose at least 4 or 5 of the items listed but you can use as many as you like.

Lettuce leaves, baby spinach leaves, roquette.

Cucumber, tomato (baby tomatoes look great in salads), celery, carrot.

Gourmet Ingredients

Avocado, asparagus (blanched), zucchini (raw), corn niblets, red onion,  snow peas, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, sprouts, grated raw beetroot.

Chilled baked veggies – cut into small pieces – these can be left from the night before – potato, pumpkin, kumera (orange sweet potato) and onion.

Grilled eggplant and zucchini are delicious in salads.

Preparation

Anything that needs cooking, should be cooked earlier and in the fridge to cool.

Put all the ingredients you are using on the bench and wash what is necessary first.

Choose an attractive bowl that is an adequate size.

Add the leaves, herbs and other salad ingredients and mix well.

Add carbohydrate then mix well.

At this point you can cover the salad and put it in the fridge to serve later that day.

Before serving add the avocado and protein. You can arrange this on top of the salad or mix it in.

Note – Most salad keeps well overnight if there is some left over, but remove any remaining avocado.

Dressing

You can simply use a balsamic vinegar or you can use a bottled dressing or you can make one.  See recipe below.

Honey Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1 tablespoon honey

¼ cup warm water

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 whole garlic clove (optional)

freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey and warm water until they are combined. Add white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard. Continue to whisk and add the olive oil in a slow drizzle and keep whisking until the mixture is combined.

When combined, the mixture will thicken a little. Add the pepper.  

You can also add everything except the garlic to a blender and blend.

Put dressing into a small container with a lid. Add the garlic clove. Dressing will store in the fridge for a few days.