My Formula for Fantastic Salads | healthy + vegan

oftentimes when people hear the word salad they think super healthy or really boring so today I'm going to share with you my top 5 tips for making crave-worthy salads will make three delicious and flavorful salads and I'll walk you through the tips as I make each one so by the end of the video not only will you have three great salad recipes but more importantly you'll understand the principles of making great salads so you too can make a great salad at home if there's just one thing you take away from this video it is to make your own salad dressings store-bought salad dressings are just not good there they're bad I think they're just that I feel pretty strongly about this I think it's worth the time to make your own it can be quick and simple or you can make a little fancier I'll show you a few different options today and I promise you your taste buds will thank you for it the first salad dressing we're gonna make is a citrus date vinaigrette it is really delicious possibly my favorite salad dressing we're gonna start off with 2 medjool dates putting them in a food processor so they can break down we're also gonna add some lemon juice I like to squeeze it over my hands to catch the seeds there are no seeds in this one low so that's nice now I'm also gonna add a tablespoon of orange juice this is just freshly squeezed from an orange we're also gonna add a few tablespoons of olive oil extra virgin olive oil and normally with a vinaigrette you would add the olive oil in at the end but since this is all going in the food processor doesn't really matter which order for a little bit of a sharpness and a kick we're gonna add some Dijon mustard we're also adding some spices to this dressing to give a little extra flavor we've got coriander we also got some cumin and some paprika some sea salt to flavor the salad dressing black pepper I'm gonna let this blend up and while the motor is running I'll drizzle in a little bit of water to help bring it all together it looks really good our next salad dressing we're going to be making a simple tahini dressing this is one of my favorite easy salad dressings just a few ingredients it takes two minutes and it's naturally creamy thanks to tahini so we're going to use two tablespoons of this to give this dressing a little bit of pop I'm gonna zest just a little bit of lemon on top and we'll also add the juice of the lemon about 1 tablespoon for 2 tablespoons tahini season with a little bit of salt and pepper I'm going to add a tiny bit of maple syrup to balance out the acidity from the lemon juice just like 1/4 TSP I'm just gonna whisk everything to combine and then I'm gonna stream in some ice water I like to use ice water I think it makes a little bit fluffier this tahini dressing will stay good in the fridge for several days so you can make a big batch and have salad throughout the week our final salad dressing is a lemon garlic vinaigrette it's simple but a little bit fancier than your standard lemon vinaigrette I'm gonna start by zesting 1 small lemon I'm a big fan of adding citrus zest to your salad dressings it just adds freshness and vibrancy and it's so delicious now we're gonna add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice from the same lemon and a little bit more I like to add just a splash of sweetness to some of my salad dressings to balance out the acidity and vinaigrettes we're also gonna add some Dijon mustard for a little bit of a tang and since this is a lemon garlic vinaigrette we're gonna add some garlic I've got 1 clove and I'm going to use the garlic crusher what is this a garlic pressure press garlic press because I don't want any pieces of garlic so I want it chopped it really really finely season with some salt and pepper and then we're just gonna give it a shake before adding the olive oil this is a very nifty salad dressing model jar if you're interested I'll link it in the description box below and now we're gonna add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and give it another shake [Music] and the shaking is gonna help emulsify this so it's really creamy and not separated all right let's give it a taste oh it's so good it's really well-balanced a little sweet tart tangy sharp garlicky so I'm gonna put the salad dressings aside and we'll start assembling the salads when it comes to the base of your salad think outside the box your salad doesn't just have to be a baby spinach salad there are so many other options for our first salad we're gonna do a mix of greens and grains so we're gonna use arugula as our salad green oops I put it in the bowl first we're gonna use arugula as our salad greens salad greens and we're also gonna add some grains and I've got farro here today but you could use any grain you like adding grains to your salad is gonna give you more textural variety but it's also gonna help you stay full so it's a great idea for our next salad we're not even gonna use sod greens to band with we're thinking really far outside the box there is no box the box has disappeared we are actually going to use chilled asparagus and green beans as our base and this is gonna be a chilled vegetable salad I've got asparagus and green beans today because asparagus is in season but you could use other kinds of vegetables as well to blanch these vegetables bring an inch or two of salted water to a boil add the green beans cover the pot and cook them for two minutes then add the asparagus and cook for 1 to 3 more minutes depending on how skinny they are then transfer them immediately to an ice bath to stop them from cooking and dry them out on a clean towel once they're dried go ahead and slice the asparagus and green beans into 2-inch pieces on an angle and if you want to get even more creative other green love salads include lentil salads or bean salads or grain salads or you could even do an herb only salad with fresh cilantro and parsley and dill and basil and mint and those can be the base of your salad for salad number 3 we're going to use 2 different types of salad greens I like to do this for textural and taste variety today I've got some romaine and I'm also going to add some kale adding the romaine it's gonna add this nice crispy crispy crisp and crunch crisp and crunch texture to it that is really nice and salads it makes it refreshing and then combine it with the kale we're gonna get this nice textural play and it's gonna make you more likely to eat more kale which is always a good thing to add extra flavor to the salad greens I'm going to lightly salt and pepper the Greens directly before I add any of the other ingredients this adds extra flavor to your salad and it's something that I don't think most people do but you do notice a difference I when I making a salad that's just salad greens I like to dress the salad greens before I add any of the other ingredients that ensures that all of the salad greens every piece of romaine every piece of kale is well coated and I like to pour the salad dressing around the bowl and then tossed it combined that's so good I'll just eat this on its own tip number three is to add a variety of textures to your salads I think the texture of a food is almost as important as the flavor of the food and you know I take flavor very seriously so you want to be adding layers of varying textures to your salads which is gonna make them a lot more interesting to eat I tend to think that there are four main categories of textures crunchy crisp creamy and chewy and in this video and the recipes I'll share specific examples of those textures but in the free pdf guide you'll find lots of different examples of these textures so you can customize your own salads in the first salad where we have arugula and farro we already have something chewy because farro has is really lovely chewy bite and we're also gonna add some fennel it's been thinly sliced and it has this lovely anise licorice taste and it's gonna add this nice crisp freshness if you have a mandolin that would be great to thinly slice this but I don't have one so just a sharp knife is fine and these are the fennel fronds that come on the top of the fennel they're also really lovely so I like to reserve them and add a little bit later we're also gonna add some toasted walnuts which go really well with the arugula and the farro and the fennel and they're gonna add a nice crunchy texture and our final texture we're gonna add is some avocado which of course is gonna add this really luxurious creaminess for our green beans and asparagus I'm gonna add two different ingredients right now first hemp seeds which are gonna add a delightful nuttiness and a little bit of a crunch and will add some more distinct crunchiness later I'm also adding some chickpeas I don't really know what the texture of chickpeas is may be chewy but I really love them they're a great source of protein so we're gonna add some chickpeas I'm really good at this I promise for salad number three we already have some of that crisp coolness from the romaine lettuce we're gonna add a little bit additional crisp coolness with some sliced cucumbers and of course we have kale in there too which is a different texture than the romaine so that's just gonna add a little bit of interest for something crunchy I'm gonna add some toasted pumpkin seeds for something chewy and delightfully sweet we're gonna add some dried cranberries could also do dried apricots or cherries I'm finding we're gonna add some lentils again I'm not really sure what the texture of the lentils are but they're good for you they're packed with protein and they're gonna be a nice hearty addition to the salad one of the reasons people find salads a bit boring is that they're often made with just raw vegetables I get it raw vegetables are good for you but they can be a little bland so we can also add marinated vegetables roasted vegetables grilled vegetables pickled vegetables there's a whole universe of different types of veggies we can add to our salads for salad number one I'm gonna add some roasted beets to this we already have raw fennel in it and fennel and beets together are such a classic combination especially with those walnuts and the citrus date vinaigrette they will also add for our green bean and asparagus salad we already have the blanched vegetables so now we're gonna vary it by adding some raw vegetables we've got some sliced cherry tomatoes for a little juicy bite and we're also gonna add some thinly sliced shallots that are raw the green beans and asparagus are really mild on their own so the raw shallot is gonna add this really nice punch and for our third salad we already have raw salad greens and rock cucumber now we're gonna add some pickled vegetables we're just gonna use some store-bought sauerkraut or pickled cabbage but something like pickled carrots would also be really nice in this salad now that we've talked about texture and salads let's talk about flavor there are so many different ways you can boost the flavors in your salad so that you actually start to crave them one of my favorite ways to do this is by adding fresh herbs it adds this herbaceous brightness it's kind of hard to describe in words but I highly recommend it so for this first salad with the beets and the fennel we're gonna add some fresh parsley as well as some fresh dill that I finely chopped it goes really well with all these flavors and we're gonna do the same thing with our second salad the green bean asparagus salad I'm also adding some freshly chopped parsley some freshly chopped dill and one extra ingredient we've got some slivered basil I'm also adding some toasted almonds to this green bean salad and this is another flavor building technique if you're using nuts or seeds in your salad make sure you toast them beforehand it can be in a skillet or in the oven and this really releases the volatile oils and the Mets and seeds and makes them so much more flavorful releases certain flavors that you don't get to taste when they're not toasted so I highly recommend doing this another technique that we're using to build flavor here is using seasonal ingredients so asparagus is in season right now so it's at its best by just buying what's in season and using that in your salad you're gonna add more flavor for our final salad we're not going to add anything right now but I just want to point out that we added some dried fruit which adds a little bit of extra flavor and we also salted and pepper the greens directly and that also builds flavor now it's time to dress the salads and when you're making a salad dressing from scratch you really want to be thinking about how your salad dressing is going to balance the flavors in your salad so for this salad to beet and fennel salad I'm using the citrus date vinaigrette and beets and walnuts are quite earthy so the citrus in this is going to be a nice flavor contrast and we're using arugula as our greens and arugula is quite peppery and a little bit bitter and spicy so the dates which are sweet we're gonna really nicely balance that as well for salad number two we've got the chilled vegetables and so I'm using something creamy I think it's a nice way to bring all these different flavors and textures together this is the creamy tahini dressing we made earlier super simple but really flavorful I'm Sal three we already dressed this one earlier it's the lemon garlic vinaigrette I think kale salads are really good with a little bit of lemon so we've got lemon zest and juice and the garlic and the maple syrup it's sharp a little bit sweet tangy and tart and its really perfectly balanced all right those are my five tips for making delicious salads if you're interested in more flavor-packed recipes be sure to hit that red subscribe button because i share new videos every week and i'll see you guys the next one no I'm really good at this I promise almost nailed it nailed it nailed it nailed it often times when people hear the word salad they think super boring or really healthy super boring super boring it's super boring and would make I win it and I'm waiting we're now making a sound

Channel: Rainbow Plant Life

Views: 692,162

Keywords: how to make salad, how to make great salad, homemade salad dressing, vegan salad recipes, how to make salads that don't suck, how to make great salads, how to make salad taste better, how to make salad taste good, vegan salad, best salad recipes, tips for making salad, salad dressing recipes, make salad dressing at home, how to make salad dressing, how to make the best salad, best salad dressing, healthy salad recipes, healthy vegan salad recipes

Id: pgITcbIrysc

Length: 13min 36sec (816 seconds)

Published: Sat May 23 2020