Building Simple Salads

I hope this serves as inspiration for a simple plant-based recipe. We don't always have the time or will to follow a longer recipe, so I really want to help provide ideas for quick and yummy meals that don't require much thought. If you want to live plant-based lifestyle, simple ideas for meals make it much more maintainable. I like to call these kind of recipes fall back or go-to recipes. We all need some of those in the back of our minds. So here are a few ideas to start off.

Ingredients

Base

• Leafy greens (kale, arugula, spinach, lettuce, cabbage)

• Chopped Veggies (cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onions, pickled onions, pickles, celery, artichoke)

• Micro greens

• Herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, rosemary)

• Fruit (dried cranberries, raisins, strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges)

• Roasted sweet potato

• Grains (rice, quinoa)

Protein

• Roasted chickpeas

• Tofu

• Tempeh

• Beans

• Chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, peanuts, cashews)

• Seeds (hemp, pumpkin, sunflower)

Healthy Fat

• Avocados

• Olive oil

• Avocado oil

• Hemp seed oil

Simple Dressing

• Oil + vinegar

• Pesto

• Tahini

• Salt + pepper

• Lemon juice

Some of My Favorite Simple Combos

Summer Berry

Kale, purple cabbage, sliced strawberries, cucumber, avocado, bell pepper, chopped pecans, balsamic, salt + pepper.

Tahini Tofu

Grilled tofu, cucumber, carrot, tomato, bell pepper, arugula, avocado, salt + pepper, tahini.

Mediterranean

Sliced cherry tomatoes, cucumber, marcona almonds, diced red onion, spinach, fresh dill, avocado, salt + pepper, olive oil, lemon juice.

Trader Joe's Inspired

Kale, edamame, dried cranberries, slivered almonds, tomatoes, green onion, avocado, olive oil, balsamic.

Artichoke

Sweet butter lettuce, radicchio, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, artichoke hearts, white pinto beans, olive oil, salt + pepper.

Pesto

Trader Joe's has a vegan pesto that I love to put on any salad combo! Finding a good, healthy dressing will make you feel excited about eating salads! 😄

Maintainable Plant-Based Lifestyle

These aren't exact recipes but some tips to help make some simple and delicious meals that will help make your plant-based lifestyle more maintainable and enjoyable ;)

Feel free to post a picture on Instagram and tag me! @naturallynyla