Make your life easy peasy this summer with these 5 Quick, Easy AND Healthy Summer Salads – leaving you more time to enjoy the sunshine!
I don’t know about you, but I always find summer a much easier time to eat healthily. In winter, all I want to eat is stews, pies and mashed potatoes – basically comfort food in all it’s wonderful forms – great for flavour, not so good for the waistline. But summer is a different matter, and while I am partial to the odd out of season stew (especially my gorgeous Easy Brazilian Feijoada, I created in honour of the Rio Olympics), I mostly like to enjoy lighter, fresher meals…like salads!
But it is quite easy to get stuck in a salad rut, eating the same old combination of flavours, until boredom sets in, or else side-lining salads to the corner of the plate. So why not shake it up a bit this summer with these 5 delicious, healthy and above all EASY summer salads. All of them are a proper main course in their own right, many of them are suitable for special dietary requirements, making summer entertaining a breeze, and none of them are in the remotest bit boring!!
1. Thai Chicken Salad with Honey Drizzled Cashews (gf, df)
Packed with protein, from the chicken and cashews, this simple but tasty salad is anything but boring. It’s substantial enough to be eaten on its own, making it a great low carb and gluten free option.
2. Beetroot, Kale and Orange Salad (v, gf)
An unusual combination that really works, this vegetarian friendly salad is refreshing and very moreish, full of vitamins and other nutrients from the beetroot, kale and orange and is also low carb and gluten free! Best of all it only takes a matter of minutes to throw it together.
3. Prawn, Avocado and Mango Salad (gf, df)
This easy salad feels like a summer holiday – full of fresh summer flavours from the cucumber, mango, mint and lime – why it’s practically a cocktail! Add some ready cooked prawns for healthy protein and you have a delicious salad ready in 5 minutes!!
4. 5 Minute Mexican Salad (gf, df, v, ve)
Gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and vegan, this salad is suitable for practically everyone and yet packed with veggies and beans, so you won’t go short on flavour or nutrition. This salad is great on its own or as a side to meat or fish dishes – perfect for a barbecue!
5. Harissa Lamb with Chickpea and Pomegranate Salad (gf, df)
This substantial Middle East inspired salad is super quick to throw together and full of flavour from the lamb, harissa and pomegranate seeds. Serve on its own for a tasty gluten and dairy free main course salad or, if you are in need of a few extra carbs, why not have this with wholemeal pittas? The lamb can be done on the barbecue or in a griddle pan making this salad perfect for any weather!
How about you? What would be your perfect summer salad?
As ever, I always love hearing about my readers making my dishes and I really love seeing your photos! So do let me know if you try any of these salads or tag me @easypeasyfoodie if you share a photo of one of these salads on social media!!
Hope you have a happy summer full of delicious salads!
Eb x
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Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I love salads Eb, they’re so refreshing and often feel as though they’re doing you some good. Mr E & I (or perhaps it’s just me 😉 ) have a thing about warm salads at the moment, I just love how some griddled (or roasted) veg warm the leaves changing their flavour.
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Haha – I think there are salads and salads – some salads seem so laden with dressing and full of naughty things they are probably a whole days calories in one hit, but these salads are all full of goodness! I love warm salads too. I totally agree with you about the roasted veg/salad leaves thing. Probably my favourite salad of all time is my Warm Butternut Squash, Harissa and Halloumi Salad – my mouth waters every time I think of that one! 🙂 Eb x