I present to you the salad I ate so often I almost made myself hate it. It’s so addicting, so easy and really foolproof. It combines the latest trends with the roots of my childhood—and that can’t be a bad thing!
Let’s just touch on a few things before you move on to the least boring salad ever. I used to think salads were lettuce, lettuce and more lettuce with a light dressing and a sprinkling of hate your body, so eat this shit, Maria. It took me a while to figure out that I was so wrong and that salads can have so many different varieties of greens and veggies. They can even have carbs. You can even have dressing that doesn’t taste like air mixed with gluten-free water—can you believe it?
Simple ingredients like olive oil do have the calories we’ve all been “taught” to be afraid of, but I promise you things like olive oil, quinoa, capers and artichokes are what your body is calling out for. Hair growth, nail strength, soft skin and more benefits are to be expected when you just enjoy the right foods, eat balanced and legit love yourself!
Long used by natural food companies as a food dye alternative, spirulina is a blue-green algae that may strengthen the immune system, improve digestion and reduce inflammation. Available in powdered or tablet form (use the powdered form for this recipe!), spirulina is high in potassium, copper and magnesium and is also an excellent source of certain B vitamins, as well as vitamin K.
Per serving:
Soak red onion for 10 minutes in enough lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) to cover. Drain. (You can reserve soaking liquid for the next time you make this recipe, use in another recipe or just discard.)
Whisk olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper in small bowl (or shake in small jar).
On large serving dish, decoratively arrange quinoa, white beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, artichoke hearts and prepared onion. (Refer to picture for ideas for how to arrange the ingredients.) Drizzle with olive oil and lemon mixture and dollop with a little Creamy Greek u201cFetau201d and Oregano Dressing. For a more casual dinner, simply add all ingredients to mixing bowl and give a good stir.
If you plan on having some of this salad throughout the week, keep veggies and white beans separate from quinoa and dressingu2014this will help it last longer!
While sablefish’s texture and fat content stand up admirably to the heat of the grill, this firm fish is also delicious poached. For this recipe, sablefish’s luxurious taste is combined with a light fragrant broth of lemongrass and ginger punctuated with the heat of Thai chili. Sustainability status Sablefish, also known as butterfish or black cod, is a rich and satisfying fish, plentiful in omega-3s and sourced sustainably from the Pacific Northwest. Skin and bones Sablefish has large pin bones. Ideally, your fishmonger will remove them, but if not, before you begin, locate them along the fish’s centreline and, using a pair of needle nose pliers, grasp them firmly to remove. You can leave the skin on for this recipe, which may help the fish hold together a little better while cooking, but it can be tricky to peel the skin away from the cooked fish and discard before plating. I opted to remove the skin first and simply keep a close eye on the cooking time, being careful to remove the fish from the poaching liquid before it flakes apart.
These mildly spiced salmon tacos served with sweet and spicy pumpkin seeds will bring a party together. Make a small quantity of salmon go further when you pair it with a fresh red cabbage slaw featuring citrus and cilantro. Drizzled with some bright lime yogurt, the flavours come together perfectly. Sustainability status Wild salmon from the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are considered among the most sustainable, as the fishery is subject to limited harvests. With salmon stocks in decline, supporting managed fisheries such as these can help maintain populations into the future. That may also mean eating salmon less often than we do now. Salmon is a favourite Salmon is the most popular variety of fish in Canada and the second most popular in the US.
B12-rich mussels are a very good and economical source of protein and iron. Steamed mussels are a classic way to enjoy seafood—and so is this rich, aromatic broth of tomato, fennel, and saffron. Be sure to allow saffron to fully infuse to get the full flavour benefit, and finish off the dish with the fragrant fennel fronds. Sustainability status Farmed mussels are considered highly sustainable due to their low impacts on the environment. They are easy to harvest, require no fertilizer or fresh water, and don’t need to be fed externally, as they get all their nutritional requirements from their marine environment. Mussel prep Selection: Look for mussels with shiny, tightly closed shells that smell of the sea. If shells are slightly open, give them a tap. Live mussels will close immediately. Storage: Keep mussels in the fridge in a shallow pan laid on top of ice. Keep them out of water and cover with a damp cloth. Ideally, consume on the day you buy them, but within two days. They need to breathe, so never keep them in a sealed plastic bag. Cleanup: In addition to being sustainable, farmed mussels tend to require less cleaning than wild mussels. Most of the fibrous “beards” that mussels use to grip solid surfaces will have been removed before sale. But if a few remain, they’re easily dispatched: grasp the beard with your thumb and forefinger and pull it toward the hinge of the mussel and give it a tug. Afterward, give mussels a quick rinse and scrub away any areas of mud or seaweed, which, with farmed mussels, will require minimal work.
The delicate flavour of shrimp is highlighted with just a touch of lemon and a hint of mustard, while radish and celery give some fresh crunch to this dish. Eat it in lettuce cups, on top of greens, or served on whole grain bread for a filling snack. Sustainability status Both wild and farmed shrimp can be sustainable depending on where they’re caught and how they’re raised. See our article “Sea Change” for more information about choosing ethical shrimp.