| Time Management: Prepare Super Healthy Salad Dinners in Thirty Minutes! |
We all do it from time to time...some more than others - not having
enough time is a common excuse to eat unhealthy take out foods or even
worse, grease filled junk foods! Or ... by the time we get home, we
want a fast and easy dinner in five to twenty minutes. So here are some great family salad dinners you can prepare for yourself, family and friends! They take up to thirty minutes to prepare. Try them out and see how delicious they are. They can be eaten as presented or used as a guideline to which you can add your own ingredients and personal style. Eat and enjoy!
________________________________________________________
West Sussex Roasted Pepper and Goats Cheese Salad
Preparation time: 10 minutes + cooling
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 each red, yellow and orange peppers
4 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 (110g) Sussex Slipcote goats cheese or similar, crumbled
(100g) bag rocket mix
Dressing:
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp clear honey
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C/Fan 190C/Gas Mark 7. Place the whole peppers on a baking tray and roast for about 20 mins or until soft and charred all over. Transfer to a plastic bag and leave to cool for 10 mins.
When cool enough to handle, peel away the charred skins and discard along with the stalks and seeds. Thinly slice the flesh. Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
Empty the leaves into a large salad bowl, add the peppers, sunflower seeds and goats cheese. Drizzle over the dressing and serve.
| Calories: | 225Kcals |
| Protein: | 8.3g |
| Carbohydrate: | 10.7g |
| Fat: | 16.9g |
| Saturated fat: | 4.6g |
| Fibre: | 3.2g |
| Salt: | 0.21g |
Red Onion & Pepper Salad with Goats Cheese Croutes
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
12 thin slices ciabatta or other crusty bread
2 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, sliced
1 (300g) jar roasted red peppers, drained and deseeded
1 (100g) soft goats cheese
1 (150g) bag rocket salad leaves
For the dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Method
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan, add the onions and cook over a medium heat for 8mins or until tender and caramelised. Place in a large salad bowl. Drain the peppers, reserving 2 tbsp of the pepper juices for the dressing. Thinly slice the peppers and add to the bowl with the salad leaves. Toss to mix. For the dressing, mix the reserved juices, olive oil and balsamic vinegar together with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the bread slices on a baking tray, drizzle over the remaining 1 tbsp of the olive oil and toss until the bread is coated. Cook under a medium grill for 2mins, turning once until pale golden. Divide the goats cheese between the slices and season with black pepper.
Pop the cheese topped croutes back under the grill for 2mins or until the cheese is pale golden. Divide the salad between four plates, top each with three croutes and drizzle over the dressing before serving.
| Calories: | 370Kcals |
| Fat: | 20g |
| Saturated fat: | 6g |
| Fibre: | 3.6g |
| Salt: | 1g |
Pleasing Pesto Chicken Pasta SaladPreparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-35 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 chicken breast fillets
1 tsp olive oil
4 tbsp pinenuts
150g/5oz pasta shells
1/2 red onion, sliced
225g/8oz cherry tomatoes, halved
175g/6oz cucumber, deseeded and cut into sticks
1 (120g) bag Italian salad leaves
For the dressing:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp pesto sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Method
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 8-10mins or until just cooked and still ‘al dente’. Add the pinenuts to the remaining oil in the small pan and cook over a low heat for 2mins or until golden brown and toasted. Drain on kitchen paper.
Drain the pasta in a colander then run under the cold tap until the pasta is cold. Drain then place in a large bowl. Add the chicken pine nuts, onion, tomatoes and cucumber. Mix all the dressing ingredients together and toss into the salad bowl. Season to taste. If liked, the salad can now be refrigerated for upto 2 hours until required.
Just before serving, add the salad leaves and toss again to mix.
| Calories: | 414Kcals |
| Protein: | 25g |
| Carbohydrate: | 35g |
| Fat: | 21g |
| Saturated fat: | 2g |
| Fibre: | 3g |
| Sugars: | 5g |
| Salt: | 0.2g |
Griddled Chicken and Pepper Caesar Salad
A tangy, filling picnic hamper filler!
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
3 chicken breast fillets
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and thickly sliced
175g/6oz ciabatta bread, cubed
1 bag Sweet and crunchy salad
For the dressing:
2 tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
dash of Worcestershire sauce
squeeze of lemon juice
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Brush the chicken and pepper with 2 tsp of the olive oil. Place the bread cubes in a small roasting tin, add the remaining olive oil and toss well. Bake for 10mins until golden. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan. Add the chicken to the griddle pan and cook for 10-15mins, turning once until cooked through. Remove from the pan and slice.
Add the peppers to the griddle and cook for 5-6mins, turning occasionally until charred around the edges. Empty the salad into a large bowl, add the croutons, chicken and peppers and mix well.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together with a fork and add a little water if needed to make a drizzling consistency. Divide the salad between four plates and drizzle a little dressing over each. Serve straight away.
| Calories: | 332Kcals |
| Protein: | 32g |
| Carbohydrate: | 29g |
| Fat: | 11g |
| Saturated fat: | 2g |
| Fibre: | 2g |
| Sugars: | 5g |
| Salt: | 1.1g |
Roasted Baby Vegetable Salad
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
175g/6oz baby carrots, scrubbed and halved
2 tbsp olive oil
100g/4oz asparagus tips
100g/4oz baby courgettes, trimmed and halved
75g/3oz sugar snap peas
2 tbsp orange juice
1 (150g) bag Bistro salad leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas Mark 6. Place the carrots in a medium roasting tin with the olive oil. Roast for 10 mins. Add the asparagus, courgettes and sugarsnaps and roast for a further 10 mins or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the orange juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave to cool for 5 mins.
Empty the salad leaves into a large bowl, add the roasted vegetables and toss well to mix. Serve straight away.
___________________________________________________________