Tag Archives: salad

Roast Pumpkin and Glazed Walnut Salad <200 kcals

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Roast Pumpkin and Glazed Walnut Salad

Roast Pumpkin and Glazed Walnut Salad

Glorious colour to brighten up a dull day. This would be very good with some bacon lardons running through it, or topped with chopped feta or blue cheese or slices of taleggio. You could also dress it with toasted pumpkin seeds.  As an alternative to pumpkin, use butternut squash

Serves 2

  • 300g pumpkin, peeled and cubed 102 kcals
  • 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil 62 kcals
  • 1/2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar 3 kcals
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 25g walnut pieces 155 kcals
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup 52 kcals
  • 2 tbsp walnut or cider vinegar 6 kcals
  • 75g rocket leaves 19 kcals

Preheat the oven to 180c (fan).

Put the cubes of pumpkin on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 25 – 30 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft and starting to brown.

Heat the maple syrup and vinegar in a small pan until they are well combined then toss the walnut pieces in to coat thoroughly.

Dress the rocket with the pumpkin and walnuts, drizzling over any remaining dressing.

Serve warm.

Per serving: kcals 199
Carbs 22g Fat 12g Protein 6g

Greek Salad with Feta and Olives – less than 200kcals per serving

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I know it’s only February and the tomatoes and cucumbers will have to come from Spain or Morocco, but with a little bit of sunshine streaming in through the window, I really feel like having something summery.

This goes brilliantly well with meat or fish, or for a vegetarian option falafels would be wonderful.Greek Salad with feta and olives

Greek Salad with Feta and Olives

Making a salad like this always brings me happy memories – of holidays in Cyprus or meals at one of our favourite Greek restaurants in London. Of course it goes wonderfully well with Lemony Lamb Skewers (page 106) or Lemony Tuna Kebabs (page 99). No need to make a complicated dressing for a salad like this – a drizzle of fruity extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon is all you need.

Serves 2

  • 1 Little Gem lettuce or romaine heart 15 kcals
  • 1/2 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks 23 kcals
  • 2 large or 4 medium tomatoes, sliced or halved 52 kcals
  • 1/2 onion, sliced 22 kcals
  • 50g feta cheese 132 kcals
  • 8 black kalamata olives 45 kcals
  • 1 tbsp flat leaved parsley leaves, chopped
  • 2 tsp olive oil 80 kcals
  • 2 lemon wedges 4 kcals

Per serving: kcals 186 Carbs 15g Fat 13g Protein 6g

Please note: page references are to 5:2 Healthy Eating for Life – available on Amazon in print or kindle formats.

A bowl of cherries becomes….. cherry cole slaw

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When faced with an abundance of something, it is well worth trying some new ideas……

Our cherry season is short and I tend to stone and freeze the majority of them, so that I can make pies, compotes, jam or whatever later on. 

Cherry Cole Slaw

I was making cole slaw to go with one of our BBQs and usually I add dried fruit, such as raisins, or maybe some chopped apple, but there was this big bow of fresh cherries in front of me, so I added some of those instead. They added just the right note of acidity and sweetness to contrast with the cabbage, carrots and creamy yogurt and mayo dressing. The borage flowers gave a rather lovely visual lift, I thought.

Broad Bean and Walnut Salad

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I just love this time of year, when there are fresh broad beans to pick from the garden!

Here is a salad to celebrate delicious broad beans.

Broad Bean and Walnut Salad

Broad Bean and Walnut Salad

Ingredients:

Broad beans, lightly cooked
Red onion, finely sliced
Spring onion, finely sliced
White Radish, finely sliced
Walnut pieces, toasted
Parsley, chopped
Vinaigrette made with walnut vinegar*

This would work so well with a light fresh goat or sheep’s cheese, like feta! For my meat-eater I served it with some slivers of serrano ham and rosette sausage.

I had it on a pile of green leaves with some Cantal cheese and sliced tomato.

I haven’t calorie counted it as I didn’t weigh the ingredients, but it is the sort of healthy food that can be part of any day of eating.

*vinegar aromatised with walnuts is a common ingredient here in South West France, where walnuts grow happily. If you can’t find it, then you could use some walnut oil to get that lovely nutty flavour.

I used white radish as the red radishes looked a bit wilted in the shop, but they would be so pretty in this salad.

Hazelnuts would work too, as an alternative to walnuts.

Cabbage, Green Pepper and Caraway Salad

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This Spanish style salad makes a great change from Cole Slaw having a light dressing, lovely crunch and an excellent combination of flavours.Cabbage, Green Pepper and Caraway Salad

We ate it with Chicken with Garlic and Saffron (Pollo al Ajillo) and Potatoes with Spicy Tomato Sauce (Patatas Bravas) – about 400 kcals in all for me.

Chicken with garlic and saffron; patatas bravas; cabbage, green pepper and caraway salad

I have reduced the amount of olive oil and raisins used in order to make this a light, low-calorie salad that is suitable to use on a 5:2 Fast Day, or on any day as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Caraway Seeds contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, essential oils and anti-oxidants with many potential health benefits. They go particularly well with cabbage, as their anti-flatulent properties are particularly helpful.

Cabbage, Green Pepper and Caraway Salad
Serves 2
Spanish influenced crunchy and tasty alternative to cole slaw. The addition of caraway seeds helps to temper the sometimes flatulent effect of cabbage!
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Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
10 min
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
10 min
Ingredients
  1. 100g white cabbage, finely shredded
  2. 1 medium carrot, cut in fine julienne strips
  3. 1/2 green pepper, cut in fine julienne strips
  4. 10g raisins
For the dressing
  1. 1/2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
  2. 1/2 tblsp white wine vinegar
  3. 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
  4. sea salt
  5. freshly ground black pepper
For the garnish
  1. 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
Instructions
  1. Put the shredded vegetables in a serving dish.
  2. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.
  4. Sprinkle the caraway seeds over the top.
Notes
  1. I like to use vinegar aromatised with walnuts, vinaigre noix - a fab ingredient that is common here in South West France, it lends a wonderful nutty flavour to salad dressings. Look out for it!
  2. As a side dish, this would serve 4 (42 kcals each), or as a more subsantial salad, serves 2 (84 kcals each).
  3. My calculations using myFitnessPal are a little different from the beta version below, I don't really know why.
Adapted from Tapas, the little dishes of Spain by Penelope Casas
Adapted from Tapas, the little dishes of Spain by Penelope Casas
Focus on Flavour https://www.focusonflavour.com/