Take inspiration from your local salad bar to turn your take-along or at-home lunches into a cafeteria-style feast—hold the hefty price tag.
Tip
Head to your nearest salad bar and glean inspiration. Many salad bars will often list the ingredients, giving you a bit of insider knowledge when you’re ready to mimic the dishes at home.
Make-Ahead Salad Bar Bowls
Ingredients
- 6 medium beets, quartered
- 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup (250 mL) apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup (250 mL) water
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) coconut sugar
- 8 cups (2 L) kale (from 1 large bunch)
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) tamari
- 1/2 garlic clove, grated
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1 cup (250 mL) oil-packed sundried tomatoes, oil reserved
- 1 cup (250 mL) toasted or raw walnuts
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) reserved oil from tomatoes or olive oil
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) packed fresh oregano or basil leaves
- 2 cups (500 mL) cooked short-grain brown rice or quinoa, cold
- 19 oz (540 mL) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 avocados
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
Nutrition
Per serving:
- calories533
- protein12g
- fat34g
- saturated fat4g
- trans fat0g
- carbohydrates51g
- sugars12g
- fibre13g
- sodium342mg
Directions
01
Kale and Roasted Beet Salad with Pickled Onion Vinaigrette
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). To ovenproof ceramic or glass pot with lid, add beets and a splash of water. Cover and bake until tender, about 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from beets and cut into manageable (bite-sized) pieces. Reserve.
To medium bowl, add onions, or pack into large Mason jar. In small saucepan, bring vinegar, water, and sugar to a boil. When boiled and sugar has dissolved, immediately pour over onions, cover, and set aside for at least 10 minutes, or up to 1 month if stored in refrigerator. Add pickled onions to large bowl, saving pickling liquid.
Remove stems from kale and shred; add to large bowl with onions and massage with your hands until kale has darkened in colour and begins to tenderize, about 15 seconds.
Take 1/4 cup (60 mL) onion pickling liquid (refrigerate remaining for another use) and add to small bowl or lidded Mason jar, followed by oil, mustard, tamari, and garlic; shake or whisk to combine and add to kale along with beets. Toss everything together until well incorporated. Store covered in refrigerator for up to 5 days, until ready to serve.
Sundried Tomato, Brown Rice, and Chickpea Salad
In food processor, pulse garlic until finely minced; add tomatoes, walnuts, oil, vinegar, and oregano or basil. Blend until a thick paste forms.
To large bowl, add tomato mixture along with rice or quinoa and chickpeas. Toss everything together until well incorporated. Store covered in refrigerator for up to 3 days, until ready to serve.
To serve Salad Bar Bowls
To bowls or to-go containers, add portions of Kale and Roasted Beet Salad with Pickled Onion Vinaigrette and Sundried Tomato, Brown Rice, and Chickpea Salad.
Halve, pit, and slice avocados, then add on top of bowls or in containers along with a hefty squeeze of lemon to retain colour and a sprinkle of chili flakes.
Allison Day, RHN, is a nutritionist, blogger, and cookbook author. Check out her cookbooks, Whole Bowls and Purely Pumpkin (Skyhorse Publishing, 2016).
