Veggie Delight Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
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Remember when whole-grain sandwiches were considered healthy? I worked next door to a Quiznos in high school and Subway was one of the only vegetarian-friendly restaurants on campus in college, so I ate my fair share of foot-long subs before I knew about my Celiac disease. I’d thought I was doing myself a favor filling my diet with whole grains and veggies (even if those veggies were iceberg lettuce, bell peppers, and tomatoes). Well, inspired by my favorite order from Subway, this Veggie Delight Salad has all the flavor of your favorite sandwich-shop veggies and none of the crap. I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand, so I make these all the time to get rid of leftover onions, olives, and greens. It’s a highly-adaptable recipe if you need to omit something or add in something else to get rid of (like summer squash or mushrooms). If you aren’t following the autoimmune protocol, I recommend pairing it with a mayonnaise-based dressing like Caesar or making your own sandwich-inspired mix of mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper. You can also add leftover chicken, turkey, or ham if you need a heartier meal!
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Veggie Delight Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups green lettuce chopped
- 4 cups spinach chopped
- 4 ounces black olive sliced
- 3 small carrot sliced
- 1 small cucumber sliced
- 1/2 small red onion sliced
- 1 small dill pickles sliced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl and toss well, then serve.
A lot of the pickles I can find have additives including sugar. Do you make your own or have a specific brand?
I make my own, but you may also be able to find pickles made by local farmers or companies that don’t contain any weird additives at specialty stores like Whole Foods or farmer’s markets.
My modifications (based on what I could find in the fridge!): half an avocado, cooked shrimp instead of chicken, 1 large beet, a handful of fresh basil and since I had no cucumber, I julienned 1 zucchini. I had to omit the red onion (ran out) & pickle (the ones I bought from TJs have no-no spices) so I missed those flavors but it was soooo good! My top two favorite things about these recipes: they are filling, and they combine ingredients I never would have used together before. Thanks, Christina!
Look at you go! I’m glad it worked out and I LOVE that those are your top two favorite things. Filling people up with interesting food is all I’m really trying to do here! 😀