I just returned from Bali and a beautiful wedding weekend in Georgia. Even if I come back from a trip relaxed and brimming with inspiration, spending that amount of time out of the kitchen leaves me with an itch to get back to cooking asap. The food in Bali was incredible – from the local dishes like turmeric coconut rice, gado gado, and curries to the Australian influence at cafes Canggu with elixirs and dragon bowls galore. I can’t wait to share more, but in the meantime, I’m sharing the first thing I crave when I come back from a long trip: a very sturdy chopped salad, in this case, a seriously rainbow one.

 

This salad is filled to the brim with fresh produce. The first thing I do when I’m home from being away is hit the market and stock my fridge with fresh fruits and veggies. I’ve been chatting with my health coaching clients about this – it’s a good strategy any week but especially busy weeks or weeks you are playing catch-up. Many have moaned to me that they have done this but their efforts have been thwarted when they return to the fridge a couple of days later to find wilted greens, shriveled berries, and dried up herbs. All that shopping down the drain..

 

I’ve experimented with lots of different storage solutions to keep produce fresh longer and have landed on these FreshWorks Produce Savers to help extend the life of my veggies. This week, I picked up a couple bunches of kale, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, and blueberries and transferred them right into the FreshWorks containers to store safely in my fridge. It’s best to transfer them directly into the containers – before washing and prepping – to extend shelf life as long as possible.

 

Beyond this rainbow salad, I’ll use these blueberries in my overnight oats, carrots as crudite for my turmeric hummus, cucumbers for spicy cucumber noodles, and sauteed kale with my morning eggs. I love the versatility of these ingredients and knowing that stored this way they will last for the week and beyond. At first look it may seem like there are a lot of ingredients in this chopped salad, but they are all versatile staples that you can use for many dishes throughout the week (like the above!) and will be prepped for you to grab and go.

 

GIVEAWAY – To celebrate National Salad Month, I’m giving away a set of life-extending FreshWorks Produce Savers! They are designed to keep your fruits + veggies fresh up to 80% longer* and are available in 3 sizes to accommodate the largest of kale bunches along with small pints of berries. They are incredible and extend shelf life by up to two weeks! To enter, comment and let me know what fruits and veg you plan to stock all summer long, and if you have any hacks for storing them 🙂

 

*Based on strawberries in FreshWorks containers vs. store packaging. Results may vary depending upon produce and use.

Ingredients
Serves 4 - 6
  • 2 small sweet potatoes, cut into small cubes
  • Omega Oil or oil of choice
  • Pink salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 bunches of kale, washed, destemmed, and chopped
  • 2 cups of cooked quinoa
  • 2 carrots, thinly sliced
  • 2 radishes, thinly sliced
  • 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 avocado, chopped
  • ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ English cucumber, chopped
  • ½ apple, cubed
  • Handful of blueberries
  • Handful of pepitas, or other nut

 

Tzatziki Dressing

  • ⅓ English cucumber, seeded and grated
  • 1 cup plain non-dairy yogurt (I like this one)
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 grated garlic clove
  • Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
  • Handful of chopped dill
  • Pink salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method

For the dressing: Squeeze out the excess liquid from the cucumber using your hands or a cheesecloth (this will prevent the dressing from getting too watery). Combine cucumber with the rest of the dressing ingredients. Season to taste and set in the fridge for at least an hour for the flavors to meld together.

 

For the salad: Preheat the oven to 425F. Toss the sweet potatoes in oil, salt, and pepper and roast for 25 minutes or until cooked through. Note: cook time will depend on how finely you dice the potatoes (see pictured). Meanwhile, prep your veggies!

 

In a large bowl, massage the kale with a dash of olive oil and pink salt until the kale turns bright green and is slightly wilted. Gently toss in the remaining ingredients along with enough tzatziki dressing to just coat. Season to taste and enjoy!

 

Note: You can store this salad in your Produce Saver and add the quinoa, avocado and dressing just before eating.

 

This post is in partnership with Rubbermaid. Thanks for supporting brands that support Clean Food Dirty City – all opinions are my own.