Category: Salads

Lemon Tahini Loaded Kale Salad

This salad is packed with tons of nutrients including so many healthy proteins and veggies! It’s alternative name is Packed Protein Salad! It’s creamy and flavorful and everything you need to switch up any salad slump you’re in.

A few years ago, my sister & brother in law were grilling cheese on the BBQ. I was shook by what they were doing but I needed to know more. The cheese they were grilling was Halloumi Cheese. I had never heard of it but I tried it and it was incredible. It’s a goat and sheep milk cheese which I’m a big fan of because processed cows milk cheeses tend to give me a migraine. It’s salty and gooey and if you haven’t had it, you need to.

I’ve been seeing a few people using Halloumi cheese lately and I couldn’t be left out. Paired with chicken thighs and hard boiled eggs and roasted chick peas and you’ve got yourself a full nutritious meal!

I was going to put my Caesar dressing on this but knew it wasn’t going to go well. This needed something a little bit sweeter/tart to balance out the saltiness from the cheese while also staying a tad more mild. Lemon Tahini dressing is perfect!

Print Pin

Lemon Tahini Kale Salad

A fun spin on your favorite creamy and nutritious salad.
Course Salad
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 12oz bag of chopped kale
  • 1 can chick peas
  • 5 chicken thighs
  • 1/2 – 1 package halloumi cheese
  • 1/4 cup pistachio nuts
  • 4 hard boiled eggs

Lemon Tahini Dressing

  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 2 medium lemons juiced
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp water more for thinning
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

  • In a family style serving dish, lay out chopped kale.
  • Boil water in small sauce pan and hard boil 4 eggs.
  • In a medium pan, toast chick peas over medium heat till slightly roasted. Remove and set aside.
  • Heat olive oil in same pan and deeply sear and fully cook chicken thighs.
  • Slice halloumi cheese into 1/2 inch pieces. When chicken is done, remove from pan and lightly fry both sides of the cheese.
  • Mix all ingredients for the dressing, adding water as necessary to thin it out.
  • Assemble salad and serve family style!

Sweet Summer Salad

I love salad. I truly do. My son thinks it’s my flavorite meal and he’s not really wrong. I eat tons of salads and it’s not because they’re ‘healthy’ but because I really do enjoy them. And to be honest, most salads are actually terrible for you because of one component to them – the dressing. Dressings hold TONS of excess sugars and are usually made with a less good for you oil. They have ingredients you can’t even pronounce and can be triple the calories of the actual salad. So while yes, you can be doing your body good with an occasion protein and veggie packed salad, you have to be careful! I like to keep it simple usually with EVOO and red wine vinegar, a little salt and pepper and tada – deliciousness. But sometimes i spice things up!

A few years ago I was in Whole Foods and someone there was giving out samples. I think they were selling their dressing, but I can’t remember the brand of it or what was in it. They were having you sample it with a strawberry wrapped in swiss chard. What the… This seemed soo strange to me yet I needed to try it, and so glad i did.

I don’t normally like fruit in any salad of mine but in this it’s magical. The dressing comes together with 4 easy ingredients. It’s sweet and tangy and bright and the perfect salad combo for the summer!

Method: Tossing
Total Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2-4 people (depending on if this is a side or main dish)

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of swiss chard, washed and rinsed
  • 4-5 large strawberries, washed and sliced
  • 1-2 chicken breasts, or protein of choice (would pair great with salmon)
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • few cashews crushed to sprinkle over top, or nut of choice (this would be great with feta or Gorgonzola crumbled on top as well)

Dressing:

  • 3 tblsp EVOO
  • 4 tblsp balsamic
  • 3 tblsp dijon mustard
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

Wisk together all ingredients for dressing at the bottom of a large bowl.
Fill with salad components and toss together with dressing. This allows you to save the use of multiple bowls mixing dressing/salad.
You’re welcome.