I’ve tried a number of watermelon salads over the years. They’re good, but this recipe for watermelon salad becomes phenomenal. The big difference (from what I’ve tried before)? Lime juice, olive oil, cilantro and Tajin seasoning. This all comes together into a well-balanced and unique dish you’ll be happy to share, but would rather keep to yourself.
What makes it so yummy?
If you Google ’watermelon salad,’ the results often include watermelon, mint, feta & cucumber. Don’t get me wrong, those are delicious together. Yet, I was feeling like making something a bit different and recently discovered the magic of Tajin seasoning on nearly everything.
This recipe for watermelon salad starts with watermelon and Tajin. Then, naturally added lime and cilantro to complete the Latin flair. Because feta is so often in a watermelon salad, I went along with it.
After mixing that all together, it was good, but a bit too zesty. By adding just a bit of olive oil, it turned the tartness into a wonderful savory dish. Blending the heat from the Tajin, with lime and olive oil, you get mouthwatering deliciousness.
How to serve watermelon salad?
Honestly, I just dumped some in a bowl and ate away. Yet, if you want to get fancy, it’s a perfect side dish for grilled foods. Pair it with tacos (especially fish), you’ll be delighted!
You could also place the salad directly on top of grilled chicken or fish and call it ’fruit salsa.’
Once stored in the refrigerator overnight, the watermelon ditches much of its water and gives you a wonderful dressing in the bottom of the bowl. For my second night with the salad, I dunked freshly baked bread into the bowl. and let my eyes roll back into my head.
If chopped a bit more, the watermelon chunks could easily stack on top of grilled bread slices as a refreshed take on bruschetta. What a fun summer appetizer!
A bright and refreshing take on a fun salad or side dish. Gets a wonderfully unique profile with cilantro, lime and Tajin seasoning.
It’s not spicy as written. Feel free to adjust as needed.
Ingredients
4 cups cubed watermelon
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice (with zest) = 2 limes and zest of one lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp tajin
1/2 cup feta
Instructions
Simply toss all the ingredients together in a bowl. Best if served chilled.
Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Note that it gets juicer each day, as the watermelon loses some of its water.
Notes
The first time I made this, I used a slightly mealy / overripe watermelon. It tasted fantastic in this recipe! Great use for older, forgotten watermelons 🙂
As you get to know me, you’ll soon realize that I LOVE a good salad. They’re such a great opportunity to cram a bunch of veggies into one meal, while delivering on flavor. Bonus points for a salad that can hold-its-own at any time of year. This hearty antioxidant salad certainly makes the grade!
The other day, I was craving tabbouleh. Yet, it was about 50 degrees outside and I called ‘crazy’ on myself. Tabbouleh and all of its parsley-filled goodness is truly a summer salad (hello, ripe tomatoes). So I cobbled together some ingredients that could potentially fit the bill.
Parsley served the parsley role. (Duh) Then, I substituted beets for tomatoes. Instead of bulgur, I opted for higher protein and antioxidant rich hemp hearts. From there, feta and almonds just felt right.
My Favorite Salad Ingredient Strategy
I think you’ll agree with me that this hearty salad does a fantastic job of checking a lot of yummy boxes. To me, each salad needs to have a great balance of ingredients, without overdoing it, Achieving that balance typically means a base (greens or grains), ‘hero’ veggie, texture and savory touch.
If you add too many more things, then it becomes confusing to your palette. Too few, snooze.
Bonus: A Universal Dressing
This recipe includes one of my favorite yummy-on-everything salad dressing. So if anything, make sure to take note and save it to your recipe file. I’ve used this dressing as a household standard on so many salads. It delivers once again on this hearty antioxidant salad.
Olive oil and lemon juice are a phenomenal partnership for any dressing recipe. You can make it as-is, or feel free to add fresh herbs, red pepper flakes or other seasoning to adjust for nearly any salad.
1/2 cup chopped marcona almonds (almost any nut would be delicious… pecans, walnuts, cashews)
juice of two lemons (about 6 Tbsp or 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
Instructions
Dice beets into 1/2” pieces (note – if you want to keep you cutting board beet-juice-free, you can dice the beets in the same large bowl where you’ll be mixing the salad.)
Chop the parsley into pieces smaller than 1/4” (aka ‘fine chop)
Rough chop almonds
Put beets, parsley and almonds into a large bowl
Add feta and hemp seeds to the same bowl
Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and mustard powder to a jar. Shake well and pour over salad in bowl.
Mix well and serve. (I love this salad with an amber ale!)
Leftover salad can be stored in the fridge for about three days.
What’s the #1 tactic I use to make sure I’m eating healthy? Keeping my fridge stocked with pre-made meals, dips/spreads and ingredients. My absolute favorite fridge staple recipe is homemade Pesto. I have tons of versions, but this Walnut Pesto recipe is phenomenal!
I like to have lists of key ingredients that support important health benefits. These lists include: gut health, hero ingredients, beauty pantry, and comfort & calm. This recipe rocks the beauty pantry category with skin-nourishing ingredients like spinach, walnuts, nutritional yeast and olive oil. You can also toss-in some avocado if you have one on hand. 🙂 Or, boost beauty benefits by topping with pumpkin seeds.
Walnut Pesto on Everything, Please!
When I have this Walnut Pesto recipe in the fridge, I want to put it on EVERYTHING possible! It’s something my body craves, so I’m glad it lasts for days. Naturally, adding it to pasta gives a fantastic nutritional boost. Yet, you can try it on toast, veggies, tofu, chicken, meat….get creative! (I’ve even tossed it with popcorn.) This recipe is also wonderful with zoodles!
The best thing is that when you’re super hungry and want to make sure you’re eating healthy and/or getting the nutrients your body needs, you can grab your pre-made container of walnut pesto and add it to whatever else you have available.
One of my favorite snacks… Walnut Pesto on whole wheat bread, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and red pepper flakes.
Simply Blend & Serve: Can’t Get Much Easier
This Walnut Pesto recipe is about as easy as it can get. You simply dump all the ingredients into your blender or food processor and blend. (I like to keep mine a bit chunky, so I pulse till fully incorporated.)
You can follow the recipe as-is, or add ingredients you have around the house, Other great add-ins include:
There are so many ways to make pesto. I love this simple recipe because it just has a handful of ingredients focused on boosting your skin health. Spinach, walnuts, olive oil and nutritional yeast are all known to increase the quality of our skin. I created this pesto recipe to give you a go-to beauty treat you can have on-hand in your fridge.
Many pesto recipes feel like they’re dripping in oil. Not this one. You get the benefits of olive oil without having it drip from your chin with each bite. (We’ve all been there, right?)
Ingredients
5 oz fresh spinach
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup walnuts
Juice of one lemon
1 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
Add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend till almost smooth… leaving a few chunks gives a great consistency.
Toss about 1/4 cup with warm pasta and garnish with walnuts and red pepper flakes. You can vary the amount used based on how much pasta you’re eating/serving.
Or, use the finished pesto to spread on toast, top tofu or meat, or as a dip for veggies.
I’m a big fan of doing a bulk meal prep of a few dishes at the beginning of the week. It streamlines your time in the kitchen, plus ensures you have a quick, healthy options available at all times. Bringing together a handful of delicious ingredients in this recipe for barley adds a new favorite to my rotation.
Salads are a traditional no-brained for the summer, yet I truly love eating a healthy, comforting salad any time of the year. No matter how crazy your day gets, a hearty salad is a perfect go-to option.
Choosing Comforting Ingredients
When I make new recipes, I start by focusing on lists of targeted ingredients. This recipe is chock-full of what I call my Comfort & Calm foods: barley, squash, walnuts, cheese, olive oil and antioxidants. I’d never actually had a recipe for barley salad before, but it my mouth started to water when I imagined it paired with the other ingredients,.
Each item is super ‘sturdy,’ so it’s also a great on-the-run option to toss into your car or bag at the beginning of the day. You can dive-into lunch on the go or enjoy nibbles to keep you fueled during the day. (Doesn’t everyone graze throughout the day like me? Ha Ha)
Flexible Recipe for Barley: Pre-Cook or Quick Build
It’s so funny… I dreamed up this recipe quickly, but then took a day to actually make it. Sure, you can cook/prep all ingredients at one time and then compose the salad. Yet, I had a busy day and ended up cooking the barley in the morning, then roasting the butternut squash in the afternoon. Finally, I tossed the salad together for dinner.
That’s just how my day flowed and it was nice to have a recipe that could work with my small windows for cooking.
Sure, it took me a day to build the salad. If you wanted to build the salad all at one time, it’ll take about an hour total to prep, cook, cool and toss. Of course, there are multi-tasking windows there while the barley and squash are cooking, then cooling. Take it as an opportunity to hide in the kitchen with a good book, or plan a dance party with your kiddo… totally your call.
This is certainly a new favorite of mine! (I’m craving it as I type…) Looking forward to hearing your comments; please share below.
Looking to eat more plant based meals? Are your vegan or vegetarian family members tired of salads and rice at get together? This phenomenal recipe is savory and hearty enough to satisfy anyone, while delivering on a plant based lifestyle.
Before eating plant based, one of my favorite meals was Chinese green beans with pork (Pad Prik King). It’s a super flavorful dish that always made me feel good about eating more veggies, while satisfying my cravings for a hearty, savory meal.
Today, I center much of my personal meal planning on plant proteins, paired with vegetable sides. This recipe, however has the vegetable as the hero ingredient, with the plant protein added for seasoning and texture.
Simplifying Plant Based Meals
Because my family still eats meat, meal time typically means creating two separate recipes. Often, I can simply make myself tofu or tempeh and add it to whatever side dishes I’m serving the rest of the gang. Making a separate recipe is often out-of-the-question… unless I can make it super easy in just one pan.
This recipe simply involves one pan and a microwave. Easy-peasy. Although fresh green beans are a snap, I like having frozen beans on hand. Most grocers have the microwave-in-a-bag variety of frozen beans. Microwave the green beans for 3 minutes instead of 5 and then toss into the pan with sautéed shallots and plant based chorizo.
A Super Flexible Recipe
The animal lover in me hates to tell you this, but you insist… you can easily substitute dairy butter and pork chorizo into this recipe. Heck, you can add nearly any meat… plant based or not and it’ll surly be delicious. (I may try a tofu taco meat version someday soon.)
Yet, I beg you to try this plant based version first. We can all do well by increasing our intake of veggies & plants. Click on these links to learn more about Miyoko’s Butter or the Simple Truth Sausage. Why not check the box with a delicious and simple recipe that everyone will love? 🙂
1 Simple Truth Plant-Based Meatless Chorizo Sausage (just one sausage), diced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp Miyoko’s Cultured Vegan Butter
2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
Add sliced shallot to a large pan with 1 Tbsp of butter, stir until translucent
Microwave the green beans on high in the unopened bag for 3 minutes. This is less than the package directions, but help ensure they don’t overcook. Let them sit in the microwave to cool once done.
Add diced sausage to the shallots
Cook the shallots and sausage, stirring occasionally, until they both are browned
Take the green beans out of the microwave, open the bag and add them directly to the pan with shallots and sausage. (Make sure they’ve cooled enough before opening the bag.)
Add garlic powder, salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp of butter to the pan and stir to incorporate
Want to enjoy a healthy strawberry crisp cereal for breakfast? This easy-to-make recipe is delicious cold, hot or over yogurt as a parfait.
To be honest, this recipe started as a total mistake. I was trying to make moist oatmeal bars and ended up with dry, crispy bars. Because I don’t like wasting food, Strawberry Crisp Cereal was born.
Here’s the story. I was developing a Strawberry Oatmeal Bar recipe for RAISE Magazine and my first round turned out wrong. The result of the first round didn’t taste bad; it was just not as chewy and moist as I intended.
They were dry because I tried to short-change the amount of brown sugar in the recipe. (I’m always trying to cut-out sugar.) Yet, it was still pretty delicious. So, instead of throwing away the batch, I tossed it in the fridge and kept on working.
After finishing and photographing the final (phenomenally moist & delicious) strawberry oatmeal bars, I remembered their crispy cousins in the fridge.
“What if I put them in a bowl with soymilk,” I asked?
OMG. What was once a crispy mistake became a delicious homemade strawberry crisp cereal. Simply take about 1/8 of the recipe and crumble it into a bowl. Then, add your favorite milk.
In cooler weather, you can microwave the strawberry crisp cereal for 30 seconds prior to adding the milk. You’d swear you were eating dessert for breakfast!
It is also fantastic crumbled over yogurt for a new twist on a homemade parfait.
To keep things healthy, I developed this recipe using a strawberry chia jam: strawberries + chia + lemon juice. (Trust me, you’ll want to make an extra batch of the jam to keep in the fridge.) You can also substitute your favorite fruit in the chia jam. Or, in a pinch, use store-bought jam.
Bar Base: 1 stick (8 tbsp) salted butter, softened 2 cups rolled oats (not instant) 1 cup whole wheat flour (white flour works, too) 1/4 cup brown sugar (pressed) 1 tsp baking powder
Strawberry Filling: 2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries 2 tbsp chia seeds 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Strawberry Filling:
Put strawberries into a saucepan over medium heat
Soften for about 5 minutes, then smash with a potato masher or wooden spoon
Once mashed strawberries reach your desired consistency and being to bubble, then remove from heat
Stir-in chia seeds and lemon juice
Cool for about 30 minutes. The chia seeds will thicken the strawberries and create a jam-like consistency.
Bars:
Preheat oven to 350-degrees
Prepare an 8×8 baking dish with either parchment or non-stick spray/butter
In a large bowl, mix together butter, oats, flour, brown sugar and baking powder. Once incorporated, the ingredients will be crumbly and slightly moist
Spoon just over half of the mixture into the 8×8 pan and press down firmly
Spread 1 cup (8oz) of strawberry jam over the pressed bar base
Sprinkle remaining mixture from the bowl over the jam layer. Press down lightly, but don’t push through to the jam layer
Bake for 35 minutes in a 350-degree oven
Remove and let cool about 15 minutes
Crumble about 1/8 of the recipe into a bowl. Top with your favorite milk.
Notes
Store uneaten bars in the refrigerator.
When ready to eat more, you can crumble directly into a bowl or over yogurt.
In cooler weather, you can microwave the strawberry crisp cereal for 30 seconds. Then, pour milk over it for a dessert-like treat.
