Joanna James
If your salad days are synonymous with wilted greens and a watery bland aftertaste, then you just aren't doing it right! Here's how you can dress up a mega bowl of vibrant veggies, nuts, seeds, and grains and even crave more!
Whether you fancy flavour profiles that are creamy and herbaceous, sweet, and smoky or umami with hints of tropical tang, a few pantry-cupboard ingredients are all you need for a spectacular homemade salad accoutrement that is both much more wholesome and cost-effective than store-bought, ready-made dressings. If you're looking for an effortlessly quick marinade to spruce up your favourite clean meals, whether it's a smoked salmon and asparagus bowl or summer salad bright with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, arugula, corn, and cheese shavings, you can't go wrong with the classic blend of olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar. honey, mustard, and freshly chopped herbs whisked up and garnished with salt and pepper.
If you're on a diet and depriving your sweet tooth of its more decadent yearnings, you can still enjoy a deliciously tender avocado and chicken breast salad or a brilliantly simple garden salad with a generous drizzle of heady and sweet honey mustard dressing. All you need is two teaspoons of honey and wholegrain mustard, along with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Regardless of whether your go-to is a colourful Cobb salad with diced chicken, sour cream, cilantro, and kidney beans or you can't get enough of grilled steak fajitas served with fried bell peppers, onions, and a side of creamy avocado slices, shake up a flavour explosion of lime, brown sugar (or honey), garlic, ground cumin, red chilli flakes, vinegar, and soy sauce in a jar before drizzling it lavishly over your sizzling salad to elevate your tastebuds to a whole other level! If you're on the lookout for the best ingredients to incorporate into your salad dressings, venture no further than the likes of McEwan Fine Foods.
If you can't get enough of the unique textured nuttiness of Asian cuisine, whether it's in a pulled chicken salad with salted peanuts, coriander, roast chicken, spring onions, and red cabbage, or a light, picnic-ready summer slaw wrap, a sesame and soy vinaigrette can enhance the addictive savouriness of any meal. The vinaigrette combines harmoniously competing notes of groundnut oil, lime, honey, chilli flakes, and sesame seeds.
If a silky-smooth, cool-to-the-tongue texture is essential to enhance your wholesome eating habits, there are plenty of delectable dressings to try, from organic coral-pink Thousand Island sauce to compliment your Greek salad to cashew-based ranch dressing to pair with a hearty Farmer's Market salad or a refreshing yoghurt and mint dollop for mixed-greens, feta, and grilled chicken. However, for a mouthwatering, gut-friendly, and protein-rich velvety marinade, you can't beat the sublime medley of tahini, lemon, sea salt, pepper, and maple syrup lusciously layered over a veggie roast, falafel wrap, crispy halloumi, grilled aubergine tabouleh, or vegan pasta salad.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
