• Saver Queen’s summer salads

    Posted on June 11th, 2009 Saver Queen 10 comments

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    This past winter, my main trick for eating healthy and tasty food on a budget was to make a lot of hearty and yummy soups.  Now that spring and summer are here, I’ve moved on to salads.  Making salads that combine protein and veggies are easy. A few combinations and you have yourself an entire meal! The best part? It’s an incredibly frugal way to eat nutritious foods.

    I found this one by googling for barley and discovered a great recipe from Whole Foods (see below).

    Ingredients

    3 cups water 
    1 cup pearled barley 
    1/2 cup chopped green onions 
    1/2 cup diced red bell pepper 
    1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped 
    1/3 cup basil leaves, chopped 
    2 tablespoons mint leaves, chopped 
    1/4 cup avocado oil or canola oil* 
    1 clove garlic, minced 
    1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 
    Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

    Method

    In a saucepan, combine water and barley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until barley is tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Drain barley and set aside. 

    Place green onions, red pepper, parsley, basil and mint in a large bowl. Add cooked barley and toss to combine. 

    In a small bowl, whisk together oil, minced garlic and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then drizzle over barley salad, stirring to combine well. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or cold.

    Saver Queen’s adjustments

    I lacked lemons, green onions, red pepper and basil, so I subbed in green pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes and just used mint, parsley and bottled lemon juice instead. I also used olive oil instead of canola.  The recipe has 4g of protein per serving, which is not bad for a vegetarian dish! I have served this before with salmon, but it would also work well with a few other salads. 

    I love digging out staples hiding in the pantry, like barley, lentils, and dried or canned beans, because they can usually be combined with whatever veggies you have around to create a great dish.  These frugal staples are not only cheap, they are tasty and nutritious.  It’s a great way to pull together a light, meatless summer meal that’s easy on the budget.

    What’s your favourite summer salad?

    Groceries, Recipes
     

    10 responses to “Saver Queen’s summer salads”

    1. Emily June 11th, 2009 at 19:15

      I love summer salads!!!! So many options and so fresh and exciting!!!

      This is one of my faves. It’s really easy and quick and tastes like summer.

      http://bit.ly/7071r

    2. psychsarah June 12th, 2009 at 10:50

      One of my faves has chickpeas, lentils, veggies, herbs (dried or fresh depending what I have) and feta with a balsamic vinaigrette. It’s a nice flexible recipe that allows me to use up whatever veggies I have around (peppers, celery, carrots, zucchini, cucumber, grape tomatoes, all work great). It’s pretty frugral and if I use two cans of chickpeas, one of lentils, a bunch of veggies and then a bit of feta for flavour(say 1/2 cup in small cubes), it will yield 4-5 lunch servings! Easy, quick, cheap, and healthy-can’t beat it. Yeah for summer!!

    3. Kate June 12th, 2009 at 11:26

      I stumbled on a great summer salad the other day when I was throwing stuff together in a rush, and it’s been wonderful!

      Grab an appropriately-sized lunch tupperware container (big enough for a salad). Through in spinach or spring mix, as well as some chooped or sliced fruit (whatever you have in your fridge will do- I’ve used nectarines, apples, pears, baby tomatoes, etc).

      Chop a small chicken breast into cubes and toss with cajun spice (to taste, obviously). Dry-fry it in a small frying pan and when it’s done, toss it on top of the salad. Add half an avocado (chopped).

      Stick the lid on and run out the door!

      It’s tasty, healthy, and doesn’t even need dressing!

    4. The Prudent Homemaker June 12th, 2009 at 12:20

      I have my favorite salads here:

      http://theprudenthomemaker.com/salads.aspx

      I love that your used barley in your salad! I have just a tiny bit left and I need to get more.

      I am hoping for a good crop of peppers and tomatoes this year so that I can make a lot more salads!

    5. CanadianDebtGirl June 12th, 2009 at 20:38

      This salad looks delish! I’ll have to try it this weekend.

    6. Catherine June 12th, 2009 at 21:33

      Looks delicious SQ! I’ll have to try it!
      My favourite salad to serve is the broccoli/bacon one….and potato salad is a huge favourite in my family too….oh yes,…and coleslaw made with my Starfrit!

    7. niki June 13th, 2009 at 08:15

      Mmmm..summer salads! This is one I’ve never seen before. Sounds light and tasty.

      :)

    8. CanadianSaver June 14th, 2009 at 09:29

      Looks really good! Thanks for posting. You can never have too many summer salad recipes :-)

    9. Sonya-Dime Store Thrift June 15th, 2009 at 15:00

      That looks so YUMMY! Thanks for sharing it!

    10. Lentil Walnut Burgers: Your frugal vegetarian alternative @ Saver Queen August 2nd, 2009 at 14:38

      [...] quite enough effort for one evening) and any variety of summer salads, such as the one I suggested here. I just had mine with potato chips for a quick lunch. (I know I’ve boasted before about how I [...]

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