Friends, let’s be honest: I haven’t exactly been knocking it out of the park in terms of cooking creative, healthy meals since having a baby. We’ve been eating relatively healthy, but it’s been mainly in the form of quick foods like smoothies, protein bars, pre-made salad kits for Joe’s lunches and simple grilled foods. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s hardly gotten my creative juices flowing in the kitchen. That said, even if I had the time to cook more right now, I would probably prefer to spend it cuddling little miss Ainsley instead.
This salad is our new favorite go-to for a quick, healthy dinner and also makes great lunch leftovers, too! It stores well in the fridge for a number of days and tastes amazing when served over a bed of mixed salad greens. Joe loves it just as much as I do, and that’s saying something for a guy who always wants some sort of meat with every meal. It’s made easy thanks to Trader Joe’s and their convenience items like microwavable brown rice, pre-shelled edamame (frozen), and pre-cooked brown lentils. Of course, you could always make these items the old fashioned way if you don’t have access to Trader Joe’s, but when you use the ready-to-go items for preparation this salad can be tossed together in a matter of minutes!
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 cup edamame
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup chopped almonds (I used roasted and salted)
- ¼ cup roasted pepitas
- Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Mix all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat evenly. Serve room temperature or refrigerate until chilled.