I’ve been on a really big brown-bag-lunch kick lately.
Mostly thanks to the fact that this summer seems to be hell bent on robbing me blind.
I have issues saying no to social events.
Anyway, I do really like bringing salads for lunch since they don’t tend to sink me into a deep food coma during the afternoon. I do not enjoy bringing boring salads for lunch, however.
So my salad prep method of choice lately has been:
step 1: Big pile of spinach (or other greens, if I have ’em).
step 2: Whatever leftovers are sitting in my fridge.
The leftovers that made up the most recent incarnation of this method came from this grain and veggie salad.
Roasted Veggie Mixed Grain Salad
serves 3-4
3/4 uncooked Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains (or grain of choice, I recommend Israeli couscous)
water or chicken broth
1/4 large red onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1/2 zucchini, cut into half moons
4 brussels sprouts
2 T light sour cream
1 t chili sauce (pick your favorite!)
salt+pepper
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t chili powder
2 oz diced Hatch chiles (or other green chile)
cooking spray
1. Cook grains according to package directions in either water or broth.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. Dice onions and carrots, cut zucchini into half moons and brussels sprouts into quarters.
3. Place veggies on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, lightly spray again and season with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder and chili powder.
4. Roast veggies for about 15 minutes, tossing once, until lightly browned and tender.
5. Combine grains and veggies and add sour cream, chiles and chili sauce. Stir to combine and serve hot or cold.
I also added a jalapeno chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s to this batch (when I ate it for dinner) for a little extra something.
It might sound a little weird to think of this as a salad topping, but it was really good and very easy.
It also feels like you’re eating a big calorie bomb because it makes a pretty bulky meal, but it’s not! Thank you, veggies.
And we all know, with dinners like this happening this summer, I can always use new and interesting ways to sneak in some extra veggies.
It is kind of neat how you can pretty much put anything on lettuce or spinach and call it a salad. WIN.
I bought jalapeno chicken sausage this week, too. I’ve been on a major sausage and peppers binge. Not complaining.
This sounds great, I wish I could have some of your leftovers for lunch this week…
Haha, awww, I’d share but I…already ate it all. 😉
The price we pay for good food, hang in there:)
That salad is perfect and I like the jalapeno chicken sausage – sometimes putting things with salad that normally go with bread is a brilliant idea!
I love combining grains and greens, it’s so filling. The salad looks great!!
It is. I need the bulk sometimes!
That looks amazing. And perfect for summer- I think I’ll have to make a batch of that next week!
Let me know what you think!
I’ve been trying really hard to get back to packing my lunch regularly too and this looks like a fantastic option!
I have a love affair with TJ’s Harvest Grains. It’s pretty serious. I’ll probably steal this recipe but “adapt” it to not include onion and brussels, add mushroom instead and call it mine. 😉 Just kidding. But I do think it would look nice in a jar…
I don’t know if you know this, but I have a love affair with TJ’s Harvest Grains. It’s pretty serious. But I’ll share them with you. Also, I’ll probably steal this recipe, “adapt” it to not include onion or brussel sprouts, add mushroom and call it mine. 😉 Just kidding. I do think it would look good in a jar though…
[…] yes, I realize that I literally just posted a salad recipe yesterday, so just bear with me. The salads are nothing alike, and if your summer has been anything like […]