It probably won’t surprise you to learn that many people find salads boring, or not filling enough to eat as a meal.
I can relate. In the past, a bowl of leafy greens was never something I wanted to eat as a stand-alone dish; it was more of a side. Now I think about my fruits and vegetables a little differently, since I know how vital they are for my health, but I also know how to make them more interesting and filling.
My spiralizer has really helped, as it allows me to add different textures to salads. I also like to add nuts and seeds to make the dish more filling.
This recipe is no different.
Looking for another way to liven up your boring salad? Try serving it in edible, natural bowls.
This salad also pairs so well with a springtime herb pull-apart bread – check out the recipe here.
- 1 head of lettuce chopped
- 1 zucchini spiralized
- 1 small container blueberries
- 1 cup strawberries sliced
- 1 cup sunflower greens rinsed
- 1 avocado seeded & chopped
- 5 baby carrots chopped
- 5 baby radishes chopped
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon almond butter
- water as needed
- Place all chopped and spiralized vegetables in a large bowl and toss well.
- Make the dressing by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl. Add water as needed.
- Pour dressing over the contents and serve with salt and pepper.
*Serves 2 - 4 people - depending on if it is the main coarse or a side.
Photos by Sarah Hagstrom, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details.
About Sarah Hagstrom
Sarah is a health food advocate and loves to spend her time whipping up something healthy and delicious in the kitchen and then sharing either on Foodal or on her own blog "The Seasonal Diet" (www.theseasonaldiet.com). She lives in Sunny San Diego with her husband, where they enjoy running on the beach and weekend adventures.
I’ve seen the spiralizer demonstrated and they do make salads look more attractive, but also make it look easier to prepare. Sometimes you don’t want to chop too much of something or like me I am not so good at slicing, so it is a good way to make salads, especially with the dreaded onions.
Tons of veggies? Special kitchen gadget needed? Perfect dish! I know I was interested when I saw the title. I’m off to the supermarket before work so I can make this for our lunches!
Going to attempt to make this with my Veggetti. I know it isn’t designed uniquely for this, but I think it might work. Making healthy food more exciting is right up my alley as it wouldn’t hurt to eat more veggies on a daily basis.
I too get bored with salad. I find that when I ad lots of veggies, it really helps. I either ad a protein or a starch to help make it filling. (I.e. tofu or nuts, coupons or pasta)
I have never heard of or seen a spiralizer. I do understand the concept and the picture reveals it makes the salad look so appealing.
This salad looks really delicious and like it might actually be filling. I do believe that certain seeds and nuts help make you feel a lot fuller before you actually begin eating. I will keep this recipe and give it a go soon. It will certainly bring something refreshing to my dinner table.
I’m loving all these salad recipes lately, especially since the weather is FINALLY starting to warm up intermittently around here. I enjoy eating them as a meal, and the key is definitely to add some sort of protein like seeds or nuts. Will definitely have to give this a whirl soon.
I recently learned about spiralizers, and really like the idea of using one to add some variety to my dishes. The salad looks delicious and nutritious. Do you collect the sunflower greens yourself, or is that something that is sold in stores? I’ve never seen them sold here, but the variety is sometimes limited. Do you use both the stems and leaves? The combination of fruit and veggies sounds delicious, especially with your dressing. This is a must try recipe for me.
I bought one of these 2 months ago and now I just couldn’t live without it! Best gadget ever! I’ve replaced pasta completely in my diet and use “zoodles” exclusively. I never thought to use it for a salad! Thank goodness I just went grocery shopping. I’m off to try this out!
I have been dying to try the “zoodles”! I normally despise salads but these look so good and fresh. The strawberries would make this so sweet. I’m going to try this for sure.
This is a nice one. Large salads are always good to add to a meal or if it is big enough to make it a meal. I guess the last four ingredients is the dressing. I’m not big on fruit in salads but this looks good. There’s some blueberries and strawberries in there. Maybe a small amount would be good like half of what it says. I’d do more of the greens to bulk it up. The dressing I am interested to see how that tastes. Sunflower greens if I can find them will be a new one.
I need to get a spiralizer ASAP! This is the sexiest looking salad I’ve ever seen! It looks so fresh and crisp! I’m just dying to try it. I myself always use salads as sides because the simply don’t fill me up. I’ll get hungry an hour or 2 after eating one. But you know what? I think you are right, maybe I’ve just been adding the wrong things to my salads. Maybe not the wrong things, but not enough of the good things. Thanks a lot for the recipe, it’s just so complete.
This is such a good idea to mix salad greens with fresh fruit. I adore this salad and will be trying a similar version tonight with what I already have on hand. I am thinking about using kale leaves as well. Thanks for the inspiration.
That salad looks delicious, but I would probably leave out the strawberries and the blueberries. I can’t do sweet and savoury together, unless it’s jam and cheese on toast (if you haven’t tried it, do, it’s delicious!). I must try a spiraliser, I think that could be a major breakthrough for me and salads!
I do have a spiralizer somewhere in the nether regions of my cupboard. Can you recommend any video tutorials for using the oner? The ones that I saw made the process look easy and artsy, but when I did it, I had difficulty lining up my veggies so that they cut to the end of the nob, or they turned out less than artistic.
The salad itself looks filling and delicious. I think I might shred the carrots vs. chop them since I am old and shreds work better for my teeth, but otherwise, the variety of colours and textures and tastes is just the right melee for health and a happy heart! Thank you!
I absolutely love salads, even as the main dish! There’s so many versatile things to do with them, but most people simply think they’re bland. I love adding nuts to mine, such as cashews and sunflower seeds, sometimes matching up strawberries with pecans, and adding different kinds of lettuce, mostly romaine, mixed greens, and kale. If made properly, and big enough, they’re definitely filling enough as a stand-alone dish!
I am always looking for more ways to serve natural healthy foods. This certainly looks appealing and I see it contains many different textures and flavors. I look forward to serving this to my family!
I will be adding this delicious recipe to the meal at my next family gathering. Each family member usually brings a dish that is to bring and share. It always makes the meal that much more interesting when we see the original dishes that are brought by different family members.
I don’t own a spiralizer but I do like a lot of different ingredients in my salads. I usually add cheese and plenty of it, along with a protein of some sort and whatever other vegetables catch my attention. Tomatoes are always a perfect addition along with a little vinaigrette tossed in as a dressing. Nothing beats fresh, raw veggies, especially on a warm summer day.
I can see myself making this salad. I would make it an entrée, by adding some shredded cooked chicken. This would also be great for serving guest for a special occasion. It’s so colorful and filled with so many nutrients. I am trying to devise some form of diet plan so having something beautiful to eat will make it easy for me to stick to a healthy diet plan.
Salad is one of my favourite foods but, like many of us, I like a salad that’s exciting and tasty – not simply lettuce leaves, tomatoes and a bit of cucumber. I don’t like to mix sweet and savoury, however, and I would leave out the blueberries and strawberries.
What a gorgeous salad, and packed with superfoods, too! As a vegetarian, I’m always on the lookout for inventive salads. I’ll definitely be trying this.
One of the BIGGEST mistakes people make (that I’ve noticed) when trying to make salads appetizing is not chopping the greens enough. No one wants to try chewing a big chunk of kale in their salad! Chopping more bitter greens like kale and Swiss chard into more manageable ribbons will up your salad’s deliciousness factor by a whole lot. I’m really interested in getting a spiralizer, because Zucchini noodles sound absolutely amazing. Are there any that you can recommend? Thanks!
You nailed it. A spiralizer allows you to get away from always using lettuce as the base of a salad, there are so many vegetables that can take on a biger part of your salad if they are spiralized. Also things like beets are more fun and actually eaten by kids if they aren´t in chunks.
For me the biggest use of my spiralizer though is to use squash to replace pasta in many italian dishes. less pasta, more vegetables.
Well to be honest with you I think that I need this, if nothing else just to make me not hate the summer time so much. It is crazy hot here right now and it is tough to find the right foods to eat, and I think that this will provide some much needed relief. I always love combining fruits and veggies in a salad, and so the strawberries and zucchini will go so well together I love it. A little light dressing and I will call it a healthy and happy meal. Thanks for sharing this.
I’m a big salad enthusiast, they are one of my favorite meals, and I can really understand why people don’t find them, especially filling, I like to eat them with some chicken or something more heavy with it, because if I don’t I end up being really hungry 2-3 hours before it. But you really have a point, the more things that you add to it, the more filling it can get, and let me tell you that you picked really good things, I haven’t tried sunflower seeds on a salad! But it’s a great idea.
I never ate a salad that contained both vegetables and fruits, I think it’s pretty weird to put strawberries and lettuce together but I’m sure they taste good. Would some sweet oil help make this recipe better?
I actually find salads to be a great meal. They tend to fill me up, since I use tons of fresh veggies, and turns out to be a medium sized salad and ill be full all day. It depends on what is added. Lots of great, new ideas here! I’ll be checking them out, since I am on an “all-salad” diet.