Ingredients:

Chickpeas: 1.5 cups, boiled

Onion: 1 small, finely chopped

Tomato: 1, roughly chopped

Green chillies: 1-2, chopped

Raw mango: chopped [choose any variety]

Coriander: 2tbsp, chopped

White and black sesame seeds: 1 tsp each

Lemon juice: 2 tbsp

Honey: 1 tbsp [skip if the raw mango is too sweet]

Salt for seasoning

Method

1] Mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl.

2] Chill and serve.

The post Protein-rich chickpeas and raw mango salad appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Apple and red cabbage salad recipe

Ingredients

• Apple 1, peeled and sliced or chopped in chunks, choose a firm and crunchy apple
• Red cabbage 1 cup, shredded
• Lettuce 1 cup, shredded
• Carrot 1, shredded
• Peanut butter 2 tbsp
• Honey 1 tsp
• Handful of raisins, walnuts, pumpkin seeds
• Salt, as you prefer

Method

1. Add the apple, red cabbage, lettuce and carrot in a salad bowl.
2. Add the peanut butter and other ingredients and mix well. The dressing should coat the veggies well.
3. Serve immediately.

The post Apple and red cabbage salad with peanut butter appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Ingredients

• Raw peanuts – 1 cup
• Onion -1 medium sized
• Tomatoes – 1 de-seeded
• Raw mango – 1/3 cup
• Carrot – ¼ cup grated finely
• Green chillies – 1 finely chopped
• Red chilli powder – ¼ tsp
• Roasted cumin powder –½ tsp
• Chaat masala – ½ tsp
• Lemon juice to taste
• Coriander leaves – 3 tsp finely chopped
• Salt as needed

Preparation method

1. Soak peanuts overnight and pressure cook with salt until soft. Leave it to cool.
2. Finely chop onions, tomatoes, green chillies and raw mangoes.
3. Set aside some chopped coriander leaves and grated carrots for garnishing.
4. In a bowl, combine all the above ingredients and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and grated carrots. Your peanut chaat is ready to be relished

The post Try this peanut chaat recipe to satisfy your street food craving appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Lettuce was first cultivated by the Egyptians who realised the value of its seeds and learned how to nurture this weed. They then passed this knowledge on to the Greeks and Romans.

Do you ever wonder why salad is eaten before the main course? In ancient Rome, people believed that eating lettuce would cause them to go to sleep, so they would eat their salad at the end of the meal. However, the tyrannical Roman Emperor Domitian thought that it would be fun to torture his guests during royal feasts. So he decided to start his banquets by serving lettuce at the beginning—so that his guests would feel drowsy and be forced to stay awake throughout the event! Let’s move on to the recipe.

Lettuce salad with miso sesame dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients

• ½ iceberg lettuce, shredded
• ½ red cabbage, shredded
• 1 carrot, julienne
• 1 celery stick, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp white miso paste
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp light olive oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• Splash of rice vinegar
• Salt, to taste

Preparation method

1. Make the salad by mixing together the lettuce, cabbage, carrot and celery.
2. Make the dressing by whisking together the miso, honey, olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar and 1 tbsp of water. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and add more honey if it tastes too bitter or add more rice vinegar if it tastes too sweet.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and serve.

The post Lettuce salad with miso sesame dressing appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Ingredients

• 200g or 1.5 cup bean sprouts
• 1.5 bell pepper, thinly sliced [red, yellow or green]
• 1 tsp oil
• 1tbsp garlic paste
• 1.5 tsp red chilli powder
• 1tbsp soya sauce
• 1tbsp white vinegar
• 1tsp honey or jaggery or sugar [can be skipped]
• 2 tbsp roasted, crushed peanuts
• Salt as preferred

Preparation method

1. Take 1 tsp oil in a small pan, add the garlic paste to it and saute till the raw smell goes away.
2. Turn off the flame and add vinegar, soya sauce, salt, red chilli powder, sweetener and mix well.
3. In a bowl, mix the sliced peppers and bean sprouts.
4. Pour the dressing over bean sprouts
5. Add the roasted crushed peanuts and mix well
6. Chill for 30 minutes and serve with a garnish of chopped onion greens or chopped coriander.

The post This spicy crunchy bean sprout salad is a must try appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 gem lettuce, leaves separated
• A large handful of salad leaves
• 20g fl at leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 15g mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 large cucumber, roughly chopped
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 small radish, finely sliced
• 3 tbsps olive oil
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsps za’atar

Preparation method

1. Make the salad by finely chopping half the leaves and mixing them with the other salad leaves, parsley, mint, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and radish.
2. Make the lemon za’atar dressing by mixing together the olive oil, lemon juice and za’atar.
3. Dress the salad with the dressing by pouring it over and mixing well.
4. Serve the salad sprinkled with the lemon zest and garnish with whole gem lettuce leaves.

This was first published in the April 2015 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

The post This Za’atar dressing will make your lettuce salad come alive appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Grilled sweet potato salad with ginger honey dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm rounds
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 250g mixed salad leaves
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp vinegar, [I prefer using balsamic vinegar]
• 2 tsp root ginger, finely chopped
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds [optional]

Preparation method

1. Toss the sweet potato slices in 1 tbsp of olive oil and cook on a griddle pan or under a medium grill for 10 minutes, or until soft. Turn them half way through cooking.
2. In the meantime, prepare the salad by mixing together the salad leaves, onion and spring onion.
3. Make the dressing by mixing together the honey, vinegar, root ginger and the remaining olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. Once the potatoes are cooked thoroughly, remove them from the heat and chop into large bite-size pieces.
5. Gently toss them in the salad with the dressing and the pumpkin seeds [if using]. They will be soft so be careful not to break them up.
6. Serve piled high for the perfect salad.

This was first published in the November 2014 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Veggies: The Good and the Bad

Vegetables are incredible, no doubt. Some studies suggest that people eating around 19 servings of vegetables daily see significant changes in their health and weight. When you mix different vegetables in your salad, you’re getting a powerhouse of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Raw vegetables, especially, give you the most bang for your nutritional buck.

Starting your meal with a salad is actually a sensible idea. It fills you up on low-calorie, nutrient-dense food right off the bat. By the time your main course arrives, you’ll naturally eat less of it because you’re already halfway satisfied.

But here’s where it gets a bit tricky: salads are not always low-calorie or healthy.

Choosing Your Base

Some vegetables are salad superstars. Think lettuce, spinach, rocket (arugula), tomatoes, cucumber, cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, and onions. These give you maximum nutrition with minimal calories. Even corn and zucchini can add interesting textures and flavors.

Then there are vegetables that masquerade as healthy salad ingredients but pack more calories than nutrition. Potatoes are the biggest culprit here. Sure, they’re vegetables, but they’re starchy and calorically dense without the satisfaction factor you’d expect.

The fiber in your salad choices matters too. Fiber doesn’t just help with digestion; it binds to cholesterol and helps remove it from your body. It also keeps your blood sugar steady, preventing those energy crashes that make you reach for snacks an hour later.

The Dressing Dilemma

The dressing is where most salads go sideways. That innocent-looking drizzle can turn your healthy choice into a calorie bomb. Ranch, Thousand Island, and regular mayonnaise-based dressings are the main offenders.

But you don’t have to eat dry leaves to stay healthy. Try these alternatives:

Greek Yogurt Dressing: Take regular yogurt, strain it through a cheesecloth or fine strainer for a few hours to remove the whey. Add salt, pepper, maybe some herbs. It tastes surprisingly similar to mayo but with protein instead of empty calories.

Simple Acid: Lemon juice, lime juice, or vinegar cost you zero calories while adding brightness to your salad. Sometimes the simplest solutions work best.

Mustard-Based Options: Most mustards are naturally low in calories. You can make your own dressing with Dijon mustard, a touch of honey, and some vinegar for sweet-and-tangy flavor without the guilt.

Eating Out Safely

When you’re dining out, keep these things in mind:

Fresh vegetables should look… well, fresh. Wilted greens and mushy tomatoes have lost their nutritional value and don’t taste good either. If the vegetables look like they’ve been sitting under heat lamps for hours, consider ordering something else.

Temperature matters, especially during rainy seasons. Salads sitting at room temperature become breeding grounds for bacteria. If something looks or smells off, trust your instincts.

If you can’t resist the restaurant’s signature dressing, ask for it on the side. Dip your fork in the dressing before spearing each bite instead of drowning the entire salad. You’ll get the flavor without overdoing the calories.

Making It Work

Salads aren’t magic weight-loss foods, but they can be powerful tools when you choose them wisely. Load up on colorful, fresh vegetables. Go easy on the heavy dressings. And remember that a good salad should taste good, not like punishment.

Your salad is only as healthy as what you put on it. Choose well, and you’ll have a meal that satisfies your taste buds and your health goals.

This is an updated version of the article that was first published in the June 2012 issue of Complete Wellbeing magazine.

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