Your New Delectable Summer Salad - One local Doctorate Student in Clinical Nutrition shares her healthy salad recipe of the season

When building a salad, especially when looking to enjoy a salad as a meal, we want to ensure that we are providing our body with all of the necessary components of a meal. To build a salad, I like to first pick out my whole grain and protein source. In this salad, I’m combining my whole grain, buckwheat, with chickpeas to create a complete protein. I begin to think of what base and vegetables I can combine to provide an enjoyable texture and flavor to the salad. To top it off, I like to incorporate a dressing to make the salad more unique and serve as a source of healthy dietary fat.

Approximately 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

- 1 can chickpeas

- 1-2 tsp. garlic powder

- Black pepper to taste

- 1 cup buckwheat

- 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

- 2 tbsp. Garlic pesto

- 1 lemon

- 1 cucumber

- 1 tomato

- 1 carrot (shredded)

- 1 bunch of kale

- 1 bunch of Swiss chard

- 1 bunch of scallions

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 450º

2. Drain chickpeas and place on an aluminum foil-lined sheet pan

3. Lightly dress the chickpeas with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder and black pepper to taste

4. Roast chickpeas in the oven for approximately 20 minutes

5. Start to cook buckwheat: boil 2 parts water to 1 part buckwheat; once water is boiling, add buckwheat to the pot. Cover the pot and let simmer for 20 minutes (or follow package directions)

6. Wash and prepare produce for salad (chop kale and Swiss chard for the base; slice cucumbers, tomatoes, and scallions; shred carrots)

*tip: massage kale with lemon juice overnight to make the kale less bitter

7. Prepare pesto lemon vinaigrette dressing: 1 part red wine vinegar to 2 parts pesto + lemon juice to taste

8. Combine ingredients in a large bowl, drizzle on the pesto lemon vinaigrette

9. Mix, serve, and enjoy!

The Most Important Meal of the Day - The Benefits of Eating Breakfast

Breakfast is deemed as ‘the most important meal of the day’ for a reason! Current evidence states that those who start their day off with breakfast consume a more nutritious diet, and are found to be at a decreased risk for chronic diseases.  

Our brain function relies on carbohydrates, and when we sleep – our body relies on our storage form of carbohydrates to sustain us throughout the night. However, by the time we wake up, that supply is limited, and our body requires that we ‘break the fast’ that we were in while asleep. Prolonging this fast until midday limits the brain’s function and ability to work at peak performance. Thus, breakfast helps prevent brain fog, allowing a more decisive and better decision making.

Research suggests that starting the day off with a balanced meal allows for better decision making in food choices, and may even prevent feelings of uncontrolled craving for less nutritious foods later on in the day.   

A quick and easy addition to spruce up your breakfast: Muesli

What is muesli? Muesli is essentially unbaked granola! When preparing granola, a source of sugar, such as honey, must be used for the granola to cluster. Although granola is delicious and certainly a great option to include in moderation, swapping it out for muesli reduces the amount of added sugar included in your breakfast.

Muesli can be purchased at most grocery stores, but making your own muesli at home allows for customization! See my go-to muesli recipe below. The amount that I include for each ingredient typically varies depending on how long I want the muesli to last (depending on the ingredients included, it can be good for about 6 months in an airtight container, and even longer if stored in the refrigerator!) 

Muesli Recipe:

- 3.5 cups of rolled oats

- .25 cup of chia seeds

- .5 cup of sliced almonds or chopped walnuts

- .25 cup of sunflower seeds

- .5 cup of dried fruit (I usually circulate between raisins, dried cranberries, and/or chopped dates)

Ways to enjoy muesli:

Muesli is a great addition to breakfast; it is a source of whole grains because of the rolled oats, and the nuts contribute as a good source of dietary fat, so I typically try to add a protein source to it.

1. Enjoy as cereal! Combine muesli with milk and top with slices of bananas

2. Use it as a crunchy topping to your favorite yogurt

3. Turn it into overnight oats

4. Slice apples in circles, add your nutbutter of choice, and sprinkle with muesli 

Enjoy some foods that are in season this month!

Your March Produce Guide:

Apples, Asparagus, Avocados, Bananas, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Citrus, Pineapple, Sweet Onions, Radishes