Savory, sweet & crunchy salads for any occasion

Vacation time is over! And I am back on hardcore LCHF! And that means lots of greens and salads!

I decided I wanted to enjoy my holiday with wine, bread and all those things I don’t eat everyday. It was delicious, but came at a price! 7 kg (approx. 14 pounds! – yeah I know!) and bloat, stomach pain and oh the constipation!

(we speak of glamorous stuff here at Naturemama 😉 )

Anyway I am back 100% after 4 days of hardcore Lowcarb’ing and my stomach is back to normal. I’ve dropped 5 of those 7 kg’s (approx 10 pounds) as it was mostly water-weight and feel ready to conquer the world and my everyday work!

My mealplan when I work is quite simple:

• Breakfast: Bullet-coffee + 2 scrambled eggs w/salt&pepper
• Lunch: Leftovers meat from dinner the night before + salad
• Dinner: Meat, cheese/dip & salad

Allowed snacks: cheese, 1 handful of nuts or bullet coffee

Now the tricky part is always when I have days off! My food-rutine gets out of whack and I need to concentrate more on what goes in my mouth!

Another tricky part is dinner. Now my dear husband always means well, but somehow when he makes the dinner salad, it is just BORING! He’s not much of a salad-eater, so for him it just needs to consist of iceberg, tomatoes, cucumber & red peppers. And I suppose that is okay every once in a while. But when you don’t eat rice/pasta/potatoes/bread – you CRAVE that kind of crunch from something else!

So here are some of my favorite LCHF salads for any kind of meal.

Simple & delicious heartsalad with pear, fennel & walnuts

August 18, 2017

Servings: 4 people as a sidedish

Difficulty: Easy-peasy

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Simple and delicious salad for any occasion. Savory, sweet and lots of crunch!

By: Mamanature

Ingredients

• 2 heart salad-heads
• 2 pears
• ½ a fennel bulb
• 2 handfuls of walnuts

Directions

• Step 1 Divide the heart leaves, rinse and plate.
• Step 2 Wash the pears & fennel
• Step 3 Grate both pears and fennel bulb into very thin slices and add to the salad.
• Step 4 Add 2 handfuls of walnuts (toasted or untoasted – up to you!)

This is a great salad for flavored meats like Kebab or BBQ ribs! If you’re feeling extra adventurous why not add some blackberries to this mix!

My take on Gordon Ramsay's watermelon salad

August 18, 2017

Servings: 4-6 people

Difficulty: Easy-peasy

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Mouthwatering watermelon salad a la Mr. Gordon Ramsay!

By: Mamanature

Ingredients

• 1 whole watermelon, deseeded/seedless
• 500 g of white feta
• 1 whole cucumber, peeled and deseeded
• 2 handfuls of basil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

• Step 1 Peel & deseed both watermelon and cucumber.
• Step 2 Cut watermelon and cucumber into bite-sized chunks.
• Step 3 Dice the feta and add to the salad.
• Step 4 Chop the 2 handfuls of basil and mix the salad well.
• Step 5 If you like, you can add some lemon juice, but I prefer just to add some salt and pepper to taste!

We usually make this salad to go with BBQ food. We always get nice compliments from guests when we make it. Watermelon and feta are an unlikely match, but they just GO TOGETHER! Sometimes when I crave a little extra crunch, I add some pumpkin seeds!

Moroccan Carrot salad

August 18, 2017

Servings: 4-6 people as a sidedish

Difficulty: Easy-peasy

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Crunchy & flavorful Moroccan carrot salad

By: Mamanature

Ingredients

• 5 carrots, peeled & grated
• Zest & juice from 1 (organic) orange
• 1 big handful of pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds
• 1 teaspoon of toasted cumin seeds
• salt & pepper
• DRESSING:
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon of Agave sirup
• 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
• 3-4 tablespoons of good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of torn coriander & mint leaves
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

• Step 1 Mix the grated carrots with the orange zest & juice, along with the seeds.
• Step 2 Grind the cumin seeds, along with the salt & pepper using a pestle and mortar & stir into the carrot mix.
• Step 3 Combine all the ingredients for the dressing.
• Step 4 Pour over the salad and mix well.
• Step 5 Can be eaten right away – but tastes better the next day!
• Step 6 Can keep up to 2 days in the fridge.

This is an absolute favorite for when we are having fish – grilled or ovenmade. I find that the spicy flavor and crunch of the dressing goes well with the texture of the fish.

Generally I love to spruce up our salads with seeds, nuts and cheeses. It can turn a bland salad into a feast!

What are some of your tips & tricks for making a great salad??