Last night, as I was eating my 4th holiday cookie in a row dunked in Holly Nog, I started to think about salad.
and Green Monsters.
Funny how that works, eh?
and then my thoughts drifted back to more holiday cookies.
So I ate the last Chocolate Chip Cookie with toasted pecans (sorry Eric) and decided today I would revisit some of the most popular salad recipes of 2011 on Oh She Glows.
If a miracle happens, I might even find the motivation to get my butt to the grocery store and make one too.
Here are the 5 most popular salad recipes of 2011 according to you. Dig in!
5) Detox Salad
This vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and soy-free salad is based off the Detox Salad at Whole Foods…while being easier on the wallet to boot. It makes me want to dance in my kitchen when I eat this! I love it drizzled with a touch of maple syrup and sprinkle of cinnamon just before serving.
4) Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
Extremely light, fresh, and packed with protein and healthy fats, this tangy salad will have you dreaming of Spring and Summer. Not that you weren’t already when you stepped your feet on the icy bathroom floor this morning.
3) Back on Track Salad
Who says you have to wait until January 1st to get your eating back on track? Wheatberries give this salad a great chewy texture and can be found in bulk food stores such as Bulk Barn. If you don’t want to use wheatberries you can probably substitute brown rice or quinoa too.
2) Weekend Glow Kale Salad
I used to hate kale.
The only way I could bring myself to eat kale was if I put it in a Green Monster, and even then it was always quite bitter. Or I would bake kale chips and cook them so long that you couldn’t even tell it was kale.
Well, lucky for the 20 kale plants I planted in my garden this summer, it grew on me.
This kale salad is easily one of my favourite salads of all time. I learned with the right preparation techniques (such as marinating), kale could be just as good, if not better, than my previous go-to romaine lettuce. Not to mention, kale’s nutritional profile blows romaine out of the water. I always tell kale skeptics to try this salad because it will often change your mind…
Last but not least, I present to you the most popular salad recipe of 2011…
1) Lightened Up Protein Power Goddess Bowl
All women are Goddesses, so it only makes sense that this recipe was #1 in 2011. If the holidays have left you feeling a bit less than Goddess-like, energize yourself with this high-protein vegetable bowl. It fills me up for hours and even takes my mind off cookies occasionally too.
Other honourable mention:
Over The Rainbow Cabbage Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing
Well, I’m going to mow down on a salad today. And then I’ll have a holiday cookie or two for dessert. If there are any left, that is.
You did an amazing job with salad recipes this year! They all looked so appetizing and unique! Definitely better than boring old lettuce! Thanks for all the amazing dishes! :)
I am so ready for salads! I love cookies, but I definitely ate more than my fair share over the holiday and I’m craving vegetables like crazy. All of your salad recipes sound wonderful – perhaps I’ll work my way through them over the next couple of weeks. :)
I absolutely adore your detox salad <3 And after Christmas food madness, I guess I'm going to make a new batch tonight :)
I think we need to educate the world on what a good salad is – at least the restaurants that serve you a measly pile of iceberg lettuce with a few chopped tomatoes and call it a salad for $5.
These all look wonderful, and I’ve made {and loved} a few of them!
My top 1 recipe this year was the lentil loaf!
Top 1 of your recipes, of course!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwJEIU-uSiI
I had to share this…
lol…too funny!
All of these look so pretty and are so full of goodness – I especially like your Weekend Glow Kale Salad and Lightened Up Protein Power Goddess Bowl!
I just made a kale salad yesterday to try and detox myself from the sugar high of the holiday and now that I look at it, it was very similar to your kale salad above! Delicious :)
I’ll be stuffing in some greens today as well, already had broccoli with breakfast! These all look delicious and satiating!
haha nice…how’d you eat it?
I forsee 2012 as a kale frenzy now that I have a dehydrator.
I think massaged kale made everyone like the leafy green just a bit more ;)
I’m flagging all of your salads down for when I’m in a snafu for lunch
I have been craving salad lately, what with all the rich delicious food I’ve been enjoying with the holidays. This post is perfect! Now I don’t have to search for all of my favorite salad recipes :) Thanks!
Oh I LOVE this post! I’m wanting to try new salads. This is the post for me! All of the dishes look so good and delicious!
Great work!
I love how bright and healthy all your photos look! I feel like I can taste each one!
I feel you on the need for green food – I never thought I’d say this… but I’m a little sick of pie. Yesterday I chugged a green smoothie despite the cold weather!
I’m going to have one for a snack after my workout I think. Looking forward to greeeeeens!
Great post! This Goddess indulged too much this weekend, and I think one of these salads might just hit the spot! ;)
Can’t wait to see what you come up with in 2012!
It is amazing how much easier it is to eat cookies than salads during the cold months. Your salads look mouth-watering and put a much needed spin on the simple lettuce, cuke, and tomato kind. Especially the red quinoa…looks exactly like the whole foods version!
After a week of too many sugary sweets, I was craving the greens as well! Didn’t make a Green Monster (too cold) but loaded up on steamed and roasted veggies…yum!
I am not at all surprised by this list. :) Your salads are THEBESTEVER. I love that they are meals in and of themselves, packed with veggies, protein, healthy grains, healthy fats… and just nutrients and goodness over all! I have made the Protein Power Goddess Bowl over and over again – and, none too ironically, have my spelt berries for the salad soaking at the moment, to be cooked in two hours!
And about the cookies – ah, this time of the year only comes around once a year (sorry that sounded so redundant!), so it’s definitely worth enjoying every moment of it! Besides, your cookie recipes always have some sort of healthy twist (e.g. nuts… or chocolate! Chocolate is healthy…) so that justifies eating a cookie. Or two. Or three. :P
Thanks Jenny you are too kind!!
I loved all the salads you posted this year. It especially became useful after we received bag after bag of greens from our CSA. And in the sweltering August heat, there was no way I was going to braise kale. Salad it was! Thank you!
Ok, ok, can you believe I ACTUALLY Ate Greens during the holidays? My guilt took over and made me buzz up a smoothie or eat a handful of greens mid day. There was one day I was too tired, sugar rushed and cranky to even think of making a full blown salad, so I plopped a handful of spinach on a plate and drizzle dijon. DONE.
I love KALE! This salad looks epic!
xxoo
Nice work!! I’m trying to think if I had any greens…brussels sprouts I guess! haha :)
These look especially good after all of the holiday treats! My all-time favorite salad is the back on track wheat berry and bean salad, and I also really like the protein power goddess bowl. I haven’t tried the other three, and I am not a huge fan of kale, but I was just telling someone that I am willing to try making anything on your blog because EVERYTHING has been delicious! So….kale here I come. :-)
hehe well I hope you like it! Eric hates kale and he loved the salad.