Watermelon Spinach Salad

Watermelon Spinach Salad

by | May 31, 2017 | Health, Home, Recipes

Happy hump day, folks!  Who else is planning their summer menu?  I’ve got the perfect recipe for barbecues, family potlucks, and all of the upcoming summer festivities!  Picnic or potluck style food used to be my jam.  I loved eating potato salad, cold pasta salad, deviled eggs—basically anything with mayonnaise. 😋 Though, why have mayo when you can have fresh, colorful food?!  The Watermelon Spinach Salad I’ve whipped up will be the game-changing healthy side dish or main to jazz up summertime meal spreads!

watermelon spinach salad

Occasionally, salads make an appearance at the average summer get-together but a big pile of green leaves does not usually appeal to people.  Add in a little texture and color and bam!  Suddenly the dish takes on a whole new kind of appetizing.  Watermelon is abundant and affordable during summer months so make sure you use a fresh and firm one for this salad.  Grainy or barely-sweet watermelon is not something we want in this salad.

Refreshing watermelon, briny green olives, and the texture of the quinoa and sliced almonds make this salad so satisfying!

It works great as a side dish but it’s also easy to turn into a meal.  Just add protein of choice like chickpeas (or lemon pepper tuna, if you’re like my mom) and then it’s a complete meal!  To coat the salad, I used an adaptation of a lemon dressing from Cookie and Kate that I’ve been head over heels for.  It’s seriously the best for drizzling on ANYTHING!  It is a subtle complement to make this salad come alive.  I know I’ll be making this again and again throughout the summer!

watermelon spinach salad

watermelon spinach salad

watermelon spinach salad

watermelon spinach salad

Have a great rest of your week!  Also, don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss out on any of my new posts.  Subscribe via the right-hand side panel or at the bottom of this page. 😉

watermelon spinach salad

Watermelon Spinach Salad
Recipe Type: Main, Side
Cuisine: American
Author: Melanie
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-3
I’ve created a fun salad to take to all of the upcoming summer festivities! It’s perfect for barbecues to potlucks, or simply enjoy at home with a glass of lemonade. Recipe makes 2 main salads or 3 side servings but can easily be multiplied.
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder (Kate uses 2 cloves garlic, minced)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • A pinch of red pepper flakes
  • A dash of black pepper
  • 5 cups packed spinach
  • 1 heaping cup cooked white quinoa
  • 1/2 cup sliced radishes
  • 4 large green olives from a jar (I used garlic-stuffed, marinated olives)
  • For serving: 3 cups cubed watermelon, 3 tbsp sliced almonds, and, optional, protein of choice—I went with 1/2 cup garbanzo beans
Instructions
  1. First, combine ingredients for the dressing in a medium bowl. Everything from the olive oil through the black pepper.
  2. Then, add the spinach to the bowl and lightly massage or toss to thoroughly coat with the dressing.
  3. Incorporate the cooked quinoa, radishes, and green olives.
  4. To serve, add the watermelon and sliced almonds. Plus, optional protein, if eating the salad as a main dish.
Notes
Salad is best eaten right away but can last up to a day if made ahead of time. If saving for later, store the watermelon separately so it doesn’t water down the salad and combine when ready to serve.

 

Chocolate Cinnamon Breakfast Shake—Mexican Hot Chocolate Inspired

Chocolate Cinnamon Breakfast Shake—Mexican Hot Chocolate Inspired

by | May 25, 2017 | Health, Home, Recipes

Oftentimes I go to bed dreaming of what I’m going to eat the next morning for breakfast.  The flavors of peanut butter and cinnamon on toast, berry-filled smoothies, or zucchini oats occupy my mind.  It might be a problem how much I think about food but if it’s wrong then I don’t want to be right!  Especially when it comes to breakfast—the best meal of the day!

Sweet breakfasts are my usual but chocolate, surprisingly, does not make a daily appearance in my breakfast or snacks.  Simply because it is one of those flavors that you crave the more you eat it, or, conversely, crave less if you don’t eat it.  I remember the days of being a chocoholic and it wasn’t pretty.  Now, I can go weeks without tasting chocolate in any form, and I’m quite fine, but once I taste some chocolate muffins or homemade chocolate peanut butter cups I find I’m craving it daily!  Not that I’m complaining.  Thankfully, my chocolate interests are much tamer these days and I channel my sweet tooth in what I’d say is a nutritious manner.

Exhibit A: Chocolate Cinnamon Breakfast Shake.

chocolate cinnamon breakfast shake

Truly, this combination came about when I accidentally threw cinnamon into my chocolate smoothie.  I spice up my breakfasts with cinnamon—AKA the wonder spice!—almost every day.  It adds a warm, comforting feel but also enhances the sweetness in foods.  Though, cinnamon with cherries, frozen cauliflower, spinach, and chocolate protein powder isn’t a pairing I was prepared to make.  Fortunately for me, cinnamon can do no wrong.

The smoothie turned out to be reminiscent of Mexican Hot Chocolate.  If you wanted to tap into that flavor profile a bit more, then a dash (or approximately 1/8 tsp) of chili powder would add some heat.  Though, the cinnamon is enough—especially if you want to keep your smoothie strictly sweet 😉

Let me know if you give this a try!

chocolate cinnamon breakfast shake

UPDATE:

I’ve updated the recipe below to include an option for how to achieve the same Mexican Hot Chocolate flavor if using a protein powder other than ALOHA.  Tone it Up chocolate plant-based protein or Nuzest chocolate protein would both work.

Chocolate Cinnamon Breakfast Shake
Recipe Type: Breakfast, Smoothie
Author: Melanie
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Cinnamon accompanies cherries, cauliflower, spinach, and chocolate protein powder to create a flavorful smoothie reminiscent of Mexican hot chocolate.
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 c cauliflower, frozen
  • 3/4 cup frozen spinach
  • 1 cup frozen cherries
  • A serving of chocolate plant-based protein powder (I used ALOHA)
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tbsp almond butter
  • 1/8 tsp chili powder (optional, but recommended for Mexican chocolate flavor)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp cacao powder*
  • 1/2 tsp sugar in the raw or coconut sugar*
  • a pinch of Himalayan pink sea salt*
  • 3/4 cup coconut water + 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or plain water + almond milk)
Instructions
  1. Blend up the coconut water and spinach so no spinach bits remain. Then, add in the chocolate protein powder, cauliflower, and cherries. Blend, pushing down on the sides of the blender with a spoon to help the mixture along.
  2. When mostly combined, add in the cinnamon, chili powder, almond butter, and almond milk. If using a protein powder other than ALOHA, add cacao powder, raw sugar, and sea salt.
  3. It will be a very thick mixture, but that’s how I like my breakfast shakes. Add in a bit more almond milk or water, if desired.
Notes
I like to blend up the ingredients in steps to make it easier on my blender. If you have a strong blender, feel free to toss all of the ingredients in at once.[br][br]*The original recipe was tested with ALOHA chocolate plant-based protein powder. It has a stronger chocolate flavor and slightly sweeter taste. You can use another chocolate protein powder, like Tone it Up plant-based powder, but, to compensate for flavor differences, add the starred ingredients: cacao powder, raw sugar, and sea salt. They’re all necessary to bring out the hot chocolate flavors!