You'll love this summer superfood salad. How better to make sure you combine as many superfoods as possible into your daily diet, than by having them in an amazingly tasty and colourful summer superfood salad like this?
Hey folks, so you may well be asking, "OK, so a summer superfood salad, but just what exactly is a 'superfood'”?
Well. A well-known search search engine defines it as “a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being”.
And there's a whole lot of of good nutrition here!
A delicious salad like this will help you save money as well as getting all your daily nutrient requirements.
You see we’re on a complete money saving exercise here now, since we’ve booked a trip to Uganda in December to go Gorilla Trekking!
And check out the list below of just some of the superfood nutritional benefits of this summer superfood salad that contribute towards your health and wellbeing!
Why This Superfood Salad Is So Good For You!
- Quinoa contains twice the protein content of rice and is known to be an excellent source of calcium, magnesium and manganese. It also has high levels of several B vitamins, vitamin E and dietary fibre.
- Butternut squash is low in fat, high in antioxidants (natural compounds found in food that can prevent or slow cell damage), potassium and vitamin B6. The colour indicates the presence of heart disease and cancer protecting nutrients knows as carotenoids.
- Broccoli is a good source of vitamin C, can help to reduce levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (both of which can cause cardiovascular disease) plus it contains folate and soluble and insoluble fibre and calcium too.
- Pine nuts and sunflower seeds are great sources of the essential fatty acid (omega 6), as well as both being rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids like oleic acid, said to help lower bad cholesterol and promote good cholesterol in the blood.
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Other Popular Salad Recipes You Might Also Like
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- Couscous Greek salad with home-made dressing is a delicious, filling and easy to make summer salad packed with lots of healthy goodness. Made in just 20 minutes!
- Feta and lemon quinoa salad is a deliciously fresh tasting gluten free vegetarian healthy lunch option. A low cost salad which is quick and easy to prepare. With classic Mediterranean flavours, brought to life with a zingy lemon vinaigrette.
Summer Superfood Salad Recipe
You'll find this is a great salad to take to work as a packed lunch.
It’s easily freshened up with a little squeeze of lemon or a dash of salt and pepper. Great too served with some crisp breads!
I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂
Summer Superfood Salad Recipe
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Ingredients
- 100 g quinoa
- 330 ml vegetable stock
- 300 g butternut squash , peeled and cubed
- 130 g chopped broccoli
- 100 g peas
- 100 g wild rocket leaves , chopped
- 2 ripe salad tomatoes , chopped
- 1 inch piece of cucumber , diced
- 30 g pine nuts , toasted
- 10 g sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- A good squeeze of fresh lemon
Instructions
- Wash the quinoa in cold water, drain and place in a small saucepan along with the vegetable stock. Bring the stock to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes until most of the stock has been absorbed. Remove from heat, drain excess stock and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
- Whilst quinoa is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Cook the butternut squash, broccoli and peas. Prepare each based on their cooking times until they are al-dente.
- Place the wild rocket, drained quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli, butternut squash, peas, pine nuts and sunflower seeds into a large bowl.
- Toss everything together in the olive oil and serve with a good squeeze of fresh lemon.
Erin@BeetsPerMinute
YUM! I've been on a salad kick too, Neil. I LOVE raw broccoli and cauliflower on my salads, and have been really getting into adding nuts and seeds too. Your salads look a lot more pretty than mine do though lol. My food is all over the shop and a hot mess. 😉
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Glad you like this one Erin, thanks! 🙂
I think that so many folks boil their vegetables to death and eat them experiencing no taste or joy from them, that's sad. I like raw broccoli a lot in my salads, and I'm thinking I should add more raw cauliflower too, thanks for the reminder.
I did spend a while getting the salad looking pretty for the photos here, with equal colours but normally I'd just chuck everything onto the plate, with no thought! 😆
Liz
This looks absolutely fantastic!! I need to try it.
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Thanks Liz. 😀
I did try a combination of dressings before I settled on just a little olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon. It just felt "fresher" that way.
I'd love to hear feedback if you get a chance to try it out. 🙂
Amber @ Awakened Nutrition
This sounds divine! I love butternut squash and pinenuts. Will have to try this!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Hey Amber, thanks for your comment and jumping over here to Neil's Healthy Meals! 🙂
Yeah, I'm glad that I left those items in the salad. They really compliment it well with their soft tasty texture.
NancyC
This looks like a great salad!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Thanks for your comment Nancy, I've been enjoying reading through your blog. 🙂