This salad is super customizable, and is a staple in my weekly salad rotation. I like to make 4 salads at the beginning of the week and eat them daily for lunch–sometimes with some sliced protein or avocado/nuts. If you don’t have quinoa, use another high protein/fiber grain (or omit). Can’t find tart cherries? Grab some craisins or golden raisins. Hate goat cheese? Use feta….you see where I’m going. Anyways, stop being such a fatty in the drive through line and take an hour to assemble four lunches and feel way better all week!
Chopped arugula and butter lettuce salad with all the fixings
- 2 bags cauliflower florets
- 1 bag arugula
- 1 bag butter lettuce
- 1 cup dried tart cherries
- 1 container (or small block) crumbled goat cheese
- 1 ready to cook bag of quinoa (or make 2 cups, cooked)
- spicy olive oil (or good quality drizzling oil)
- balsamic glaze
- Heat oven to 400 and break apart 2 bags of cauliflower into smaller florets. Drizzle with about 1 tbs olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 45 minutes, tossing once after 20 minutes. Set aside to cool
- Cook quinoa according to package. If using H‑E‑B bag, 90 seconds. If cooking “conventional” quinoa, make 2 cups, cooked. Once cooked, cool and divide into 4 containers
- Chop up one bag butter bliss and one bag baby arugula and set aside.
- Divide up tart cherries (1/4 cup per salad) and layer over cooked quinoa.
- Add 1/4 container of the goat cheese over the cherries.
- Add greens over cherries
- Top with 1/4 serving of the roasted cauliflower.
- When ready to serve, drizzle with 1 tbs. spicy olive oil (or good quality drizzling olive oil) and 1 tbs balsamic glaze
- Optional: top with sliced grilled chicken, add nuts, or avocado for a heartier salad. ** I like to layer the salads in 32oz soup containers so that they are ready to go in a hurry
Alternative dressing: mix 2 tbs lemon juice, 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 shallot (minced—ok to omit if you don’t have), 1 tbs honey, 1 tbs Dijon mustard with a little sat and pepper. Shake to combine.
