Spring salads have to work quite hard for me. I want them fresh and green and full of spring energy, yes, but I also want lunch to feel like lunch. Not a bowl of leaves that has me rummaging for toast an hour later. So this week I’m sharing 3 salads I make on repeat in spring, and every one of them is a proper meal.
Asparagus Pasta Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing
Asparagus Pasta Salad
This week my new recipe for asparagus pasta salad went up on the Candyflosslife website, and this is exactly my kind of spring lunch. It’s got wholewheat pasta, crispy tofu, grilled asparagus, pickled red onions, herbs, and a creamy avocado lime dressing. It feels bright and fresh, but still has enough substance to carry you through the afternoon. One serving has 18g of protein and 6g of fiber, plus those lovely fats from olive oil and avocado.
It's still quite chilly here in the East of England, but this past week we had the hottest April day since 1946, so the spring onions in my veg planters have really taken off and they are gorgeous. Good enough reason to make my potato salad with spring onion, which is one of those simple recipes I come back to every year. Creamy potatoes, eggs, lemon, herbs, and plenty of spring onion. It is especially good if you cook the potatoes ahead and let them cool, because that gives you a little resistant starch too, the sort that acts a bit like fiber and gives your gut bugs something to get on with.
Ancient Grain Salad
Ancient grains like quinoa are packed with goodness
And if you want something a little more colorful and hearty, my ancient grain salad is still one of my favorites. Quinoa (I hear you, quinoa is technically not a grain, but a seed/pseudocereal - end of tiny nerdy bit LOL), lentils, roasted peppers (you can use store-bought too), olives, feta, herbs, and a sharp lemony dressing. Salty, sweet, crunchy, creamy, and very much the kind of meal-prep lunch that saves you from buying something random midweek. Nuts, whole grains and so much plant variety make this salad into a feast for your good gut bacteria.
