Tag: Clean

Haloumi and Pomegranate Salad

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After a few late night ‘ready in 5 minute’ dinners, we all really needed a big fresh vege boost tonight. Enter a version of my Big-Ass Salad; the thing I throw together whenever scurvy threatens. This rendition has 7 servings of fresh veg, with nuts, halloumi and a beautiful sweet/sour dressing to keep things interesting. The ingredients are very fluid; mix and match to use what’s in the fridge. If you’ve had a big workout or an active day, you could serve this with a wholemeal bread roll or a potato baked in its skin.

pomegranate salad

For the salad:

4 cups mixed salad greens

4 asparagus spears, boiled/steamed and cut into 1 cm pieces

1 big handful coriander leaves, chopped

4 radishes, thinly sliced

1 cup snow peas, sliced

1 avocado, diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

To sprinkle over the top:

1 packet haloumi cheese

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

Half a pomegranate

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses

Toss or layer all the salad ingredients in a big platter. Slice the haloumi and fry, then dice into .5 cm cubes, cool, and add to salad. Sprinkle the toasted walnuts over the top. Mix the vinegar, oil and molasses in a bottle or jar and shake until well blended, then pour over the salad. Squeeze the seeds from the pomegranate half all over the salad, then knock the back of the pomegranate with the back of a spoon to get the rest of the seeds out.

Chocolate SMIZ Balls

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The most common question I get asked when I mention that I tend to avoid red meat is, “but how do you get enough iron?” Well, there are lots of ways, but nuts and seeds are a great start. Did you know that 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds contain 4.4 mg of iron, which is 3/4 of a woman’s RDI? I’ve rounded up a bunch of super-hero ingredients which provide a  treasure trove of essential minerals, and created a delicious snack. Brazil nuts famously contain selenium, and almonds and pumpkin seeds provide high levels of magnesium, iron and zinc, or S.M.I.Z (see what I did there?)

These little balls make a wonderfully filling snack, especially if you are craving chocolate (around 3 o’clock in the afternoon maybe?)

SMIZ balls

1/3 cup each Brazil nuts, Cashew nuts, Pumpkin seeds and Almonds

1/3 cup desiccated coconut plus extra for coating

7-8 dates

1 tablespoon cacao (or good quality cocoa) powder

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Blitz all the nuts and seeds in a high-speed blender until they have the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add the coconut, dates, cacao and vanilla and blend again until the mixture forms a paste. Add the coconut oil and blend until smooth and creamy, but stop before the oils begin to separate.

Roll teaspoon sized amounts into balls and coat in the extra coconut. My batch made 12, but I’m greedy; you might get more if you make the balls a little smaller! Refrigerate until set, then keep in the fridge for up to a week.