This is the third Sunday in a row that my sister and I have done healthy meal prep together. It makes such a difference to have healthy lunches packed. When I pack a healthy and filling lunch, I don’t find myself eating a bag of Goldfish or a handful of Tootsie Rolls from my desk after my students leave. It also makes my mornings a zillion times smoother when I don’t have to pack a lunch. Since my sister is in college, she doesn’t have the luxury of a microwave with her all day, so we have been trying to make high protein cold salads. This week we put together two variations
of this salad using the same greek vinaigrette. Greek souvlaki salads are one of my favorites, and this salad reminds me of just that!
Ingredients
Makes 5 lunch servings
- 1 1/2 cups dry farro (for best flavor- cook in vegetable or chicken broth)
- variation: use 1 cup dry quinoa
- 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 medium sized red onion- diced
- 1 cup of diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup of sliced kalamata
- variation: black olives (or both!)
- 1 red pepper, diced
- variation: 1/4 cup of roasted red peppers, sliced
- 1/2 cup feta cheese (I used a block and chopped it up. You can also get feta that is already crumbled.)
Greek Vinaigrette:
Makes 2 cups
- 3/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp basil
- 1 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
Directions:
- Cook farro or quinoa with water or broth. I cook both like pasta and I check it every few minutes until it is the texture I like (not too soft, especially in salads like this).
- When your grain is done cooking, rinse it with cold water and allow it to drip dry through a colander for 5-10 minutes. You can spread it out on a cookie sheet and allow it to dry for an hour if you really want it to be fluffy, but I never do that.
- Combine all ingredients and mix.
- You can dress the salad ahead of time or dress it before serving.
