Zero-Waste Salad

1. Start with a vegetable base (aim for 2 to 3 cups):

• At the beginning of the week, focus on fast perishable vegetables such as spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc.
• Towards the end of the week, fall back on vegetables that can be kept for a long time, such as carrots, red cabbage, home-made sprouts, broccoli, radishes, canned artichoke/heart of palm, kale, etc. For kale, simply add 5ml oil, 10ml lemon juice, a little salt and massage with your hands until it becomes soft and dark (about 1 minute).

2. Add a starch source (1/2 to 1 cup depending on your needs):

• A grain cooked earlier in the week or purchased pre-cooked from the grocery store in a single serving (brown rice, quinoa, wild rice, barley, spelt)
• Whole wheat couscous
• Frozen corn
• Whole grain cracker as a side dish for salad

3. Add a protein source:

• Canned tuna (75g)
• Frozen Matane shrimp (75g)
• Cooked protein source earlier in the week: chicken, fish, tofu, etc (75g cooked)
• Hard cooked egg (2)
• Light cheese <20% MF (50g)
• Gusta sausage (1 sausage)
• Soyganic smoked tofu (150g)
• Frozen Edamame (1 cup)
• Canned legumes (1 cup)

4. Optional, element that adds flavor:

• Kalamata olives
• Red onion, French shallot, green onion
• Nuts or seeds: sesame seeds, peanuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, etc.
• Fine herbs

5. Low-fat dressing:

• Try this creamy raspberry vinaigrette