It’s the middle of summer, the word heatwave is being used on a regular basis at the minute, so I thought a light summer salad recipe would be the perfect first installment of this month’s zinc recipes. If you caught my vegan sources of zinc post last week, you’ll have seen that it’s in a lot of foods in smaller quantities, which is actually really helpful in terms of building a meal. In this dish, we have carbs, fats, and protein sources that all contain zinc to make it perfectly balanced in terms of macronutrients as well as getting vitamins and minerals.
Zinc Sources
The main zinc sources in this recipe are the rice, cashews, spinach, and kale. Rice, per ½ cup, provides 1.97mg of zinc, 60g of cashews provides 3.47mg, and 100g of kale provides 0.4mg. spinach provides slightly more than kale at 0.5mg per 100g serving.
Per full recipe, this dish provides 7.13mg of zinc, which is 3.56mg per serving. The recommended daily amount of zinc is 9.5mg for adult males and 7mg for females.
Nutritional Information
Per serving this dish provides 15g of protein and 14g of fibre. It provides a huge range of vitamins and minerals so instead of doing this the regular way, I’m going to share them in list form for this one.
Each serving (½ full recipe) provides:
- Over 100% the RDA of vitamins C, A and K
- 50%+ of B1, B3, B6 and folate
- 25%+ of iron, calcium, vitamin E, B5 and B2
Light Summer Salad Recipe
A refreshingly light summer salad recipe full of micronutrients for a healthy summer lunch. Sweet fruitiness with a fresh and zesty dressing and a light kick from the chilli roasted squash.
Not a fan of putting the oven on in the heat? No problem, you can make it at night and save this as a meal prep option and it will keep for a few days in the fridge.
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, soy free and vegan. It does contain nuts.
Light Summer Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 100 g kale
- 100 g spinach chopped
- ½ medium squash cubed
- 1 Tsp chilli flakes
- Drizzle of olive oil or fry spray
- ½ cup rice
- 200 g mango
- 60 g cashews
Dressing
- Juice of a lime
- Crack of black pepper
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 190°c. Place the squash on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and the chilli flakes. Bake for 35 minutes until lightly golden and crisp on the outside.
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While the squash is cooking, cook the rice in one cup of water, either using a rice cooker or boiling in a pan.
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Meanwhile, lightly massage the kale in a large bowl and stir in the chopped spinach. Add the mango and cashews, then combine all of the dressing ingredients in a small dish. Once the squash and rice are cooked, stir them into the salad bowl then add the dressing and toss to combine.
Serve and enjoy!
Are you struggling in the summer heat? What are your favourite salads for a summer day?
Until next time,
Sophie
This sounds healthy and looks so incredibly yummy! I’ve been absolutely loving a light salad during the hot weather recently x
I’m a big salad fan but get lazy sometimes with all the washing involved. You’ve inspired me to make your salad tonight! Thanks.
This looks delicious! I love mango and squash but never thought to put them into a salad.
This looks absolutely delicious and perfect for a summers day!
Paige // Paige Eades
I love having salads at the moment, just because I am struggling to cook anything else in this heat! I have a recipe book that I’ve just been going through all the salads, and its always quite handy as I usually will have leftovers so I can have some for lunch the next day. I’ll have to give this one a go as well, I’m sure I’d enjoy it!
Chloe xx
Wow, this looks so good! Thank you for sharing the recipe I am definitely looking forward to trying it!
This looks super yummy. I don’t think I’ve ever had squash in a salad but I’m definitely gonna try it.
I love a good fresh salad with either apple or oranges, here in the heat ❤️
I could really eat something like this right now, this looks so tasty! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I really hate making and eating hot meals during the summer especially in this heatwave we’ve been having so salads are always my go to. This one looks so lovely and really tasty. I’ll definitely need to try this out! X
This is s brilliant salad and love how it looks too. Just the kind of food I should be eating. Thanks for sharing!
Any salad with italian dressing or balsamic vinaigrette is the one for me!! Salads are such a great choice during summer: they’re cool, light, and can be packed with any nutrients you want, honestly. This sounds like such a yum recipe x
Actually I’m probably one of the very few people who isn’t especially fussed about the heatwave. I’m a summer girl anyway, so autumn mists, drizzle and rain are my absolute bugbears. Yes, it’s a little sticky right now, but the flip side is there’s no better excuse for this lovely looking salad. I adore butternut squash and it’s lovely to see it in a salad instead of a soup for a change! Thank you, Sophie 🙂 Lisa x
Mango in a salad is not something I’ve ever tried, but now really want to.