CRUNCHY QUINOA CABBAGE BROCCOLI SPINACH SALAD

CRUNCHY QUINOA CABBAGE BROCCOLI SPINACH SALAD

Nutrient packed detox spinach salad with quinoa, broccoli, cabbage, cashews, bacon, chopped roast turkey, dried cranberries, and orange-ginger dressing. This super flavorful entree salad recipe is sure to satisfy!

My favorite salad is a salad that has multiple “salads” wrapped into it. It’s a salad that has some broccoli salad, some cabbage slaw, some quinoa salad, a lean protein source, an epic fuckton of greens, a tasty dressing, perchance some feta, and a shower of nuts and dried fruit.

When I’m too lazy to cook, the ultimate treat for me is to drive myself to Whole Foods and just go to town in their salad bar, adding all the salads to my salad box on top of a bed of spinach, then mixing everything together feverishly in a glorious stream of balsamic vinaigrette. Now you know what I consider to be a hot night.

After years of this salad bar obsession, some rocket science and some old fashioned long division, I finally figured out I could try this sultry salad composition at home. I finally resolved to make multiple salads to salad together. This way, I can all the salads salad the WHOLE WEEK away, thereby gifting myself my favorite meal experience ON REPEAT.

So here it is: a re-creation of my favorite spinach salad, which will last you multiple meals and make you mind-body-tummy chakra love rabbit food with all its soulful might. It’s comprised of a 1.) quinoa salad with carrots and cranberries, 2.) a broccoli salad with toasted cashews and bacon, 3.) a cabbage slaw with sesame seeds and green onion, 4.) some chopped roasted turkey (hint: you can use any animal protein that suits your fancy), all on top of a bed of spinach with an orange-ginger dressing to tie everything together. BOOM detox salad at its finest. 

Let’s break down each salad to make this all make sense:

1.) Broccoli Salad: We blanch some broccoli, and allow it to cool. While the broccoli is cooling, we cook some bacon, toast some cashews, and make the dressing for the broccoli salad. Once the broccoli is cooled, we toss everything together in a big mixing bowl (or storage container for less cleanup and ease of storage.)

2.) Quinoa Salad: Cook 1 cup of dry quinoa and toss it in a mixing bowl with carrots, dried cranberries, pecans, some lemon juice and sea salt. You can get creative here by adding fresh or dried herbs and/or any spices or seasonings.

3.) Cabbage Slaw: A super easy approach to slaw with sliced cabbage, sesame seeds, sliced almonds, green onion, dressed in grapeseed oil (or olive oil) and lemon juice

4.) The main Event: To compile the massive salad, just stick a bed of baby spinach in a huge bowl and top with all of the above salads. Add chopped roast turkey (or chicken or protein of choice) and drizzle with orange-ginger dressing. Stir everything up feverishly for a mega flavorful salad!

AS YOU CAN SEE!: this is definitely a meal prep situation. It does take some time to compile all the salads, so it’s a great activity for when you have a large chunk of free time, OR it can be made in parts by prepping one salad at a time. The benefit to this approach is you can make a huge salad as your main lunch or dinner meal throughout an entire week, and/or you can feed your whole household a big ass salad for multiple meals.

There are options galore for changing up, substituting, omitting ingredients in this recipe. You can absolutely make it vegan by omitting the animal protein and adding some chickpeas or black beans for plant-based protein, and/or you can swap out the nuts and seeds, add kale and feta, mess with the dressing, you name it! Get creative with this spinach salad!

Hope you love this epic crunch fest as much as I do!

CRUNCHY QUINOA BROCCOLI CABBAGE SPINACH SALAD

PREP TIME: 1 HOUR

COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES

SERVINGS: 5 LARGE SALADS

AUTHOR: JULIA

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INGREDIENTS

BROCCOLI SALAD:

• 3 cups broccoli floretsblanched and cooled
• 3 strips thick-cut baconcooked and chopped
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil or olive oil
• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup see note*
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup avocado mayonaisesee note**
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice to taste
• 1 pinch sea salt to taste

QUINOA SALAD:

• 3 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup dry)
• 1/3 cups dried cranberries
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/3 cup raw pecans chopped
• 1 green apple cored and chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to taste

CABBAGE SLAW:

• 1/2 medium head green cabbage thinly sliced
• 3 stalks green onion chopped
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt to taste

TO ASSEMBLE THE SPINACH SALAD:

• 5 ounces baby spinach
• roast turkey chopped

ORANGE-GINGER DRESSING:

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil or olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh gingerpeeled and grated
• 1 small clove garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

ASSEMBLE BROCCOLI SALAD:

1. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and cook just until bright green and slightly softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Strain, immediately run cold water over the broccoli, and allow it to cool. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat and add the cashews and pure maple syrup. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cashews are toasted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and sea salt in a small bowl. Combine the blanched broccoli, cooked bacon, raisins, and toasted cashews in a mixing bowl. Toss in the mayonnaise dressing and stir until everything is combined. Taste salad for flavor and add more lemon juice and/or sea salt to taste.

ASSEMBLE QUINOA SALAD:

1. Toss together all ingredients for the quinoa salad in a large mixing bowl. Taste for flavor and more lemon juice, sea salt, and/or any spices or seasonings you like.

ASSEMBLE THE CABBAGE SLAW:

1. Toss together all ingredients for the slaw in a mixing bowl. Add more lemon juice and/or sea salt to taste.

MAKE THE ORANGE-GINGER DRESSING

1. Add all ingredients for the dressing to a small blender and blend until thick and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

ASSEMBLE SPINACH SALAD:

1. Assemble a large salad by adding desired amount of spinach to a large bowl, followed by desired amount of broccoli salad, quinoa salad, cabbage slaw, and roast turkey. Drizzle desired amount of orange-ginger dressing over your massive salad and toss everything together.

RECIPE NOTES

*Omit the pure maple syrup to make this Whole30 compliant

**Use your favorite mayonaise, aioli, kefir, or whole milk greek yogurt

source:https://www.theroastedroot.net/quinoa-cabbage-broccoli-spinach-salad/