I’m back with another brain power recipe! And yes, it’s was inspired by my brain power smoothie. Ok ok, actually I had leftover ingredients and needed to make lunch. :)
But lo and behold, all of the smoothie ingredients translated perfectly into a quick and easy salad, especially when paired with some brain-healthy spinach and smoked salmon and walnuts. Yum, yum, and yum. Although I accidentally forgot to add the walnuts into the salad for the photo — oops! Just pretend they’re there, and then do yourself a favor and add a few to your salad.
Seriously though, this salad was a winner all around. It was full of all sorts of delicious, fresh ingredients, topped with a honey-chia vinaigrette. It took about 10 minutes to pull together, thanks to the brilliance of smoked salmon (although you could also use a cooked salmon filet if you’d like). And I like to think it was all the tastier, just knowing that those ingredients are super healthy for my thinking cap.
So here’s the scoop!
First of all, find a good batch of greens for your base. I went with a new mix I love from Organic Girl called Super Greens. (Not a sponsored post — just a brand I’m enjoying currently!) It’s full of “superfood” greens, including red and green swiss chard, tat soi, arugula and baby spinach. But plain ol’ baby spinach will be delicious too!
Then toss together the base of your salad — greens, smoked salmon, avocado, blueberries, red onion, and walnuts. And then I decided to top mine with some light feta cheese. I don’t know if it’s good for your brain, but it’s sure good. :)
Then whisk together a simple chia honey vinaigrette, and drizzle it on top.
I love how pretty and colorful it turned out! But even more, I loved how it tasted. It really is the best of sweet and savory combined. Definitely a “smart” choice! ;)
Hope you enjoy it!
Brain Power Salad (Spinach Salad with Salmon, Avocado and Blueberries)
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 8 ounces smoked salmon, roughly chopped
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
- 4 cups baby spinach (or mixed greens)
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/4 cup light feta or blue cheese crumbles
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- half a red onion, thinly sliced
- honey chia seed vinaigrette (ingredients below)
Honey Chia Seed Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Instructions
To Make The Salad:
- Toss all ingredients together until combined. Drizzle or toss with vinaigrette.
To Make The Vinaigrette:
- Whisk all ingredients together until combined and emulsified.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!If you like this recipe, be sure to check out these other favorites:
Brain Power Smoothie (Blueberry Avocado Smoothie)
I just ate this for lunch and it was awesome! I loved the honey chia vinaigrette. I’ll probably use that vinaigrette for other salads as well. I didn’t make the recipe exactly as written because I had to use what I had on hand, so I used a mix of romaine and kale and canned pink salmon instead. I also left out the feta.
I’m counting my calories today, so I made the vinaigrette with 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of chia seeds, and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, which comes out to 80 calories. It made plenty of dressing! It was so yummy =)
I can only imagine how good the salad would have been if I had used fresh smoked salmon instead of canned. Thanks for a wonderful recipe that’s so healthy! I felt good about eating this.
This looks delicious! Love the idea of throwing blueberries into the mix. Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic!!!
I am using “My Fitness Pal” Weight loss plan, what is the nutritional value of this salad?
Thanks for this different idea for salad. It sounds wonderful and I cannot wait to make it.
This salad is AMAZING! I am already looking forward to eating it again at lunch tomorrow! Thanks for sharing! :)
This salad is absolutely mouth watering! Just a perfect ingredient combination :)
The salad is just beautiful! With fruits and veg looking this good, how can anyone say they don’t like vegetables?!?
I’m not much of a salad person, but I said I’d give raw veggies more of a try this year! And salads are a good place to start, right? :) The dressing sounds delicious and the photos are stunning!
The smoked salmon is such an interesting and creative addition to this gorgeous salad. Love!
Wow! This salad is wonderful on all levels. I love all the antioxidants going on here.