Power Salad with Lemon Chia Seed Dressing
Updated March 26, 2019
Power Salad with Lemon Chia Seed Dressing-this salad is vegan, gluten-free, and packed with healthy ingredients! It is great for lunch or dinner!
If I am lucky, I can get both boys down for a nap during lunch time. I usually have two hours to get things done. These are my power hours…and I am not talking about a power nap. Somedays I am tempted, but I always have too much to get done and I am not a good napper anyways.
During nap time, I run around like a mad lady cleaning, doing laundry, and catching up on blog work. My first priority is always lunch though. I am still nursing Maxwell and I am always hungry! Lunch time never comes soon enough! My current favorite lunch is this Power Salad with Lemon Chia Seed Dressing. It is packed with healthy ingredients and hits the spot every time!
I need all the help I can get in the energy department these days. My boys are exhausting:) This salad is the perfect energy booster! It is loaded with power foods! I start with a bed of spinach and add all of my favorites: roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa, almonds, apples, chickpeas, avocado, and red cabbage. I drizzle a simple Lemon Chia Dressing over the top for flavor and more power! I love chia seeds!
I love everything about this salad! The textures, flavors, and colors are amazing! Plus, it is easy to make. I like to roast a big pan of sweet potatoes and make a big pot of quinoa on Sunday so I can put together my salad in no time during the week. If you have other veggies or fruits you need to use up, feel free to invite them to the salad party! The more the merrier!
If you are looking for a healthy salad for the new year, try my Power Salad with Lemon Chia Seed Dressing. It will give you super powers! I might just turn into the Hulk or Iron Man one day! Caleb would love that:)
Power Salad with Lemon Chia Seed Dressing
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 4 cups packed spinach
- 1 large sweet potato peeled, chopped, and roasted
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 large Gala or Fuji apple diced
- 1 cup chopped red cabbage
- 1 large avocado sliced
For the Lemon Chia Seed Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons golden or white balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey or agave nectar use agave for vegan
- 2 teaspoons chia seeds
- Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine spinach, roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa, chickpeas, almonds, apples, red cabbage, and avocado.
- For the dressing, combine olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, honey or agave, and chia seeds in a small bowl or jar. Whisk until well combined. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
- Drizzle the dressing on the salad and toss well to coat. Serve!
- Note-to roast the sweet potatoes, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place chopped sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet, drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast until tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. I like to make the sweet potatoes and quinoa ahead of time so the salad is easy to put together during the week. This salad is very adaptable! Feel free to add your favorite veggies and fruits to the mix!
Have you tried this recipe?
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Mmm love how this is a big bowl of colour! Looks lovely!
You hit the nail on the head: “I need all the energy I can get, my boys are exhausting.” Amen sister!!! Every night when they finally fall asleep I practically collapse with exhaustion – haha.
THE COLOR! This Power salad is GORGEOUS Maria! And I can basically feel all the healthy goodness running through my body just reading the recipe list. Totally in love with this bowl of goodness. Pinned!
So beautiful!!! I need this salad everyday, lol! But seriously 🙂
I want this salad for dinner every night! It has all of my favorite foods. I’m always looking for new ways yo use chia seeds too.
This salad looks absolutely incredible!! So many of my favorite flavors. And I totally hear you on rocking through nap time- I try to get as much done as possible
This looks wonderful. I cannot wait to try!
What a beautiful salad Maria! Just the kind of thing I am enjoying eating right now!
This salad looks perfect! I have been super into big salads and power bowls lately..can’t wait to try this one!
I really need to up my salad game!! And this power salad looks like the perfect way to start!
Wow, what a colorful rainbow salad and full of nourishment, indeed! I’d make this with items from the farmers market for fresh wholesome goodness, especially since it is appears I am mold sensitive, so fresh is key for me. 🙂 I think I will sub the almonds for local walnuts from this season or sub seasonal fresh pumpkin seeds that I roast myself. This is a great fall salad for in season produce, it seems! I think I have a fresh, local source for chickpeas and quinoa too. I will have to check on that. I am up for the challenge. 🙂
Thanks again!
Ha!! Great minds….we both posted similar salads. Your looks fabulous!
How many people will this feed?
I remember those days of trying to get as much done as humanly possible while my boys were napping. This salad looks like the perfect way to refuel in the middle of the day!
LOVE this idea! The dressing is so creative! I’ll definitely be giving this a try! 🙂
What a totally stunning salad! Wish I was having it right now! Pinned! 🙂
Looks fantastic! Saving this for days when it’s (a lot) warmer… would be an excellent summer time supper meal!
I do love a good composed salad. Lovely colors and amazing flavors – what a win!
Power salad is right! This is fantastic!
Wow! It looks amazing, I love bright dishes, they look so appealing to me 🙂 I’ll definitely try this salad.
This salad bowl looks delicious!
This is absolutely gorgeous!!! I can’t wait to make this dressing!
This is essentially my go-to for lunch. Open the fridge, take out different textures and flavors, and drown them in a delicious dressing. Love all of the flavors and textures in your salad! I’ve had this combo before and it is addicting.
Yummy! Perfect way to help me use the the sweet potato I DID roast on Sunday and forgot about-could be the negative temps in Chicago have frozen parts of my brain!!!
I bet this salad would keep me full all afternoon 🙂
That’s a huge bowl of colorful and delicious salad! Pinned!
What a great strength-providing salad with so much bright color, Maria. And I’m totally intrigued by that chia seed dressing….yum!
Love all that COLOR! The flavor and texture must be amazing with this salad. Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful salad!
It looks amazzzingggggg! So delicious! Need to try this recipe.
http://www.trangscorner.com
Beautiful salad! The dressing sounds super delish, I have to try it out
Beautiful salad – love the textures and that lemon dressing!
Ohhh this salad looks dreamy Maria! I need all the energy I can get too, lol. I’ll take one of these every day!
Hooooly cow THIS salad is pawfection. I’mon make it today!
Happy new year! (13 days late) xoxo!
I love the colors in this salad!
Yum! I make salads like this all the time! They’re the best! Keeps you full for hours! Also they’re a great pick me up in the middle of the day when your evergy is low from chasing two boys!
I love this recipe! A healthy and flavorful lunch option that will be my go to in the new year.
Happy Tuesday
Yummy! That would be a great salad to rake in my work lunch! I’ll have to prep it over the weekend, so I can take it on Monday, Jan. 4th!
Great salad! just made it lunch. The dressing is wonderful!
Glad you liked it!
This looks amazing! How many people will this feed? I’m wondering if I can make this, assembled in mason jars, to last me all week at work. Thank you!
How many servings for the recipe please?
How many is it for?
I’m going to guess serves 4 since no one’s answering that question
4 cups of spinach a whole can of chickpeas
Loved this recipe! The dressing is what really brings the dish together. don’t make this recipe without it!
Your power salad recipe is a game-changer for healthy eating! The combination of ingredients and that zesty lemon chia seed dressing sounds delicious and nutritious. I can’t wait to try it for lunch.