My version of the Jennifer Aniston Salad!
I had seen this viral Jennifer Aniston salad recipe on the interwebs for years and years now and always thought I must give this a go....who else saves a recipe on insta or facie and then NEVER goes back to make it?
Anyway, I wanted to make it GF (the original recipe uses bulgur wheat) so I use quinoa and I also use a very yummy dressing that is a bit different to the original dressing (hello honey for that bit of extra sweetness!)
I'm sure there is a million versions of this salad out there now but I was asked to blog it after sharing myself eating this salad on my socials almost every day for a week!
The reason I love this salad so much is not only how tasty it is but how nutritionally good it is for us. It's high in plant based protein so you are getting so much fibre and protein without the meat. You can add extra protein if you like and put something like shredded chicken or tuna through it but I guarantee you that this salad doesn't need anything extra taste wise!
So here are the stars of this salad and why I love them...
- quinoa – instead of bulgur I use the Macro Organics brand tri-colour quinoa from Woolies. White quinoa is just as good and is a great source of protein, high in fibre, rich in vitamins and minerals and naturally gluten-free. It’s also a complete protein, which means it has all nine essential amino acids including lysine…rare when it comes to plant-based foods!
- cucumber – adds a nice crunch with lots of nutrients (vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium and potassium) and nice and hydrating. I always use lebanese cucumber as I digest them much better and they have less seeds.
- fresh parsley – flat-leaf parsley and curly parsley both work well in this recipe. Parsley is high in so many vitamins and minerals and cancer fighting antioxidants. Good for our bone and eye health as well!
- fresh coriander or mint – the original recipe calls for mint and it is delicious! I've also made it with coriander as I love it and it's health benefits so much but if you're not a fan, stick with mint!
- red onion – the perfect way to add a bit of flavour and more crunch. Anti-bacterial, antioxidants, anti-fungal
- pistachios – Adds some healthy fat and more protein to this salad and definitely get yourself the kernels and not have to shell a bunch of pistachios like I did...
- chickpeas – I used organic canned chickpeas, but of course, you can cook the chickpeas from scratch as they are so much yummier. I like easy and quick when it comes to salad prep so that's why I go with canned. Make sure you rinse them very well in a colander until water is running clear.
- feta cheese – this adds some healthy fat and such a good flavour to the salad so I wouldn’t recommend leaving it out. I prefer Dodoni brand Feta that I buy in Woolies but any good quality goats cheese feta like this one will work!
Ingredients
2 tsp lemon zest
⅓ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¾ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
2 cups cooked quinoa (cook 1 cup of raw quinoa as instructed in saucepan or rice cooker)
1 can (400gr) chickpeas (rinsed well)
1 lebanese cucumber (diced)
⅓ cup red onion (diced)
⅓ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
½ cup fresh coriander or mint (chopped)
½ cup pistachios (roughly chopped)
½ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
Method
Combine all dressing ingredients into large bowl and whisk together
Add the salad ingredients one at a time to the same large bowl and toss through the dressing at the end.
This salad works really well made ahead and can be stored for at least 3-4 days in the fridge as there is nothing in there that can go soggy.
This amount would easily serve 4 people as a smaller sized salad or even as a side salad but I tend to get 2 LARGE salad servings out of it for a couple of my lunches.
Hope you enjoy trying this for the first time or maybe re-visiting this old but famous version of the *Jennifer Aniston salad!
Yours in Health,
Alisha
*Apparently Jennifer Aniston used to eat this lunch every day while working on the set of Friends!
My version of the Jennifer Aniston Salad!
I had seen this viral Jennifer Aniston salad recipe on the interwebs for years and years now and always thought I must give this a go....who else saves a recipe on insta or facie and then NEVER goes back to make it?
Anyway, I wanted to make it GF (the original recipe uses bulgur wheat) so I use quinoa and I also use a very yummy dressing that is a bit different to the original dressing (hello honey for that bit of extra sweetness!)
I'm sure there is a million versions of this salad out there now but I was asked to blog it after sharing myself eating this salad on my socials almost every day for a week!
The reason I love this salad so much is not only how tasty it is but how nutritionally good it is for us. It's high in plant based protein so you are getting so much fibre and protein without the meat. You can add extra protein if you like and put something like shredded chicken or tuna through it but I guarantee you that this salad doesn't need anything extra taste wise!
So here are the stars of this salad and why I love them...
- quinoa – instead of bulgur I use the Macro Organics brand tri-colour quinoa from Woolies. White quinoa is just as good and is a great source of protein, high in fibre, rich in vitamins and minerals and naturally gluten-free. It’s also a complete protein, which means it has all nine essential amino acids including lysine…rare when it comes to plant-based foods!
- cucumber – adds a nice crunch with lots of nutrients (vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium and potassium) and nice and hydrating. I always use lebanese cucumber as I digest them much better and they have less seeds.
- fresh parsley – flat-leaf parsley and curly parsley both work well in this recipe. Parsley is high in so many vitamins and minerals and cancer fighting antioxidants. Good for our bone and eye health as well!
- fresh coriander or mint – the original recipe calls for mint and it is delicious! I've also made it with coriander as I love it and it's health benefits so much but if you're not a fan, stick with mint!
- red onion – the perfect way to add a bit of flavour and more crunch. Anti-bacterial, antioxidants, anti-fungal
- pistachios – Adds some healthy fat and more protein to this salad and definitely get yourself the kernels and not have to shell a bunch of pistachios like I did...
- chickpeas – I used organic canned chickpeas, but of course, you can cook the chickpeas from scratch as they are so much yummier. I like easy and quick when it comes to salad prep so that's why I go with canned. Make sure you rinse them very well in a colander until water is running clear.
- feta cheese – this adds some healthy fat and such a good flavour to the salad so I wouldn’t recommend leaving it out. I prefer Dodoni brand Feta that I buy in Woolies but any good quality goats cheese feta like this one will work!
Ingredients
2 tsp lemon zest
⅓ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¾ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
2 cups cooked quinoa (cook 1 cup of raw quinoa as instructed in saucepan or rice cooker)
1 can (400gr) chickpeas (rinsed well)
1 lebanese cucumber (diced)
⅓ cup red onion (diced)
⅓ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
½ cup fresh coriander or mint (chopped)
½ cup pistachios (roughly chopped)
½ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
Method
Combine all dressing ingredients into large bowl and whisk together
Add the salad ingredients one at a time to the same large bowl and toss through the dressing at the end.
This salad works really well made ahead and can be stored for at least 3-4 days in the fridge as there is nothing in there that can go soggy.
This amount would easily serve 4 people as a smaller sized salad or even as a side salad but I tend to get 2 LARGE salad servings out of it for a couple of my lunches.
Hope you enjoy trying this for the first time or maybe re-visiting this old but famous version of the *Jennifer Aniston salad!
Yours in Health,
Alisha
*Apparently Jennifer Aniston used to eat this lunch every day while working on the set of Friends!
