Baked Salad For Summer
When you think of summer-inspired salads, you may automatically think of crisp lettuce, fresh-picked tomatoes and maybe a crisp cucumber or two. While this kind of salad does epitomize summer, we have decided to rethink the classic summer salad, recognizing all the other fresh veggies and fruits of summer. In addition, we also wanted to take those fresh veggies and cook them- an interesting idea for a summer salad! But after those long hot summer days, you may want something a little bit warmer to end your day.
First, we must highlight broccoli which is a veggie that thrives in the summer heat. Broccoli is one of the healthiest vegetables out there and it is full of vitamins and minerals that are essential to your overall health. Many studies have shown that increasing your broccoli intake can help decrease the risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. So let’s add a whole lot of broccoli to this salad. In fact, we thought this salad should be based around this powerhouse vegetable! So that is just what we did! Broccoli is the number one ingredient in our summer salad and it is baked and seasoned to perfection.
Roasting the broccoli in the oven is a great way to add some caramel flavor to the salad as the broccoli will brown in the oven, adding this extra taste. If you have a small toaster oven, you can roast your broccoli inside this smaller appliance in order to avoid using the oven on a hot summer day. You can also choose to grill the broccoli instead, using a vegetable grilling pan to get that caramel color on the pretty green broccoli trees.
The roasted broccoli is then cooled and tossed with some more of our summer favorites. Fresh chopped strawberries just can’t be beat and are essential to any true summer salad (or so we think so!). Since these beautiful red berries are also acceptable on a low carb, keto diet, make sure to include them! And you can’t have a keto salad without a ripe avocado mixed in…
Feta is the last ingredient we want to highlight as it is tangy, briny cheese that adds a lot to our salad. While feta is fairly firm when cold, it becomes creamy and soft when warm. If you want your feta to act as part of the salad dressing, warm it slightly before stirring it in. This will help the creamy mix blend well into your dish. If you prefer nice cubes of feta I each bite, keep it chilled then toss the cheese in when you are ready to eat!
Not all summer salads have to be based around fresh lettuce and this wonderful salad is the perfect example. Enjoy this salad any time of day, in any season, but especially in the summertime when all the ingredients are incredibly fresh.
| Servings: servings |
- 3 cups fresh chopped broccoli
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper
- 3 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 1 medium avocado, pitted and diced
- 1 cup fresh diced strawberries
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Toss the broccoli with the olive oil and oregano then spread on the baking sheet – season with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 15 minutes until tender then transfer to a large bowl to cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl, toss together and serve immediately.
NUTRITIONAL DISCLAIMER
The content on this website should not be taken as medical advice and you should ALWAYS consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. We provide nutritional data for our recipes as a courtesy to our readers. We use Total Keto Diet app software to calculate the nutrition and we remove fiber and sugar alcohols, like erythritol, from the total carbohydrate count to get to the net carb count, as they do not affect your blood glucose levels. You should independently calculate nutritional information on your own and not rely on our data. The website or content herein is not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose or treat any disease. This website shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on the Website or actions you take as a result. Any action you take is strictly at your own risk.
Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.
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