The topic for today is salads! And we’ve got a couple of great healthy salad recipes that you can use for a light lunch or as a side salad with your main meal. And don’t forget our lovely Salade Verte recipe from yesterday.

First up is our super simple Beetroot Salad

What you need: 1 large can whole baby beets or beetroot wedges, 1 large pack Mesclun* salad mix (or mix your own with a variety of salad leaves, baby spinach, and rocket), chopped walnuts, one medium piece low-fat Feta cheese, and white wine vinegar, Balsamic vinegar, and olive oil for dressing.

What you do: Drain and cut the whole beets into quarters, or large wedges in half. Rinse the salad leaves, shake well, and place in a bowl. Add beets, walnuts, and small pieces of Feta and toss. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon each of white wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar in a sealed jar and shake well (or whisk together in a large bowl). Pour over salad and toss gently. Serve immediately.

*Substitute a soft blue cheese if you prefer, although higher in fat it does add a bit of a kick (and colour) to the salad. Mesclun originated in Provence and is a mix of all small, young salad leaves, in, more or less, equal proportions.

And next … our crunchy and kick-ass Asian Slaw

What you need: 1/4 of green and red cabbage (that’s in total—not one quarter of each), 1 green apple, 1 carrot, 1 finely chopped red chilli, ¼ chopped mint, ¼ cup coriander, 1/3 cup roughly chopped peanuts or cashew nuts, and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds—nuts and seeds are optional.

Dressing: 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons light soy or fish sauce, ¼ cup fresh lemon or lime juice, and 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil.

What you do: Finely shred the cabbage, coarsely grate the carrot and place both in a large bowl. Thinly slice the apple and then cut each slice into thin matchsticks and add to the bowl. Then add the chilli, mint, coriander, nuts, and sesame seeds and toss lightly. Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a sealed jar and shake well. Pour over the slaw in the bowl and toss well. Serve immediately.

This salad is fantastic served with our Thai Fish Cakes (see recipe in Cooking Thai 101—Thai Fish Cakes).