Recipe: Middle Eastern Salad With a Healthy Twist

Enjoy this delicious Middle Eastern salad with olive oil and garlic dressing. (You’ll want to stock up on tasty zataar seasoning, found at Middle Eastern grocery stores.) To save on calories and fat, skip the dressing and serve salad with ½ cup of cottage cheese or with garbanzo beans instead for a healthy, protein-packed meal.

Ingredients

Salad:
2 ½ cups chopped romaine lettuce
¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup chopped mint
1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
1 medium-sized cucumber, peeled and diced
4 scallions, finely chopped
1 loaf sprouted grain bread
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, made into a paste with salt and a pestle and mortar (if you don’t have one use knife blade to smash into a paste)
2 generous portions of zataar seasoning
Juice from two lemons

Directions

Salad:

1. Split in half a loaf of sprouted grain bread and chop up.
2. Coat with extra virgin olive oil, and generously sprinkle with zataar seasoning.
3. Place in oven at 325 degrees until crispy and brown (not burnt).
4. Toss all of the herbs and vegetables. (If you plan on eating immediately, toss with dressing. Otherwise, hold on mixing the dressing, as the lettuce will get soggy.)
5. Toss dressing with salad and top with bread, or serve with cottage cheese or garbanzo beans for a healthy protein-packed lunch or dinner.

Dressing:

1. Combine olive oil, garlic paste, zataar seasoning and lemon juice.

Nutrition information*

Makes 6 servings

Per serving:

Calories: 130
Total fat: 10g
Saturated fat: 1.5g
Sodium: 65mg
Total carbohydrate: 10g
Dietary fiber: 2g
Protein: 2g

*Nutrition analysis includes dressing

Recipe courtesy of Speaking of Women’s Health