Looking for a salad that is tasty, simple and light on the hips? Well look no further than this zucchini style salad. Toasted cashews, sliced tomatoes, chopped avocados are drizzled in a olive oil dressing.
With summer just around the corner I know too darn well some you are fretting about your appearance and anticipating the warm weather.
I know it's so easy to past judgement and berate folks for neglecting their health during the colder months.
Well you're in good hands because zucchini themed salad will help you shape up and look sharp this summer!
Salads are one of the easiest and best ways to improve your diet because they're so simple to pull together and pack a helluva lot of diversity - anything goes in a salad.
A good example of that is my Vegan Caribbean Salad. The endless combination you can put together with a salad is mind blowing.
However, this zucchini avocado salad is a great entry level salad. I refer to it as entry level because it's minimalistic, it's unreal and not to mention tasty too.
I've been going a bit stir crazy on salads right, I'm totally in love with my Black Bean and Corn Salad that's a real kick ass vegan salad to try. Along with some Jamaican Carrot Juice to wash this down with.
Reasons to love this salad
- It takes less than 15 minutes to prepare.
- Doesn't require and cooking (unless you want to steam the noodles).
- Great for busy people who are on the go and don't want to be confided to their kitchen.
- It's portable, prep for a mason jar or salad bowl and carry with you.
- Bring along to a picnic, while running errands or work (the smell is neutral so need to worry about offending others).
- No fuss and yet really packs a punch and extremely filling.
The steps
- Arrange the zoodles on a serving plate along with the avocado, tomatoes, cashew nuts and garnish with the dried thyme.
- Finally mix all of the ingredients together for the dressing in a small bowl and drizzle the entire salad.
Jazz up your salad!!
Don't be afraid to switch up the salad game by adding or swapping out some vegetables or nuts. Here are afew great ideas;
- Veggies: Add celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red onions
- Nuts & seeds: Try some pecans, walnuts, roasted peanuts or almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
- Fruit: Mango, pineapple, cranberry, strawberries
Make it into a meal: you could easily swap the zucchini for Cauliflower Rice or Brown Rice.
How can you make avocados ripen faster?
Whenever we would buy pear (the official Jamaican name for it) aka avocados and they weren't ripe enough my grandmother and mother taught me an old trick.
Place the avocado in a brown bag, usually near some warm for 2-3 days to speed up the process.
Notes and tips
- You will need either a spiraliser or julienne peeler to create some vegetable noodles (zoodles).
- Zucchinis are also known as courgettes in the UK
- To save time see if you are able to purchase cashew which has already been roasted or roast them ahead of time. They take no more than 5 minutes to roast in the oven.
- Coconut aminos is a soy free to alternative, you this or organic soy if possible.
- Make sure the avocado is soft to the touch and not too firm. Soft avocado are a good indication of their readiness.
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Zucchini Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 2 zucchinis peeled and spiralised
- 2 avocado chopped
- ½ cup cashews roasted
- 2 tomatoes chopped into quarters
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
For the olive oil dressing
- ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1 teaspoon garlic pepper or used black pepper instead
- ½ teaspoon pink salt
Instructions
- Arrange the zoodles on a serving plate along with the avocado, tomatoes, cashew nuts and garnish with the dried thyme.
- Finally mix all of the ingredients together for the dressing in a small bowl and drizzle the entire salad.
Notes
- You will need either a spiraliser or julienne peeler to create some vegetable noodles (zoodles).
- Zucchinis are also known as courgettes in the UK
- To save time see if you are able to purchase cashew which has already been roasted or roast them ahead of time. They take no more than 5 minutes to roast in the oven.
- Coconut aminos is a soy free to alternative, you this or organic soy if possible.
- Make sure the avocado is soft to the touch and not too firm. Soft avocado are a good indication of their readiness.
Nutrition
Nothing better than a refreshing and nutritious salad on a hot summer day. This one looks amazing!
Thanks Julia!!
I love the combination of flavors int his recipe and how light and healthy it is. It's perfect for summer!
Agreed Lauren!!
My husband and I just dipped our toe into following a keto diet so it was perfect that I found this recipe. It totally filled me up and was so delicious! Keeping this into our regular rotation. Thanks!
Thanks for the great feedback Jen.
This looks so bright and delicious! It's the perfect way to use up the zucchini from my garden. Thanks so much for sharing!
You are welcome Angela
Thanks for the timely reminder Charla, need a few more salads in my life as it's coming into summer! This one looks so simple but also super healthy - I will give it a shot! Do you serve it warm or cold?
It's a cold salad, you can always skip the part where the zoodles are steamed. I only did this to tenderise them as I like them on the softer side.