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I’m back with another brain power recipe! And yes, it’s was inspired by my brain power smoothie. Ok ok, actually I had leftover ingredients and needed to make lunch. :)
But lo and behold, all of the smoothie ingredients translated perfectly into a quick and easy salad, especially when paired with some brain-healthy spinach and smoked salmon and walnuts. Yum, yum, and yum. Although I accidentally forgot to add the walnuts into the salad for the photo — oops! Just pretend they’re there, and then do yourself a favor and add a few to your salad.
Seriously though, this salad was a winner all around. It was full of all sorts of delicious, fresh ingredients, topped with a honey-chia vinaigrette. It took about 10 minutes to pull together, thanks to the brilliance of smoked salmon (although you could also use a cooked salmon filet if you’d like). And I like to think it was all the tastier, just knowing that those ingredients are super healthy for my thinking cap.
So here’s the scoop!
First of all, find a good batch of greens for your base. I went with a new mix I love from Organic Girl called Super Greens. (Not a sponsored post — just a brand I’m enjoying currently!) It’s full of “superfood” greens, including red and green swiss chard, tat soi, arugula and baby spinach. But plain ol’ baby spinach will be delicious too!
Then toss together the base of your salad — greens, smoked salmon, avocado, blueberries, red onion, and walnuts. And then I decided to top mine with some light feta cheese. I don’t know if it’s good for your brain, but it’s sure good. :)
Then whisk together a simple chia honey vinaigrette, and drizzle it on top.
I love how pretty and colorful it turned out! But even more, I loved how it tasted. It really is the best of sweet and savory combined. Definitely a “smart” choice! ;)
Totally love the name of this salad! It makes me feel like I can conquer the world upon eating it!
Avocados with feta and spinach are some of my favorite salad components, and adding blueberries? That is genius! Such a fresh and bright pop of flavour! Plus, it’s dang purdy!
This salad looks really good. I love the Honey Chai Vinaigrette dressing. I definitely enjoy making my own salad dressing rather than buying dressing at the store.
I’m not much of a salad person, but I said I’d give raw veggies more of a try this year! And salads are a good place to start, right? :) The dressing sounds delicious and the photos are stunning!
I just ate this for lunch and it was awesome! I loved the honey chia vinaigrette. I’ll probably use that vinaigrette for other salads as well. I didn’t make the recipe exactly as written because I had to use what I had on hand, so I used a mix of romaine and kale and canned pink salmon instead. I also left out the feta.
I’m counting my calories today, so I made the vinaigrette with 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of chia seeds, and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, which comes out to 80 calories. It made plenty of dressing! It was so yummy =)
I can only imagine how good the salad would have been if I had used fresh smoked salmon instead of canned. Thanks for a wonderful recipe that’s so healthy! I felt good about eating this.
Fabulous salad! I left out the chia seeds because I had none, used TJ’s sugared pecans and subbed goat cheese for the feta. Next time I’ll follow your recipe exactly.
The dressing for this salad was delicious! I’m trying to do more recipes with brain food and this makes it easy to do. I did this as a side salad without the salmon and substituted pecans and queso fresco since I had it on hand and threw in carrots instead of avocado. Will definitely be on repeat this winter!
Why have I never left a review for this recipe? It might be my favorite recipe ever. The first time I made it, we ate it 3 times in one week and no one complained (we love variety, so that is a huge compliment). We all still get excited to eat this and I have been making it for years. In fact, my daughter (who is not a fan of salads) gets upset if she finds out we ate it when she wasn’t home. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipe with us.
I am searching for “No Oil” based salad dressings, and wondered if anyone has used the juice from canned chickpea to substitute for the oil. Oil is such a processed food, and I’m getting a bit confused about how far one can take the whole plant food diet. I’ve lived my whole life eating adulterated food, and thinking it was healthy; I don’t want to make that mistake anymore. Appreciate any help with this dilemma!
Hey, I’m Ali!
My favorite thing in life is time spent around the table. And all the better with some seriously tasty food to bring us all together. more about me »
Totally love the name of this salad! It makes me feel like I can conquer the world upon eating it!
Avocados with feta and spinach are some of my favorite salad components, and adding blueberries? That is genius! Such a fresh and bright pop of flavour! Plus, it’s dang purdy!
Oh the gorgeous images… so vibrant. just liker his salad. I love the name too! :)
This salad looks really good. I love the Honey Chai Vinaigrette dressing. I definitely enjoy making my own salad dressing rather than buying dressing at the store.
Now, this is my kind of salad! After a week of baking doughnuts, I so need to devour this!
Loving this vibrant salad Ali!! Mmmm!
Love the colors in this salad!!
I want to live in this salad bowl. Such a beautiful photo!!
Love how colorful and full of flavor this salad is!
I am having complete salad love! Amazing salad!
This salad is a sheer beauty. Loving all the vibrant colours!
Wow! This salad is wonderful on all levels. I love all the antioxidants going on here.
The smoked salmon is such an interesting and creative addition to this gorgeous salad. Love!
I’m not much of a salad person, but I said I’d give raw veggies more of a try this year! And salads are a good place to start, right? :) The dressing sounds delicious and the photos are stunning!
The salad is just beautiful! With fruits and veg looking this good, how can anyone say they don’t like vegetables?!?
This salad is absolutely mouth watering! Just a perfect ingredient combination :)
This salad is AMAZING! I am already looking forward to eating it again at lunch tomorrow! Thanks for sharing! :)
Thanks for this different idea for salad. It sounds wonderful and I cannot wait to make it.
Fantastic!!!
I am using “My Fitness Pal” Weight loss plan, what is the nutritional value of this salad?
This looks delicious! Love the idea of throwing blueberries into the mix. Thanks for sharing!
I just ate this for lunch and it was awesome! I loved the honey chia vinaigrette. I’ll probably use that vinaigrette for other salads as well. I didn’t make the recipe exactly as written because I had to use what I had on hand, so I used a mix of romaine and kale and canned pink salmon instead. I also left out the feta.
I’m counting my calories today, so I made the vinaigrette with 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of chia seeds, and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, which comes out to 80 calories. It made plenty of dressing! It was so yummy =)
I can only imagine how good the salad would have been if I had used fresh smoked salmon instead of canned. Thanks for a wonderful recipe that’s so healthy! I felt good about eating this.
Summer is right around the corner and I found myself craving fruits more often. Can’t wait to make this recipe!
Fabulous salad! I left out the chia seeds because I had none, used TJ’s sugared pecans and subbed goat cheese for the feta. Next time I’ll follow your recipe exactly.
More recipes please.
Easily one of my favorite go-to salads!
So easy and so good!!! Always have these ingredients on hand and the combo of flavors are delightful.
This is our favorite salad! We’ve been making this for years now and never get sick of it. Thank you!
The dressing for this salad was delicious! I’m trying to do more recipes with brain food and this makes it easy to do. I did this as a side salad without the salmon and substituted pecans and queso fresco since I had it on hand and threw in carrots instead of avocado. Will definitely be on repeat this winter!
I am going to give this a try ,it looks delish
Why have I never left a review for this recipe? It might be my favorite recipe ever. The first time I made it, we ate it 3 times in one week and no one complained (we love variety, so that is a huge compliment). We all still get excited to eat this and I have been making it for years. In fact, my daughter (who is not a fan of salads) gets upset if she finds out we ate it when she wasn’t home. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipe with us.
I am searching for “No Oil” based salad dressings, and wondered if anyone has used the juice from canned chickpea to substitute for the oil. Oil is such a processed food, and I’m getting a bit confused about how far one can take the whole plant food diet. I’ve lived my whole life eating adulterated food, and thinking it was healthy; I don’t want to make that mistake anymore. Appreciate any help with this dilemma!