As the heatwave continues in the United Kingdom, it has been way too hot to cook entire meals from scratch unless you love for your kitchen to turn into a Mediterranean climate! The heat is unescapable sometimes and turning on an oven and sometimes greatly increase the temperature of your home!
Therefore, this week we are sharing a recipe of CAPITAL Project Trust's "Good Mood" booklet, a light, easy, tasty, refreshing and quick recipe. Salads are a great and simple dish to make and eat during the hot summer months, it can also be greatly refreshing when the humidity turns more muggy, I mean, who likes to feel muzzy-headed?!
Salads have great benefits as they are packed full of beneficial vitamins, fats, fibres, proteins which can increase your body's overall health and has been linked to decreasing the chance of heart disease and diabetes (according to Harvard University Medical School (read the related article here)). Furthermore, consuming more salads full of leafy green can cut calorie consumption and help you to stay full for longer and with some lettuce varieties (such as iceberg) containing almost 97% water, they can help keep you cool and hydrated on a hot day.
Watercress is a delicious source of Vitamin C and Vitamin A with the walnuts adding some protein, Vitamin E and Omega 3 Fats. (Extracted from the CAPITAL Project Trust "Good Mood Cook Book")
Watercress, Walnut and Apple Salad Recipe
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 bunch of watercress
1 small to medium crisp apple, such as Jazz, Pink Lady or HoneyCrisp - or use some leftover apples in your household. Any apple will work ideally!
25g (1oz) of chopped walnuts
Dressing:
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp (14.78ml (round to 15ml)) of extra virgin olive oil (or other salad oil)
1 garlic clove, crushed into a paste with and add a punch of sea salt (or table salt)
Method:
Step One: Rinse the watercress and dry either in a salad spinner or pat gently with a clean kitchen towel and then place into your salad bowl.
Step Two: Quarter the apple into thin slices to your liking and add to bowl.
Step Three: Add the chopped walnuts to the mix and mix either by a spoon, spatula or hand.
Step Four: Combine the dressing ingredients: lemon juice, oil and garlic paste together until well incorporated. You can either pour directly onto the salad or place it in the fridge to cool further.
This is an incredibly versatile dish as you can add and change as much as you want to the base recipe, for a more substantial meal add some roasted butter squash with some grilled chicken. This will turn the salad from a light refreshing side dish to more of a main meal. There is so many great combinations, add-ins and changes which can be made by yourself to make this salad more appealing and appetising to suit personal tastes.
If you do happen to make this dish then please send it to our socials or post it using the hashtag #CAPITALProjectDish we would love to see it!
*Diet is a personal and it should be tailored to individuals. Diet must work for you and only you. CAPITAL Project Trust is not a specialist charity who has resources to support people who may be suffering with food anxiety or eating disorders.
If you are struggling with such issues then please contact BEAT Helpline which is open 365 Days at: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk BEAT is the UK's Charity which specialises in support to people who are suffering from food anxiety and eating disorders and can actively advocate on their behalf.
For further information on diet, healthy and balanced lifestyles, follow some of the links below:
1. NHS Eat Well www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/
2. British Nutrition Foundation www.nutrition.org.uk/…/healthy-and…/a-healthy-balanced-diet/
3. World Health Foundation www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet
Food Anxiety, Eating Disorder and Related Symptoms Support:
BEAT - Helpline Open 365 Days https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk *