CBLT Grain Salad
Preassemble this CBLT (coconut bacon, romaine lettuce and cherry tomato) grain salad for lunches or a quick dinner.
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Grain salads are fast and fantastic grab-and-go options for lunch or dinner. Toss your leftover cooked grains in your favorite homemade vinegar-based dressing. Pair with a protein of your choice, add grated veggies and fresh herbs, and top with avocado and toasted nuts and seeds. To get a jump start on the week’s meals, premake three portions of your favorite grain salad recipe using three 1-liter Mason jars.
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Ingredients
Coconut bacon
- ¾ cup unsweetened, dried sliced coconut or coconut flakes
- ¾ tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ tsp reduced-sodium tamari
- ¾ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp grapeseed oil
Lemon dijon vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 clove garlic, puréed
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Salad
- 3 cups cooked grain of your choice (such as brown rice, quinoa and millet)
- 3 cups grated vegetables (such as carrots, zucchini or summer squash, and beets)
- 3 cups romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup unsalted sunflower sprouts
Equipment
- 3 1-liter Mason jars with lids
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325°F. To a medium bowl, add all coconut bacon ingredients and toss well. Spread on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until coconut is crispy and lightly toasted. (NOTE: This can take anywhere from 8 to 18 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your coconut, so check often to avoid burning.) Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients.
- To 1 Mason jar, add one-third of vinaigrette. Over dressing, layer in 1 cup grains, 1 cup grated veggies, 1 cup lettuce, ½ cup cherry tomatoes and one-third of bacon. Top with a few sunflower sprouts. Tighten lid and repeat with remaining 2 Mason jars. Store in fridge.
- When ready to eat, vigorously shake Mason jar to completely coat salad ingredients with vinaigrette.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1 mason jar salad
- Calories 565
- Carbohydrate Content 65 g
- Cholesterol Content 0 mg
- Fat Content 31 g
- Fiber Content 12 g
- Protein Content 11 g
- Saturated Fat Content 14 g
- Sodium Content 314 mg
- Sugar Content 13 g
- Monounsaturated Fat Content 0 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat Content 0 g