Rainbow Salad Bowl With Salmon & Sesame Dressing
This rainbow salad bowl pretty much sums up my nutrition approach: eat real food, eat as many colours as possible and focus on nutrient density. Plus, I like to eat with my eyes so it’s about the dish looking damn appetising, too.
Featuring seriously nutritious ingredients – sweet potatoes, beets, purple cabbage, leafy greens, avocado, salmon and a little seaweed – plus the tastiest Asian sesame dressing, this healthy bowl of goodness will become your go-to lunch or dinner meal.
Gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo-friendly, bursting with antioxidants and very satiating.
Rainbow Salad Bowl With Salmon & Sweet Potatoes
If you’re looking for a healthy work-from-home lunch, try this salmon and veggie power bowl.
You can take it to the office too but make sure to do the prep ahead of time as you will need to dice up quite a few vegetables. I will show you how to make this nutritious salad step-by-step highlighting some of the nutrients you’ll be getting from all those rainbow colours.
Seriously, check out the nutritional panel below the recipe card to see just how many goodies you can get in one power bowl!
This recipe is for 2 servings so simply halve the ingredients for one or make the second portion for another day.
How To Make Rainbow Salad Bowl
Step 1. The first step is to prepare the vegetables that need cooking like sweet potatoes or pumpkin. You can use canned beets or raw grated beets but I decided to roast mine together with the potatoes. Roasted sweet potatoes and beets will take about 20-25 minutes in a 200 C / 400 F oven and you can store them in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Step 2. Prepare other vegetables for the salad. Things like purple cabbage, radish and red peppers can be diced ahead of time and they can keep for a day or two in an airtight container. Otherwise, cut them up just before you make the salad.
Step 3. Make the salad dressing. I’m using a Japanese sesame dressing – also known as goma – and it’s made with ground-up sesame seeds, Tamari soy sauce (or coconut aminos), rice vinegar or lemon juice, sesame oil and some maple syrup or honey for sweetness.
You can also sub with some stevia or other sugar-free sweetener or use orange juice for a Whole30 version. You can swap with a store-bought salad dressing or a simple lemon or balsamic, mustard and olive oil dressing. I have a few ideas for sugar-free dressings here and paleo-friendly dressings here.
The homemade dressing can also be done ahead of time, it will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge.
Step 4. Build the power bowl, layer by layer.
Nutrition Notes
Leafy greens & coriander – eating a diet rich in leafy greens can offer numerous health benefits including reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and mental decline; they are packed with vitamins, fibre and low in calories making them a great base for a power bowl.
You can choose humble butter or gem lettuce or boost it up with extra nutritious kale, chard, baby spinach, watercress or rocket (arugula). I added lovely coriander (cilantro) but you could add basil, parsley or dill, all of which comes with their own nutritional benefits.
