Salad Stuff
This so-called recipe is something I make fairly regularly and always have in my fridge. I love it because it adds a little extra crunch, a few more nutrients and a bit of fiber to my salad. The salad toppers in the grocery store are filled with things like yogurt covered almonds, sugar-dipped dried fruit, added oils, and crap like disodium inosinate and FD&C red 3. Bleh. My mix might be considered rather bland, but it’s certainly much healthier, nutrient-dense and, without a doubt, more affordable than what you see in the grocery store.
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Dry roast all of the ingredients being careful not to burn. This is not the time to be checking your phone or distracted by a needy child/spouse/elderly parent. Just focus on toasting the seeds and not burning them.
  2. You can add salt, but I don’t because if I do I will most certainly forget and add more salt directly to my salad. And then the whole dang thing will be inedible.
  3. You can also, obviously, add nuts to this mix, too.
  4. Once the seeds are toasted, pour on to a plate to let cool. Sprinkle liberally on salad and store remainder in your fridge. Not sure of shelf life…
Recipe Notes

Incidentally, a new study by Lancet reported that “if 1,000 people transitioned from a low-fiber diet (under 15 grams per day) to a high-fiber diet (25 to 29 grams per day), they’d prevent 13 deaths and six cases of heart disease.” As such, they make the connection of fiber to the health of our gut biome. Here’s an article in Vox that sums it all up very nicely.

And here are ingredients from two widely available salad toppers:

“Other Ingredients: sunflower seeds, soybeans, textured soy flour, rice, onion, carrots, canola oil, red and green bell peppers, salt, sugar, parsley, barley malt extract, caramel color, natural and artificial flavor, lactic acid, yeast extract, disodium inosinate and guanylate (flavor enhancers), and FD&C red 3.”

or

“Other Ingredients: Dried cranberries (cranberries, sugar, glycerin, sunflower oil), honey roasted pecans (pecans, honey powder (sucrose, wheat starch, honey), vegetable oil (may contain one or more of: canola, sunflower, and/or soybean), sugar, maltodextrin, xanthan gum, salt).”

Say no more, say no more…