Colorful Veggie Filled Brown Rice with a Ginger-Lemon Dressing Winter Salad #SundaySupper

This is a delicious, filling, and totally nutritious salad that is perfect for a hearty meal! I mean just look at all the wonderful colors and tasty ingredients!

This salad was inspired from a lunch that I shared with my daughter at Life Alive in Cambridge. MA. This was one of the amazing places that my daughter wanted to share with me on one of my visits to Boston.  Since I live in California which is 3,145 miles from Boston, I have had to recreate my own salad with a nod to the healthy and scrumptious essence of what I experienced in Cambridge.

There are so many things that I love about this salad…

• The warm, creamy, and earthy flavor of the short grain brown rice
• The cool, crispy crunch of the fresh chopped veggies
• Protein packed tofu
• the tangy taste of the ginger-lemon dressing.

All of this together makes a hearty plate bursting with nutrition. That tastes soooooo good!

What makes Life Alive’s bowls so tasty is their Ginger Nama Shoyu Sauce. I found a few different copycat versions on-line, and I decided that I really liked the version from Sarah Fit. This recipe is full of ginger, garlic and lemon. What’s not to love about that?

The first thing that I do is to throw the short grain brown rice and water into the rice cooker. I simply love my rice cooker! I only bought my first one a couple of years ago – I do not know what took me so long to discover the ease of cooking all kinds of grains in the rice cooker. I know I am late to the party, but I am so glad that I finally arrived. The rice cooks while I make the dressing and chop the veggies. This way everything is ready at the same time. I like the combination of the warm creamy rice with the cool crunchy veggies.

After the rice is underway, I make the Ginger-Lemon dressing. I use my Nutribullet to whip up the dressing. I first drop the ginger and garlic into the blender and it chops it up into a fine paste.

I then add the remaining ingredients and whip it together for another moment.

The result is a wonderful oh-so amazing creamy and tangy Ginger-Lemon Dressing. Yum!

Once the dressing is made, I chop all of the veggies and tofu. I like them chopped small. I massage the kale with a few drops of olive oil. Then everything is ready! Plate the rice, top with the kale, add the veggies… 

And then drizzle on the dressing. Voila! A scrumptious and nutritious hearty winter salad perfect for lunch or dinner. Really, this would be good anytime. As my husband commented, “This would pair perfectly with a chilled glass of white wine in the summer.” Maybe, just maybe, I will be serving this at my next ladies pool party.

Colorful Veggie Filled Brown Rice with a Ginger-Lemon Dressing Winter Salad Recipe

Ingredients (Per Serving)

• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/3 cup chopped carrots
• 1/3 cup chopped beets
• 1/3 cup chopped broccoli
• 1/3 cup cubed firm tofu
• Large handful of oil massaged organic kale (With your hands lightly ‘massage” kale with a drop or two of olive oil.)
• Ginger-Lemon Dressing (A copycat of Life Alive’s Ginger Nama Shoyu Sauce) Recipe Below

Directions

1. Chop veggies (carrots, beets, broccoli) into small chunks
2. Cut Tofu into small cubes
3. Plate cooked brown rice onto serving plate
4. Top with oil-massaged kale
5. Top with chopped veggies
6. Drizzle salad with Ginger Lemon Dressing

Ginger-Lemon Dressing Recipe

From Sarah Fit

Ingredients (Makes 3 Servings)

• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 inches of fresh peeled ginger
• 1 tablespoon Tamari Sauce
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (about one lemon)
• 2 tablespoons of Tahini
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of water

Directions

1. Using a small blender or Nutribullet – extract garlic and ginger until it is a fine paste.
2. Add all remaining ingredients and blend well –  until you have a creamy sauce.

Does that not look downright delicious or what?!?

If you love hearty salads as much as I do, then you really need to check out these favorites contributed to Sunday Supper!
#SundaySupper Winter Salads

• Amish Ham Salad from Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Arugula, Butternut & White Bean Salad with Maple Vinaigrette from Pook’s Pantry
• Arugula Salad with Maple Vinaigrette from Cooking Chat
• Beet Terrine from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Blood Orange and Salmon Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette from La Bella Vita Cucina
• Blood Orange, Beet, and Apple Salad with Goat Cheese and Citrus Honey Vinaigrette from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
• Blue Cheese and Pear Salad from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Breakfast Salad from Our Good Life
• Brussels Sprouts Salad with White Bean Dressing and Pecan Crisps from Beauty and the Beets
• Chill Chasing Matchstick Vegetable Pasta Salad from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Chopped Salad with Roasted Root Vegetables and Bacon from MyGourmetConnection
• Citrus Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cobb Salad from Palatable Pastime
• Colorful Veggie Filled Quinoa with a Ginger-Lemon Dressing from Positively Stacy
• Crunchy Beet & Arugula Salad from The Crumby Cupcake
• Escarole and Roasted Broccoli Salad with Anchovy Dressing from The Texan New Yorker
• Farro Salad with Roasted Squash, Radicchio and Lemon-Tahini Dressing from Caroline’s Cooking
• Grilled Chicken Salad from Real Food Real Deals
• Hot German Hot Noodle Salad from Seduction in the Kitchen
• Kale Salad with Lemony Tahini Dressing from My Life Cookbook
• Lemony Couscous Lentil Salad from Magnolia Days
• Low-Carb Spinach Breakfast Salad from Life Tastes Good
• Mandarin Tossed Salad from Meal Planning Magic
• Orange and Walnut Baby Spinach Salad w/ Quinoa and Citrus Vinaigrette from The Freshman Cook
• Quinoa Salad with Apples, Pecans and Dried Cranberries from The Chef Next Door
• Radicchio Pear Walnut Salad from The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing from Cupcakes and Kale Chips
• Roasted Butternut Squash Pearl Couscous Salad from Mysavoryspoon
• Roasted Savoy Cabbage Slaw with Spicy Bacon Dressing from Food Lust People Love
• Roasted Squash and Cabbage Salad with Crispy Chick Peas from Monica’s Table
• Shredded Beet Salad from Wholistic Woman
• Simple Arugula, Fennel and Leek Salad with Citrus from Simply Healthy Family
• Simple Spinach Cobb Salad With Lardons from And She Cooks
• Spinach Citrus Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette from From Gate to Plate
• Warm Balsamic Steak Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing from Momma’s Meals
• Warm Cabbage Salad with Bacon and Goat Cheese from Nik Snacks
• Warm Cauliflower Spinach Salad with Pancetta from Taste and See
• Warm Potato and Broccoli Buffalo Salad from Sweet Mornings
• Warm Potato Salad with Arugula, Bacon and Brown Butter from Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Warm Steak Tomato and Mozzarella Salad from Family Foodie
• Wilted Lettuce Salad from Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Winter BLT Panzanella Salad from Hardly a Goddess
• Winter Citrus and Endive Salad from An Appealing Plan
• Winter Fruit Salad from Pies and Plots
• Winter Kale and Wild Rice Salad from Moore or Less Cooking
• Winter Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Winter Salad with Fennel, Apple, Goat Cheese and Radishes from Delaware Girl Eats
• Winter Squash Quinoa Salad from Kitchen Gidget
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Wild Rice Salad plus more Winter Salad Recipes #SundaySupper from Sunday Supper Movement

 

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