This is quite possibly the final salad photo I’ll be posting for a while – not that I stop eating salads as soon as Autumn appears, far from it, but I don’t think you’ll be wanting to read about them when the central heating’s on! (I realise of course some of you will be in the summer season, but no doubt you’ll be off to the beach for a barbie or spending your time in the pool or by the river, playing with children, partners or pets, or reading a book in the garden, so again won’t want to be reading about salads – no envy at all in those words, honest!)
I don’t eat mayonnaise which is often the default dressing for cole slaw, this one has a lemon and tahini dressing.
If you have a nut allergy and want to avoid the walnuts, you could use alternatives to give a bit of a crunch, perhaps roasted chickpeas – see Crunchy & Spicy Roasted Chickpea Nibbles
I love adding crisp or tart fruit to a green salad, sometimes red grapes, or slices of kiwi, this time slices of a crisp red apple. The fruit not only adds a contrasting flavour but also extra nutrients and can often tempt a child for instance to try a salad they would otherwise turn their noses up at.
There is protein in the walnuts, tahini, sweetcorn and leaves, while rocket (arugula) is believed to have cancer cell-inhibiting properties and along with spinach is rich in B vitamins, Vitamin K (essential for bone health), Vitamin C, and minerals.
Ingredients
Rocket (Arugula) and Spinach Leaves to line the plate, washed even if prepacked.
Thinly sliced Cucumber, washed and peel left on, layered on the leaves.
Sweetcorn arranged around the outside.
Slaw
Finely shred washed light green crisp Cabbage and Carrot into a bowl.
Finely chop a Spring Onion and add to the bowl.
Mix some Tahini with a little Lemon Juice, depending on your taste, and water to the desired consistency.
Mix into the slaw, reserving some to drizzle over the finished salad.
Add Walnut pieces, Pink Himalayan Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Place the slaw in the middle of the leaves.
Thinly slice the Apple and sprinkle with Lemon Juice.
Arrange around the salad.
Drizzle more Tahini Dressing over the salad.
Copyright: Chris McGowan
Put everything in the food processor and pulse a few times to bring it together, don’t overdo it you want some texture not a purée! Test to see if you can squeeze it together. If it’s too wet, add a little more flour.
Served with a watercress or babyleaf and rocket salad, we added sprouted mung beans (more protein), and cumin spiced sweet potato oven chips (fries) with a piquant cashew ‘cheese’ sauce (see 
A short post of a quick salad lunch that was made up of leftover items the day before shopping. These are often the most interesting and unusual meals made up of ingredients you wouldn’t normally put together.
First up is my favourite: Celery and Apple with peanut butter and a couple of Nairns gluten-free oatcakes, either plain or herb and seed, or with my version of 
seeds with Tamari. This is usually a combination of pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds, amd perhaps some buckwheat, which are lightly toasted under the grill – you have to keep your eye on them and keep stirring them about, nothing happens for quite a while but if you go away to do something else they will be black when you return! Don’t overbrown them, it damages the oils, keep them light. Then remove from the grill and splash Tamari over them. It will sizzle and you need to mix up the seeds quickly to coat them all before it dries up. Love the salty crunch! You can eat them on their own for a protein pick-me-up or sprinkle on stir-fries and salads.
Humous is an old standby and there is always some in our fridge. The whole family loves it, even the babies and teenagers! I love it with crudités and oatcakes. Or with a salad. Plain and simple.
Open sandwiches are always good for a more substantial snack or light lunch. These are made in my case with home-made gluten-free bread, topped with avocado and green salad, or peanut butter and banana, or even made with sliced and toasted sweet potato!
chickpea flour (
In this photo, we have banana and peanut butter, tahini topped with lightly toasted sesame seeds sprinkled with Tamari, Natex low salt yeast extract – which didn’t work too well, the flavour was fine but it melted and ran off the sweet potato when it was picked up to eat – and most ingenious of all: whole-fruit, sugar-free strawberry jam! And it was so filling, I could only eat two of them. I saved the others for later, they were fine cold as well.
Chickpeas are so good for you on so many levels: protein, calcium, iron, fibre, so many vitamins and minerals. We are used to putting them in casseroles or stews or making hummus with them, either as they are or sprouted.
Put everything except the Flour in a food processor and keep pulsing until it comes together enough to make a ball. You don’t want it smooth and mushy, but still with some bite.
There are times as an ex-cheese addict when you just have to have something vaguely resembling a cheese sauce or dip, with pasta or crudités or sweet potato chips for instance. Here is a simple basic recipe that you can adapt with your own flavours, making it more spicy if you like eg with chilli flakes, cayenne, garlic and so on. You can make it as thick or as thin as you want, depending whether you prefer a pouring sauce or a thicker dip.
pearsnotparsnipsdotcom 
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