asparagus and cannellini bean salad

Are you trying to eat healthily? Are you pushed for time on a morning? Do you end up buying lunch? This post is for you.
​
Finding some time to prepare your own lunch to take to work can save money and is often healthier than buying something whilst at work. Often we have good intentions when it comes to taking lunch but then end up pushed for time and just grabbing something quick whilst out and about.

​Mornings can be pretty chaotic in my house. We all leave it as long as possible before starting to get ready then have a flurry of activity. Breakfasts and lunches need to be pulled together quickly but I still want them to be tasty and nourishing. 

My favourite quick breakfasts include pancakes (batter prepared the night before), porridge (cooking slowly whilst I get on with lunches), overnight oats or
​smoothies (packed with nuts/seeds/oats/kefir as well as fruit and veg).

​When it comes to lunch then leftovers is a great option but not always possible. Soups and stews, cooked in advance and stored in portions, are also very practical. My other ‘go to’ - especially in Spring and Summer - is salad. A hearty salad with lots of different textures and flavours is tasty, doesn’t need to take long to throw together and can really increase the amount of vegetables in your diet.

As we head into summer I’ll be sharing a few of my favourite salads. Some of these are prep ahead the night before, others can be thrown together in five minutes. Some may take closer to ten minutes but if you are taking it as a weekday lunch you can be getting on with breakfast, etc whilst you are prepping. 

​We have just entered asparagus season so today’s recipe makes the most of asparagus but you could use broccoli, leeks, griddled courgette just as easily.

Ingredients
(Per person)

• ½ can cannellini beans
• 6 stalks of asparagus
• 6 – 8 sugar snap peas
• 1 large handful spinach
• Parmesan shavings (approx. 20g)
• 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp pesto
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Seasoning to taste

​Method
Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and place them in a bowl.
Griddle, grill or dry fry the asparagus for 2 - 3 minutes until it has softened slightly but still retains a fresh green colour and ‘bite’. Allow to cool slightly then cut into 3 cm pieces.
Slice sugar snap peas into half so that they are in bite size pieces.
Roughly chop spinach.
Add all vegetables to cannellini beans.
Mix together pesto, lemon juice and olive oil to form a dressing.
Toss the salad in the dressing, season to taste and sprinkle with shavings of parmesan and sunflower seeds.
 
Notes

• My salad bag pesto is a really good choice for the dressing.
• To make this salad vegan you could replace the parmesan with some nutritional yeast or seaweed flakes – you want something that replicates the umami flavour.
• A vegetarian substitute for parmesan such as Grana Padano would work fine.
• If you eat meat this salad works well served with a chicken breast.