In a previous post and YouTube video I showed you how to batch prep salads ahead for the work week. Today I am showing you how to take one of those batch prepped salads and turn it into a big beautiful chopped salad. Why take the time to chop a salad is a question I am frequently asked. You have to try one to taste the difference for yourself but, in the meantime let me try to explain the difference.
The salad has more incredible flavor when it is chopped verses being left in larger pieces. There is something magical that happens in that chopping bowl when those greens and raw vegetables are chopped into smaller pieces. It releases the natural flavors which makes each bite explode with all the flavors of the amazing ingredients! It tastes sweeter and is more moist which means you need less salad dressing or vinegar. Chopping reduces the overall volume of the salad too which makes it take a little less time to eat. Great if you are taking it to work with you and need to eat the salad within a certain amount of time. I have received so many emails from people telling me that they or their spouse were never salad lovers until they tried a chopped salad! Everyone that I have served a chopped salad to has loved it. It’s the perfect salad to serve to company because it’s unique and delicious.
Here is a video we made to show you how easy it is to chop a salad in a Holland Bowl Mill 15 inch handcrafted wood bowl. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. I have been eating a big beautiful salad for one meal a day since adopting a whole food plant based lifestyle. It helped me lose the weight and it helps me keep it off. The salads are low calorie density but are nutrient rich. If you are a volume eater you will appreciate the size of this salad! As a bonus the dark leafy greens contain thylakoids which help control the appetite. Who doesn’t need a dose of that everyday? Dr Fuhrman says, “Salad Is The Main Dish!”
Here is what my Holland Bowl looks like after being used every day for the past year. Yes it does have some cut marks and just a little bit of a green patina from all those healthy greens I eat! This is how my kitchen looks each morning as I am getting ready to chop a salad to take with me for my lunch. This is one of the batch prepped salads from the fridge. I chop the salad the same day I will be eating it.
A one pound salad from my Speedy Salad Batch Prep Blog Post & Video. Click on the blue highlighted link to see how to batch prep the basic salad ahead for the work week! Then each day you take one of the batch prepped salads from the fridge and chop it the day you are going to eat it. Some people have told me they chop it the night before so it’s ready to grab and go the next morning for work and it’s still good chopped that far in advance. Experiment and see what works for you. My personal preference it to chop it and eat it the same day.
Here is how it looks after it is chopped using the mezzaluna knife in the 15 inch bowl. Notice how it is reduced in size and nicely chopped.
For this particular salad I decided to go with a Mexican – Southwest style. After chopping the basic salad I like to add some more cooked and raw ingredients to the salad. These add in items do not get chopped. They add flavor, texture and satiety. Each day I add some kind of starch or legumes to make the salad more filling. This day I went for a diced red bell pepper, frozen corn, Cooked Oat Groats, diced jicama. Juice of one lime and also not shown half of a plantain browned without oil in a ceramic non-stick Scanpan for a few minutes on each side. You can add fruit as well. Adding some fresh fruit either before or after chopping adds a nice sweet freshness. The fruit helps people to adjust to eating these larger amounts of greens. Fresh berries or apple are my favorite fruit to add to the salads. I like to add them after the salad is chopped. With the fruit added you need less salad dressing or vinegar. My Creamy Balsamic Dressing is very popular with the no oil crowd! Even non plant eaters love this dressing.
Jalapeno powder and ground cumin add a lot of flavor.
These are three of my favorite California Balsamic Vinegars. See my blog post to find out how to get 2 free sample size bottles with your order. Shown here are the 3 ounce travel sizes perfect for air travel!
Big Beautiful Chopped Salad Mexican – Southwest Style
Ingredients
- one pound salad from Simple Salad Batch Prep
- frozen corn – thawed
- cooked * Oat Groats
- red bell pepper diced
- jicama- diced
- 1/2 plantain browned without oil in a dry skillet
- juice of one lime
- Jalapeno Powder and ground cumin to taste
- California Balsamic Vinegars Sweet Heat Blazin Habanero, Gilroy Garlic
Instructions
- Chop the one pound salad first. Then add in the rest of the ingredients and stir them in – no more chopping. It’s fun to stir in some cooked and raw ingredients and to use flavored vinegars, fresh citrus juice or no oil salad dressings like my Creamy Balsamic Dressing.
Notes
There are so many different combinations and flavors that you can create a different salad everyday of the week! Follow me on my Nutmeg Notebook Instagram and my Nutmeg Notebook Facebook page for many more ideas and different combinations for chopped salads. I post frequently what I am eating. Subscribe to my Nutmeg Notebook YouTube channel for more fun and informative no oil whole food plant based cooking videos.
Holland Bowl Mill
The Holland Bowl Mill is now the best and largest solid wood bowl production facility in the world, making beautiful solid hardwood bowls of the highest quality, the same way they were made over 150 years ago. All of their bowls are sculpted from a solid block of wood using a lathe and a series of specialized knives that have been individually designed and forged at Holland Bowl Mill. Before smoothing and finishing, the bowls are steamed to help prevent the wood from cracking and splitting while air drying. After drying, sanding, and smoothing, the wooden bowls are bathed in food-safe mineral oil or their own bees oil wood preserver that nourishes the wood and brings out the beautiful wood grains unique to each bowl. If you prefer not to have the beeswax solution you can ask for your bowl to be sent to you unfinished. No two bowls are exactly alike. The wood bowls do have a lifetime guarantee. You need to continue to oil and care for your bowl to prevent it from cracking. You will get a little instruction card telling you how to care for it.
Get A Free Mezzaluna Knife
If you use my Holland Bowl Affiliate Link to purchase products from Holland Bowl Mill and have a minimum $140.00 order you will receive a free mezzaluna knife with your order! When you place your order on their website using my affiliate link use discount code NUTMEG to get a free mezzaluna knife with your bowl order. They have excellent customer service and everyone has received the free knife with their order. Thank you for your support.
Free Engraving
One of the special services that Holland Bowl Mill offers is to engrave the bottom of your bowl for free! I could have it say Tami’s Kitchen for instance. If giving one as a wedding or anniversary gift you can have it engraved with the couples name and the date. or you could choose a favorite quote. It’s a lovely personal touch. I have found that the 15 inch Solid Beechwood bowl is just the right size to chop my one pound of salad ingredients. The Holland Bowl Mill offers a variety of different wood to choose from. Any of them will work great but I don’t recommend anything smaller than the 15 inch to chop one pound salads like I do.
How To Order A Holland Bowl
When you are on the Holland Bowl Mill website, click on the Shop tab at the top of the page, from the drop down menu choose the type of wood you would prefer there is beechwood (this is what I have), cherry, maple, red oak and walnut. Scroll down the page until you come to the 15 inch bowl. Use my Holland Bowl Mill Affiliate Link and discount code NUTMEG to get your free mezzaluna knife with a minimum $140 bowl order. Be sure to have the bottom of your bowl engraved for free. Happy Chopping!
When you purchase items using our affiliate links you help support the work here without any additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
Be sure to check out our Amazon Affiliate Page where we share many of our favorite small kitchen appliances, kitchen tools, food products, books and fun things for the grandchildren! Thank you for your support.
Lisa Joy
Hi Tami, I ordered my bowl through your link and just received yesterday! It’s gorgeous! I’m so excited to get chopping! I did received the free mezzaluna, but I did put comments in on the notes section.
Thanks!
Lisa
Tami Kramer
Hi Lisa Joy
I love your name! Congratulations on your new Holland Bowl – may you have many happy years together!
Thank you for your support of our work here on the blog. We greatly appreciate it.
Happy Cooking,
Tami
Sue Ellen
Just received my bowl and knife today. Can’t wait to get started! What a nice company! And many thanks to you for this information and your amazing blog!
Tami Kramer
Hi Sue Ellen,
Congratulation on your new Holland Bowl – may you have many happy years together! They are a nice company with
outstanding customer service. Chopped salads are such a game changer. Have fun experimenting with different combinations of ingredients.
Happy Chopping,
Tami
Judy Lesh
I love my Holland Bowl and my husband Geoff decided he wanted his own, so now we have two! We also ordered the fruit bowl and I am really looking forward to its delivery. I love your posts and all of the great recipes you share!
Tami Kramer
Hi Judy,
Congratulations on owning not one but two Holland Bowls! They are so useful plus pretty to have sitting in the kitchen. You will love the fruit bowl – not only does it work well to keep the fruit from ripening quickly but it’s a beautiful piece of art work.
Thank you for your kind comments – we really appreciate the positive feedback.
Happy Cooking,
Tami
Kae
Hi Tami!
I love you videos. I subscribe on YouTube and follow you on Instagram. If I just cannot afford the bowl right now, can you tell me another way I could chop my salads?
Thank you!
Tami Kramer
Hi Kae,
Thank you for the kind comments. When I first started making chopped salads I had the OXO salad chopping bowl. Here is my Amazon Affiliate link to it. It doesn’t hold a pound of greens at one time so I would just do my salad in batches and it worked pretty good.
Some people chop the ingredients on a large cutting board with a large knife. Others tell me they use their food processor using the pulse function and they do it in small batches. Others use kitchen scissors and put everything in a bowl and chop it all up. Some people buy a mezzaluna knife or a Ulu knife and use whatever kind of bowl they have at home but don’t use a SS bowl it will ruin the bowl and your knife. Other’s have found wood bowls at thrift stores – there can be some good buys there too.
I hope that helps – chopped salads are really delicious so I hope you can give it a try!
Happy Chopping,
Tami
Amy Princess
Hi Tami! I am loving my Holland Bowl! Thank you so much for all your salad ideas. It helps so much! ?
Tami Kramer
I am so glad you like your Holland Bowl! Happy Chopping Amy!
Sandy
How long did it take you to learn to eat that much salad? We made these for lunch today and it was good but neither of us finished this salad. It seemed to grow as we ate?.
Tami Kramer
We have been eating 1 pound salads since 2013 when we went plant based. Maybe split one salad between the two of you and see how that goes. We are all different and have to do what works best for us as individuals.
Penelope Bochatey
I just viewed Dr Greger’s presentation on NutritionFacts.org stating the crucial need to chop cruciferous veggie at least 40 minutes or so BEFORE cooking in order for vital enzyme to be released. That is when I knew I needed to get the Holland Mill bowl and chopper ASAP! And plan to get one soon for all my loved ones. Thank you Tami for your wonderful efforts! God bless you!
Judy
What is a SS bowl? You say not to use one for chopping your salad.
Thank you
Tami Kramer
Hi Judy,
SS is for Stainless Steel bowl. If you use a mezzaluna knife or Ulu knife in a SS bowl it will ruin the knife and the bowl.
Tami
Nancy
Maybe I missed it, but how many servings does this recipe make?
Tami Kramer
Hi Nancy – this makes one serving for me – it’s my first meal of the day usually around lunch time and I eat the whole thing! I don’t usually give serving sizes because everyone’s appetite is different and we all eat slightly different amounts of food.
Happy Cooking,
Tami
Melissa Curit
HI Tammy, I just started watching you and your husband on YouTube, and although I have been a plant based eater for several years, I don’t eat salads as often as I should (veggies are part of my lunches and dinners though). I’m interested in starting chopped salads, and will likely start with my cutting board and a knife first to see if I stick with it 🙂 My question is, for one person, eating a smaller salad, do you think the 13 1/2 inch bowl would work? It’s more affordable of course, and I just don’t think I would eat as large of a salad as you show in your video. Thanks in advance 🙂
Tami Kramer
Hi Melissa,
Some people have purchased the 13 inch bowl and are happy with it. I wouldn’t be able to chop my one pound salads in that size but if it is a smaller salad it could work.
Happy Chopping,
Tami
Nikki Brown
I can’t wait to make my chopped salad. I am wondering how to use the vinegrettes you mention. I bought their sampler pack, but I’m not sure how to use them best. Do I just drip it over the salad, or is it best to mix it into some additional mixture. (ie: is that more economical?) Thanks,for you help as this is stumping me. 🙂
Tami Kramer
Hi Nikki,
I drizzle the vinegar over my chopped salad and then stir it to mix it in well. I use 1- 2 tablespoons and I don’t dilute it but you can if you wish.
Happy Chopped Salads!
Tami
Ria Edmond
Hi Tami,
I heard you mention in one of your videos that you have a recipe for ketchup but I can’t find it on your blog. Could you please let me know where you have posted it?
Thank you in advance ?
Tami Kramer
Hi Ria,
You can use the search bar located at the top of the blog page to search for recipes or you can google them too.
Here is a link to the ketchup recipe for you http://nutmegnotebook.com/posts/make-a-great-tasting-ketchup-bbq-sauce-no-added-sugar/
Happy Cooking,
Tami
Kelli
Hi Tami,
What a wonderful website & YouTube channel – Thank you for the wonderful content! I’ve just ordered my bowl (and bees oil & knife holder). Wondering, what size is your heart bowl?
Tami Kramer
Congatulations on your new bowl! My heart shaped bowl is the 12 inch! I love it.
Terry
Excellent video.
Tami Kramer
Thank you Terry!
Sandra Lacy
Tami – What size ziplock storage containers do you use for storing the salad after bulk prepping?
Mel
Tami,
Love your blog and videos!! Has eating the oat groats lowered your cholesterol at all?
Tami Kramer
Hi Mel
I can’t tell you for sure exactly what has worked because I follow so many different protocols with my healthy diet that may also be helping.
Regardless the oat groats taste amazing so I continue to include them in diet.
Happy healthy cooking,
Tami
lori
Just wondering how hot the jalapeño powder is?
Tami Kramer
A little goes a long way, so it all depends on how much you use. But having said that let us remember that, every individual has their own threshold for heat – what is hot to one person isn’t hot to another! Different brands have a different level of heat too. The nice thing about the powder is that you can control how much heat you want and cut back or add more. So always start with a small amount as you can always add more.
Dwynn
I just ordered the bowl and am excited to receive it. I was reminded as I watched Well Your World and they were using it and reminded to use your link. Thank you!
Tami Kramer
Oh that is great Dwyn! Happy chopping!