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Farro Lunch Salad – Three Ways

May 21, 2020 by Maria Adams Leave a Comment

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This farro lunch salad is a fun, convenient way to eat well at lunch by using leftovers or prepping ahead of time. Packed with whole grains, veggies, protein, and healthy fat, it will leave you satisfied. 

grain bowlPin

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Lunch Salad or Grain Bowl

In my last blog post I talked about why it’s so hard to figure out lunch and how to make it easier. Here is another salad or grain bowl (call it what you like!) to add to the list. 

I love to cook up a batch of grains such as farro, brown rice, quinoa, or bulgur at the beginning of the week and then use it to make salads or grain bowls like these. They look adorable packed in Mason jars, which are perfect for transporting to work. Of course, since many of us are working from home these days, you can also just portion it all into an oversized bowl when ready to eat. Or, perhaps you could put it in a nonbreakable container and bring it to the beach or park for a quick lunch or relaxed dinner picnic?

Nutrient-Packed Farro

Farro is one of my favorite grains. It’s nutty and tender and versatile. It’s also packed with heart and gut-healthy fiber. According to Bob’s Red Mill, a 1/2 cup of their cooked farro provides about 5 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein, 2 nutrients that are important for helping you stay full after eating. 

grain bowl leftoversPin

Below are three different versions of a farro lunch salad or grain bowl — call it what you will. Use these ideas to get inspired and make your own version using what you have on hand or what’s in season. 

Dress it Up

Oh, and don’t forget a good dressing. Whether you go for a simple drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar or a homemade cashew dressing, this will put the finishing touch on the salad and bring out all the flavors, not to mention the fat-soluble vitamins. I have included one of my simple, go-to lemon vinaigrettes, but the options are endless! Enjoy!

Hälsa Kids

Make this farro lunch salad more appealing to kids by letting them design it themselves. Pair something liked with something new. So, for example, if they have never had farro before try it with something they love, like bolognese sauce or Swedish meatballs. Add a favorite vegetable and there you are.

Alternatively, skip the farro for a well-loved grain like rice or pasta. Then add something new like roasted chickpeas and eggs served on grains instead of toast. Ideally, let them create their own bowl. And if they are not interested, don’t push it.

grain bowl leftoversPin

Farro Lunch Salad Three Ways

Maria Adams
This Farro Lunch Salad shows the versatility of the grain bowl. Simply pick a grain, such as farro, quinoa, or brown rice, add a variety of veggies, protein, and fat, and you will have instant satisfaction and long-lasting fuel! Use this recipe as a guide to come up with your own ideas based on what you like and have on hand. It's a lunch saver!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course dinner, lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

Base

  • 1 cup farro cooked in stock for extra flavor per package directions
  • 4 cups baby spinach, arugula, or other salad greens

Version 1: Sweet Potato & Eggs

  • 1 medium sweet potato, roasted and diced in a time crunch? cook diced sweet potatoes in the microwave
  • 4 large eggs, boiled*, peeled and halved *I like 7-minute eggs, cook for 7 minutes in simmering water then remove from heat, cool, and peel
  • 1/2 avocado, sliced
  • 1/2 cup sliced cucumber
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon Everything but the Bagel Seasoning

Version 2: Roasted Chicken & Cauliflower

  • 1/3 cup thinly sliced and chopped red cabbage
  • 1 cup roasted cauliflower (leftovers are ideal; otherwise sub a no-cook veggie that you have on hand such as bell peppers or cucumbers)
  • 1/4 cup roasted chickpeas for extra flavor, fiber, crunch, and plant-based protein
  • 3/4 cup leftover chicken, chopped rotisserie, roasted, and grilled chicken all work great

Version 3: Grilled Salmon & Asparagus

  • 10-12 spears asparagus, chopped or left whole leftover asparagus is great, otherwise quickly steam or broil it
  • 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn or petite peas, thawed and heated if desired
  • 6 ounces leftover grilled salmon, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

Lemon Vinaigrette

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 medium lemon, juiced
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • salt to taste
  • Fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Portion farro onto two plates or bowls. Top with the greens and then veggie and protein combination of choice. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy.

To Make Farro Lunch Salads in Mason Jars

  • Whisk together dressing and pour it into the bottom of each container. Top with the cooked farro, then proceed with the veggies and protein from heaviest to lightest (e.g., sweet potato, then eggs, then avocado, etc., ending with greens).
Keyword cardamom, grain bowl, picnic, portable, salad, whole-grain

Additional Recipes You Might Like

  • Simple Roasted Veggies and Pesto Bowl
  • Roasted Sweet Potato and Beet Quinoa Salad with Lemon-Ginger Yogurt Dressing (Vegan)
  • Vegan Power Bowl
  • Turmeric Roasted Chickpea and Quinoa Salad
  • Lentil and Roasted Veggie Salad in a Jar

Grain bowlsPin

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Hey there!

I'm Maria, a mom and Registered Dietitian with a love for good food. Let me help you navigate your way to happier, more confident eating and cooking. I take a non-diet, intuitive eating approach and truly believe that all foods can fit! Read More…

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halsanutrition

Maria | Non-Diet Dietitian
Looking for a delicious snack or breakfast idea th Looking for a delicious snack or breakfast idea that may also appeal to your teen? Why not try this cardamom chia pudding parfait?⁠⁠
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It provides a satisfying combination of carbs, protein, and fat that will keep you going until your next meal. Plus it's loaded with nutrients such as calcium, iron, and magnesium, not to mention it packs in more than 12 grams of fiber!⁠⁠
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Get the recipe on my blog, link in profile. (PS, you should probably make a few, they are great to have on hand in the fridge!)⁠⁠
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#cardamom #cardamomchiapudding #chiapudding #chiaseeds #teensnackideas #teenbreakfastideas #momsnackideas #parfaitglass #nutrientpacked #recipeideas #strawberries #vitaminCfood #ironfood #fiberrichfood #fikatime #snacktime #postworkoutfuel #nourishingsnack #recipeontheblog #familynutrition #foodtographyschool #nutritionforteens #halsanutrition #registereddietitian ⁠⁠
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Teens and tweens benefit from snacks to help bridg Teens and tweens benefit from snacks to help bridge the gap between meals. Add sports and the need for a snack becomes even more important. 🤸‍♀️🤾🏽‍♂️⛹🏿‍♂️🏄🏼‍♀️🏑

So what should your teen eat after a practice or event? 

Ideally, they should eat food that provides both carbohydrates and protein. Water is also important to help with rehydration.

Carbohydrates are our main source of fuel. We store carbohydrates in our muscles as glycogen. After exercise, it’s important to replenish the lost glycogen. Carbohydrate-rich foods include:

✔️grains such as cereal, bread, rice, crackers, granola, and oats
✔️dairy products such as milk and yogurt
✔️starchy veggies such as potatoes and corn
✔️fruit 

Protein helps us repair damaged muscles and teens need to have a ready supply of protein for growth too. But think beyond the protein bar, you can actually get ample protein from a variety of foods, including:

✔️Soy, dairy, or pea protein milk 
✔️Greek or Skyr yogurt
✔️Kefir
✔️Cheese
✔️Nuts and seeds
✔️Nut and seed butter
✔️Beans and legumes
✔️Eggs
✔️Seafood such as salmon and tuna
✔️Meat such as turkey, ham, chicken, and beef

I have put together some suggestions for snack ideas in these infographics. In general, it’s great to include a fruit or veggie as part of the snack when possible. 🍓🥝🍅🥑🥒🥕🫐🍎It can help to think of the post-workout snack as a “mini-meal” versus just a snack. 

Of course, it’s important to remember that the snacks don’t have to fit into these neat categories or include produce all the time. Eating should never have rules around it. Moreover, food choices are about more than nutrition. Other factors that come into play include what’s available, appealing, and convenient. 

Ultimately, what your adolescent decides to eat (or even whether they eat) is up to them. But you can help out by keeping a variety of options available at home. 

To learn more and get additional snack ideas, go to my latest blog post, link in profile. ⬆️Also, be sure to save this post for future reference (or perhaps share with your teen)!
Weekends call for pancakes! 🥞I have finally sta Weekends call for pancakes! 🥞I have finally started increasing the batter size so that it makes enough pancakes for my family of four. My teen boys can eat a lot and lately we had been running out before the pancake maker (that would be me!) got to eat (or at least eat enough). 

Here is my modified “Flying pancakes” recipe. You can find the original on my blog. 

1 cup spelt or white whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
1-2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1/2 heaping teaspoon baking soda
1/2 heaping teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups kefir or buttermilk
1/2 cup plain oat milk
2 tablespoons avocado or canola oil

butter for greasing pancake pan

toppings of choice 

1. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
2. Add liquid ingredients and stir until just combined.
3. Heat pancake pan of griddle.
4. Grease pan with butter. Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes and flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy with toppings of choice. No fresh berries? 🍓🫐No problem. Try frozen berries, applesauce, and bananas as pictured here! Or add chocolate chips to the batter, yum.
Happy first day of spring! 🌱The sun is bright ☀️ here and I am on my way out to do some yardwork. It just feels like a day to be outside and after a week of too much time on my computer 👩‍💻 I know that’s what I need! 

Speaking of bright, I made this pretty “Moroccan-spiced carrot salad with lentils” last weekend. It was so delicious and luckily there was enough to enjoy it for a few leftover lunches. Recipe from @loveandlemons cookbook. I highly recommend it. 

What’s on my cooking list today? Not sure. Sometimes you just need a little rest and regroup day if you know what I mean! I am hoping for some local takeout tonight. 

How are you spending your Saturday?
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 🍀Why not celebrate w Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 🍀Why not celebrate with a minty green smoothie/ Shamrock Shake? 

Here is how I made this one:

Shamrock Shake

1 smoothie

1/2 cup @siggisdairy plain full fat yogurt
1/2 cup oat milk
1/2 frozen banana
1 cup baby spinach
7 mint leaves

whipped cream 
dark chocolate

Combine yogurt through mint leaves in a high-speed blender. Pour into a class. Top with whipped cream and then use a microplane to grate dark chocolate on top. Enjoy! 💚

PS - Don’t fear the full fat dairy! It tastes delicious and provides a mega dose of satisfaction. Also, often times when we go for the low-fat we end up adding more sugar to make it taste good. 

#shamrockshake #happystpatricksday #luckoftheirish #greensmoothiesrecipe #siggis #luckysmoothie #stpaddysday #snackideas #familysnacks #momsnack #chocolateplease #dailysiggis #siggisambassador #halsanutrition #foodtographyschool #foodtography @foodtographyschool #replicasurfaces
Friday night is pizza night at our house. 🍕Ofte Friday night is pizza night at our house. 🍕Often, we order takeout but sometimes we make it ourselves.👩‍🍳Pictured here is one of my favorite combo’s: 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕫𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕞𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕦𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕦𝕘𝕦𝕝𝕒. 🌱Topped with mozzarella and perhaps a drizzle of balsamic glaze it’s 💯.

You can get the recipe for this classic on my blog, link in profile. Here I’ve made it on my homemade rye pizza dough (also on the blog). But you could also pick up some ready-made dough at the store.

One of the best parts of making your own pizza is that everyone in the family can add their own favorite toppings. 🥦🍅🍆🧅🧄My husband generally eats anything I make 🤣 but my kids are more selective. One loves onions but not mushrooms and one prefers just cheese (and red sauce).

Does your family have a pizza night? Do you sometimes make your own or stick to take out? 

#mushroompizza #onionpizza #arugula #flatbreadpizza #recipeontheblog #pizzanight #familypizza #makeyourownpizza  #halsanutrition
I love whipped cream. I'm talking homemade, no sug I love whipped cream. I'm talking homemade, no sugar added, plain whipped heavy cream. It's the way my mom made it growing up.⁠⁠
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It's not a food I eat very often, but that means that when I do have it I savor it even more. ⁠⁠
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For example, in these Swedish "semlor". These traditional lenten buns are eaten from January through Easter in Sweden. The sweet cardamom yeast dough is baked until golden and then filled with almond paste and whipped cream. ⁠⁠Dreamy. 😍
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I made a couple of batches last month. I ended up freezing several unmade buns to have on hand for future "fikas" (Swedish-stye coffee breaks). ⁠⁠
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I finally pulled out the last of them from the freezer today. It turns out my 12-year old really loves to eat these buns plain, he simply takes it out of the freezer and pops it in the microwave for a bit. 🙂 So alas, there are only 4 left, but they are now ready to go for our afternoon fika. ⁠⁠
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While I haven't written up the recipe for these (it takes time to translate my Swedish metric recipes into English!) you can do a search and find many good recipes online. 

Happy Thursday! 💗⁠⁠
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#semlor #semla #swedishlentenbun #swedishbaking #homemadesweets #nordicbaking #nordicinspired #homemadewhippedcream #whippedcream #almondpaste #cardamombun #fikatime #slowdown #savorfood #fikatime #fika #coffeebreak #enjoylife #bepresent #todayfood #intuitiveeating #allfoodsfit #foodisculture #foodistradition #foodtography @foodtographyschool #replicasurfaces @replicasurfaces #foodtographyschool #halsanutrition⁠⁠
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Happy Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day!💫 Happy Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day!💫 

I’ve been a dietitian for 22 years now (but who’s counting!?) Over the years, I have learned that health is about more than nutrition and that nutrition is about more than the food that you eat. Yes, nutrition is important but so are the other reasons that we choose food, such as culture, family, celebration, preference, accessibility, and availability. 💫

These days I take a I take a non-diet, intuitive eating approach in my work. I help people let go of diet culture, improve their relationship with food, (re)discover the joy of eating, get inspired in the kitchen, and feel confident in the choices they make. 💗

Here’s to my fellow RD/RDN’s! I feel grateful to be part of this smart, supportive, and inspiring community. ✨

📷pic of me in my sun-filled ☀️office this afternoon, taken by my 12-year old before he borrowed my phone to film a science project! 😁

#RDNday #rdday #dietitiansofinstagram #nationalregistereddietitianday #intuitiveeating #intuitiveeatingRD #nondietdietitian #antidietculture #registereddietitiannutritionist #halsanutrition
Happy Tuesday my friends! Took a little two week h Happy Tuesday my friends! Took a little two week hiatus from IG to rest and refresh (and grade papers!), but I am back at it. ❤️Excited to bring you more nourishing family food recipes, non-diet tips, and positive inspiration. 

The weather here in New England is warming up ☀️but there is still a chill in the air. I have been making chili, soups, and stews to have on hand for quick and satisfying lunches. Pictured here is a turkey, kale, and  barley soup that is delicious and easy to vary based on the ingredients you have on hand. Recipe coming to the blog soon. 💫

#turkeysoup #kalesoup#barleysoup #halsanutrition #nondietapproach
So I tried to make an impromptu video on how to ma So I tried to make an impromptu video on how to make a chocolate banana smoothie. As you can see it did not go too well. 🤣Seriously, there are several takes like these. My 14-year old was manning the camera and couldn’t keep himself from laughing, which meant that I could not stay serious either. 😂(So then I tried filming myself, but holding your phone with one hand and trying to pour a smoothie into a glass with the other is not so easy.) It might be time to invest in a phone stand. (Or stick to photos!)

In case you are curious about how to make this smoothie, here is the recipe:

Chocolate Banana Smoothie 🍌🍫

1 cup milk
1 banana (frozen for a thicker and colder smoothie) 
1 tablespoon cocoa or cacao powder (we love @flavanaturals which is delicious and extra high in antioxidants )

(Optional add in: 1 tablespoon peanut butter)

Simply combine everything in a blender until smooth. Pour into a glass & enjoy! It’s perfect snack for hungry, growing tweens and teens....and hungry, busy mamas too! It’s especially great for refueling post-exercise. 

#videobloopers #chocolatebanana #chocolatebananasmoothie #snackideas #familynutrition #halsanutrition
Mix up your usual breakfast or snack by adding a v Mix up your usual breakfast or snack by adding a veggie or two. 🌱Sure, eggs on toast are delicious alone, but they really make you pause and slow down when they are presented in as colorful of a way as here.⁠⁠ 💛
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Veggies not only add beauty, but they also add flavor, texture, and, of course, nutrients. ⁠(Microgreens are one of my favorite additions. I also love radishes and need to remember to buy them more often!)⁠⁠
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It's easy to get in a rut with our meals. It's also easy to mindlessly eat while scrolling or typing away on our devices. ⁠⁠
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Put the screen away and carve out a little extra time to make your meal. Add a little extra color to your plate in the form of veggies or fruit and then give your food the full attention it deserves.⁠⁠ 🌈
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Sure, it takes a little more work to wash and slice up some produce, but the effort is well worth it. ⁠⁠💫
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#halfplateveggies #moreveggies #eggsontoast #satisfyingsnack #nourishingsnack #mindfuleating #mindfulsnacking #colorfulplate #halsanutrition #snacktime #familynutrition #momnutrition #spiceupyoursnack #mixupyoursnack #nourishingfood #nondietapproach #intuitiveeating #registereddietitian
Happy Weekend! 💫It’s snowing here again, but Happy Weekend! 💫It’s snowing here again, but it’s winter after all. ❄️ I find it absolutely beautiful but that said, I admit I am also looking forward to warmer days and being outside without my fingers & toes getting cold so easily! (hello #reynauds)

I did get my boys out for a dog walk in the snow this afternoon. Grateful for these moments. ❤️ Also grateful for our dog who gets us out of the house even when it’s cold out. 

Hoping we get enough fresh snow for cross-country skiing this weekend. And perhaps an outdoor fika. ☕️What are your weekend plans? 

#stillwinter #marblehead #weekendmood #getoutside #snowflakes #halsanutrition
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Meet Maria!

I'm a Swedish-born, New England-raised dietitian with a love for good food and baking. Follow my blog for nourishing recipes, non-diet nutrition advice, and a touch of Swedish inspiration. Read More…

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