TGIF! Wait who am I kidding? Every day since being in quarantine has felt like Friday for me. However, I know there are still all the essential workers who are out there doing what they do, so I hope they get some time to relax this weekend. I also just want to say thank you for everyone doing their part during this hard time – including all of us staying home as much as we can. We will get through this.

I’ve been trying to make the most of my time at home and am looking for ways to get more creative in the kitchen. I really want to start baking more treats because I don’t do that very often – I did make those cookies in my last post though (link here). If you have any suggestions of what you’d like me to make, please don’t hesitate to comment on this post with your ideas 🙂

For now though, I’m still doing my best to maintain a balanced diet. A big part of that includes lots of veggies. A good way to eat vegetables is by throwing them into a delicious salad. My go-to flavours are Asian, so that’s why I went with the edamame (soy beans) for the base. They are packed with protein and super good for you! To go with that, I added a few other veggies that deliver lots of crunch and colour – radish, bell pepper and green onion.

For the dressing, I obviously wanted to keep with the Asian theme. I made a simple mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup and sesame oil. That’s it. It was perfectly balanced with sweet, salty and sour. You could also add a little hot sauce for some spice, but I figured the radish would give enough peppery bite.

This is a great salad to make the day before because all the vegetables hold up really well, nothing will get wilted. You could serve this with any protein you like or with some rice or just eat it on its own. Whatever you choose, you will love it.

Have a good weekend!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shelled edamame*
• 2/3 cup bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup green onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup radish, sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (GF: use tamari)
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp sesame oil

*If your edamame is frozen, let it sit in a bowl of hot water until it is thawed. This should only take a couple of minutes. Once thawed, it is ready to use in the salad.

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine edamame, bell pepper, green onion and radish.
2. Mix all remaining ingredients in a small bowl. This is the dressing.
3. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss to combine.
4. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.