This Cucumber Greek Salad is light and refreshing, and full of healthy ingredients. With minimal prep, it makes an easy side dish for any meal!
🕑10 minutes
Ingredients: Vegetarian, Gluten free
∙ Serves 8
Produce
2 Cucumbers
2 tsp Oregano, dried
1/2 Red onion
4 Roma tomatoes
Condiments
1 Black olives, pitted and sliced
1 1/2 tbsp Lemon juice
Spices
1 Salt and pepper
Oils & Vinegars
1/4 cup Olive oil
Dairy
1/2 cup Feta cheese
What we absolutely love about this dish is that you can make it as simple as you want or as fancy as you want!
First you need the right tools.
We used a Veggetti to noodlize our cucumbers. It works well, but if your cucumber is too large it will not fit.
Also if you have limited strength or grip it can be difficult to use.
You may want to consider getting a Paderno World Cuisine Spiralizer Pro, it takes up more storage space but is much easier to use if you have limited grip and strength in your hands.
Ok now on to our recipe!
Ingredients
3 TBSP fresh lemon juice [or lime!]
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP rice vinegar
¼ tsp soy sauce
⅛ tsp dill [fresh or dried]
⅛ tsp ground pepper
½ tsp fresh minced garlic
¼-1/2 cup fresh chopped green onion, plus extra to garnish
2 TBSP honey
1 pinch of toasted sesame seeds and chia seeds
3 large cucumbers
Instructions
Grab a giant English cucumber, a spiral slicer/veggie peeler, and follow the kitchen gadget instructions to noodlize your 3 cucumbers!
Whisk everything together and pour over noodles.
Let them sit at room temperature to soak up all the yummy dressing for 10 min or so then pop it in the fridge to chill a bit.
Garnish with cilantro or chopped green onion. Crushed peanuts or cashews are great too!
It’s ridiculously easy to customize based on what you have available as well as what you prefer taste/topping-wise!
Tips: To fancy it up noodlize some carrots and toss in some peas.
To spice it up add some wasabi to your dressing mixture.
Ingredients
1 Cup of cooked salmon
1 Lemon juice & zest
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons minced dill
2 Scallions, thinly sliced
1 Celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 Green onion diced
1 Cucumber, cut into rounds
Directions
Put salmon into a large bowl and break into chunks with a fork. Add lemon zest and juice, mayo, dill, scallions, green onion and celery and toss together until evenly mixed.
Chill mixture in fridge for at least 30 min. Then scoop about 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto each cucumber round, and top with additional dill for garnish.
Serve immediately.
Recipe Variation: Also try it with fresh diced shrimp & swap out the mayo for fresh avocado!
1. Eating salmon is beneficial in the treatment of osteoarthritis and other inflammatory joint conditions. Salmon contains small proteins called bioactive peptides. One in particular, called calcitonin, has been shown to increase, regulate and stabilize collagen synthesis in human osteoarthritic cartilage. This salmon-found protein also improves bone density and strength.
2. Eating salmon makes you smarter and happier. The brain is 60 percent fat and most of that is the omega-3 fatty acid DHA. Thirty percent of the grey matter in the brain is DHA showing how critical it is to brain function and a healthy nervous system. Eating salmon regularly has been shown to reduce the risk and incidence of depression, hostility in young adults and cognitive decline in the elderly.
3. Eating salmon increases your cardiovascular health. As noted, salmon contains high levels of the omega-3 fats, EPA and DHA. These fats are responsible for many cardiovascular benefits such as reducing inflammation, keeping the blood from clotting excessively and relaxing and dilating the arteries. When eaten two to three times per week, salmon can protect you from problems such as heart attack, stroke, arrhythmia, high blood pressure and high triglycerides.
4. Salmon protects your eyes. Eating salmon twice a week has been shown to significantly decrease the risk of macular degeneration — a chronic eye condition that leads to loss of vision. For the treatment and prevention of a condition called dry eye syndrome, eat two to four servings per week.
5. Salmon helps build children’s brains. Eating salmon while pregnant and nursing can boost learning capability and academic performance in children. Salmon contains high levels of DHA (decosahexaenoic acid) which is the main structural fatty acid in the central nervous system and retina. Feeding salmon to preschool children also aids in the prevention of ADHD and can even boost academic performance.
6. Salmon’s an excellent source of vitamin D. Sufficient vitamin D is crucial to maintaining optimal health. A deficiency of this essential vitamin has been linked to an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and type-1 diabetes. One can of salmon, for example, contains a day’s worth of vitamin D.
7. Salmon helps you sleep. Salmon is an excellent source of tryptophan, an all-natural sedative. Studies show that tryptophan increases sleepiness in subjects with mild insomnia and helps to shorten the time it takes to fall asleep.