My everyday (lately) TLT salad
The tempeh, lettuce and tomato salad I could eat every single day.
One thing you may not know about me is that I love a salad situation.
They’re easy to make, you can refine them as you please or based on what’s in season, and they’re a great way to get a healthy dose of important vitamins or minerals.
Lately I’v been loving one salad in particular: a TLT salad, which is a plant-based riff on a BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) sandwich. Mine is made with arugula, smokey tempeh, tomatoes, kalamata olives and pickled onions,.
This salad is hearty, and, well, kind of addictive. I call it my “every day” salad because I could eat it any day of the week. It’s that delicious.
It feels elevated (pickled onions will do that), it’s easy to make, light and good for you, too.
Keep reading to learn how to make it. But first, here’s everything I love about it:
Healthwise…
In addition to being a great source of protein, tempeh, due to it’s fermentation process, is considered a probiotic and prebiotic food as well. In other words, tempeh keeps you full and satiated, will help you manage your appetite, and promotes good digestive health, too.
Tomatoes are great for immunity. Not only are they high in vitamin C (and this will be better absorbed by the body when paired with high iron foods like tempeh), but they contain one antioxidant in particular - lycopene - that fights molecules and free radicals that damage cells and affect the immune system. I don’t have enough space in here to get into all the benefits of lycopene, but remember that it’s found in tomatoes and extremely good for your health on many fronts.
Peppery greens like arugula and warm foods like tempeh, helps make salads more digestible. If digestion is a concern or you have trouble digesting leafy greens, I recommend having this salad for lunch rather than dinner since our digestive system is stronger during mid-day hours.
Kalamata olives are a great natural whole food source of healthy fat, iron, calcium, vitamin A and E, and oleic acid, which is believed to improve heart health and contain cancer-fighting properties. They also offer a lot of flavor, so don’t skip out on these.
If you prefer consuming a plant based whole food diet: know that tempeh is very minimally processed, you can sub this dressing, leave out the cheese and you’ve got a great plant based whole food meal.
Other random tips and thoughts…
Feel free to make substitutions as you please when it comes to vegetables or leafy greens, based on availability, what’s in season and your personal preferences. When tomatoes aren’t in season, I love a persian cucumber or red bell pepper option.
If you really want to get this as clean as possible, you can make your own smokey tempeh by using a simple marinade of tamari, liquid smoke, a touch of maple and vegetable broth. It’s very easy to do, and cleaner than the store-bought version for sure. Also a great option if you can’t find smokey tempeh in stores.
While not necessary to the BLT flavor per say, the pickled onions and olives add a lot to this salad and give it a nice kick. So, I wouldn’t skip out on these.
Check out the recipe below to learn how to make this delicious salad. I hope you love it as much I do!
TLT salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 5-7 minutes | Yields: 1-2 servings
Ingredients:
(For the salad)
2 strips of cooked smokey tempeh, roughly chopped
1-2 cups leafy greens
1/2 cup of tomatoes (or seasonal vegetable of your choice), sliced
2 tbsp kalamata olives, sliced
1 tbsp plant-based cheese
1-2 tbsp pickled onions
salt and pepper, to taste
Garnishes: fresh basil or cilantro
(For the dressing)*
1 tbsp plant-based mayo
1 lemon, juice
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
*for a totally non-processed, whole food dressing option, use this.
Directions
Cook your smokey tempeh as directed on the product’s package.
While that cooks, combine greens, vegetables, olives and cheese in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk your dressing ingredients until smooth.
Add cooked chopped tempeh to the salad bowl, pour dressing over the salad and toss. Make sure ingredients are evenly coated.
Top with pickled onions, salt and pepper and garnish with fresh herbs.
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