In a quest to shake up my salad game, I decided to see what would happen if I put some of my very favorite ingredients–the ones you can always find in our fridge–together in one bowl. The result is this veggie chopped salad, loaded with good-for-you spinach, roasted beets and sweet potatoes, protein-rich garbanzo beans, creamy avocado, crunchy radishes, and topped with a lemon-tahini dressing. I’ll be making this one again and again. Save yourself some time and roast extra beets and sweet potatoes; they refrigerate well, so you can reap the reward of making the salad a second, or even third, time.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups spinach leaves or assorted lettuce
1-2 beets, roasted (or look for pre-peeled and steamed beets in the produce section – so easy!)
1 large sweet potato, roasted
Honey
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 avocado, chopped
2-3 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup tahini
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Water
Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the beets: Place beets in foil, drizzle with olive oil and add a couple tablespoons water. Cover foil around each beet and bake until soft in a 400 degree oven about 30 minutes. Continue cooking until they can easily be pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, let cool, then peel and chop. Season with salt. 

2. Prepare the sweet potato: Peel and chop 1 large sweet potato into small cubes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, add sweet potato cubes, season with salt, and bake in a 400 degree oven about 20 minutes, until soft. Remove from oven and drizzle with a small bit of honey.

3. Make the dressing: Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil together, adding water – as much or as little as you like – to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add spinach/lettuce to two bowls. Top with chopped beets, sweet potato, radishes, avocado and garbanzo beans. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the lemon-tahini dressing.