Are you at wit’s end, wondering how to wean your kids off video games for a couple of hours on the weekend? And all you can think of as a hobby, is to bake sugar and butter-laden cookies with them? Are you worried that the very act of baking cookies with them, while creating those wonderful memories of togetherness, also sets them on the path to become “cookie monsters”?

Well, I have a panacea for you.

This recipe that I am about to share with you is healthy, filled with the goodness of fresh vegetables, brimming with taste and textures, so quick and easy to make that even someone with no prior experience in cooking can put it to together in just 10 minutes flat.

So try this recipe out with your children and you can have a proud little ones who made an entire meal by themselves. Depending on their age, set them to help you peeling the cucumbers, crumbling the soft goat cheese, measuring the olives and helping you make the couscous. You will have the benefit of a fun time with your youngsters while teaching them to cook and enjoy eating healthy meals.

I serve this with Whole grain Couscous and it makes a complete meal.

Here is what you need:

2 large Cucumbers (rinsed, peeled and chopped)
2 Green Peppers (rinsed and chopped)
1 bunch Cilantro (rinsed and snipped)
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes (rinsed)
1 bunch Basil (rinsed and snipped coarsely)
1 cup Kalamata Olives (in a jar, buy the pitted variety or pit them)
1 tube Goat cheese

For the Dressing:
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3 tbsp Red wine vinegar
Pepper: to taste

Here is how you put this together:
Combine the ingredients for the dressing. Toss into salad. Crumble and add the goat cheese right at the end, just before serving because it is very soft and has a tendency to melt. I buy the french variety of Goat Cheese, pictured above. You do not need to add any salt to this salad, because both the Goat Cheese and the Kalamata olives will provide a slightly salty taste.

For the Cosucous, follow instructions on the package. It takes just 10 minutes to make. In order to make this even more sumptuous, healthy, and satisfying, I use whole grain couscous, pictured here. You can also try the Parmesan Cheese Whole Wheat Couscous with milled Flax seed and Soy with this recipe. It tastes fantastic with this salad.

Enjoy!

I know this may sound incongruous, but vegetarian Indians are not big fans of salads. In fact, not many Indian I know are salad eaters.

Oh, don’t get me wrong; vegetarian Indians do eat vegetables. Only not in salad form. Vegetables are a must at every meal – only they are cooked, steamed, curried or stir fried and never eaten raw. It may be because the vegetables that traditionally were available in India in the 80s, 90s and earlier were organically grown and we were not so sure if they were free of pests. Or maybe, we thought the veggies tasted better when cooked. Whatever the reason, from my childhood, I always ate cooked, steamed, curried, or stir fried vegetables and have stayed far away from salads.

When I moved to the US, I made a valiant effort to eat at the salad bar, but the only way I could swallow those large torn lettuce leaves was to smother them with dressing – beats the purpose! So, when I finally came across this multi-colored pepper salad at a friend’s potluck party, I was pleasantly surprised. I just loved it! I have modified it slightly from the  recipe given by my friend.

But feel free to experiment by throwing in your favorite vegetables whilst using the colored peppers as a base. This salad needs absolutely no dressing and is zero fat!

This is a meal that will satiate all your senses. The wonderful hues of color – red, orange and gold of the peppers, the gorgeous green of the green apple and celery, the earthy brown of the walnuts and the deep maroons of the cranberries and beans will excite your aesthetic curiosity. The crunch and texture of the peppers, celery and walnuts will satisfy your need to munch. The fresh aroma of chopped vegetables will entice even a picky youngster to give this salad a try. And the beans will get your digestive juices flowing.

This is also a very healthy and filling meal by itself – it needs no accompaniment. Make it the previous evening, refrigerate and pick it up for lunch at work the next day. Super quick and easy!

Here’s what you need:
1 large red bell pepper
1 large yellow bell pepper
1 large green bell pepper
2 stalks fresh green celery
3 small granny smith green apples
1 can red beans or garbanzo beans
handful chopped raw walnuts
handful cranberries or raisins
1 slit red chili for garnish (optional)

Here is how you make this:
Wash and chop all the vegetables. I generally chop really fine in order to bring out the flavors. Toss together and garnish with the slit red chili. Serve immediately or cold.