This Greek Panzanella Salad {Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Low FODMAP} is a delicious way to clean out your fridge! Get my super EASY “recipe” & find out what else I’m loving in this week’s edition of “Happy Things, Healthy Living Tips”!
HAPPY THING NO. 1 | GREEK PANZANELLA SALAD {Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Low FODMAP}
It’s a delicious way to cut back on food waste AND up your veggie intake. My kids, Mr. Spicy, and I seriously *almost* licked the salad bowl clean!
Greek Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 6 slices gluten-free bread {or regular bread if desired}, cubed
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 cups salad greens {i.e. romaine, spinach, kale, etc}, chopped
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes*, sliced in half
- 1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
- 2 bell peppers {red, yellow, and/or orange},
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup assorted fresh herbs {i.e. oregano, mint, basil, parsley}, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- salt & ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut bread into ~ 1-inch cubes. Place on baking sheet, and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over bread cubes. Use clean hands to spread oil over bread, and coat well. Bake in oven for ~ 5 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from oven and baking sheet, and place in large salad bowl.
- Add chopped salad greens, sliced tomatoes, chopped cucumber and bell peppers to bowl with bread cubes. Add chopped olives, crumbled feta, and chopped fresh herbs. Drizzle remaining olive oil over ingredients, along with lemon juice, and toss well. Top with freshly ground black pepper & salt if desired {I didn’t use any salt because the feta cheese and kalamata olives provide enough flavor}.
Notes
- Be creative and use up whatever greens, vegetables, and fresh herbs you have on hand.
- Want more protein? Add cooked garbanzo beans or lentils to your Greek Panzanella Salad.
Nutrition
HAPPY THING NO. 2 | WANDERING AIMLESSLY THROUGH POWELL’S CITY OF BOOKS
Have you been to Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon? We took a long weekend family trip to Portland last month, and visiting Powell’s, the world’s largest independent bookstore, was one of the highlights of my trip. It’s huge!!!
I felt like a kid in a candy store, and we spent a ridiculous amount of money on books, but it was totally worth it.
Do you have any good book recommendations? I just finished The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, which I really loved, and I’m currently reading The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware, but I can always use a good book recommendation!
HAPPY THING NO. 3 | CHICKEN SKEWERS & BITCHIN’ SAUCE
It’s official. I need a Bitchin’ Sauce intervention! I picked up 3 containers of Bitchin’ Sauce from Costco the other day, and paired it with these Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs {also from Costco}, cucumbers, and grape tomatoes.
Lunch seriously doesn’t get any easier than this. If you haven’t tried Bitchin’ Sauce before, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s vegan and gluten free, and made with almonds, grapeseed oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, & Bragg Liquid Aminos, plus whatever flavor you choose.
I think my favorite is “Cilantro Chili”, but “Bombay” is pretty fabulous too!
HAPPY THING NO. 4 | EASY “CLEAN OUT THE FRIDGE” HOMEMADE GAZPACHO
This “Clean Out the Fridge” gazpacho I had for lunch the other day, was SO easy to make. It’s a rift on this gazpacho recipe, but you can make it with whatever ingredients you have on hand.
I made mine with my favorite dry farmed tomatoes, which are just starting to show up in the grocery stores here. If you haven’t tried dry farmed tomatoes before, you need to hunt them down ASAP-they are SO sweet, juicy, and delicious!
HAPPY THING NO. 5 | HANGING OUT WITH MOUNTAIN GOATS IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
Last, but certainly not least, one of my ultimate happy things lately, was hanging out with mountain goats and hiking at Glacier National Park in Montana. We just got back from a family trip to Whitefish and Glacier National Park, and I felt just like Maria in The Sound of Music when we were hiking the Hidden Lake Trail in Glacier.
In addition to the mountain goats on our hike, we saw big horn sheep, marmots, a deer, and wrestling chipmunks. If you haven’t seen all my photos on Instagram, you can check them out here-be sure and scroll through all the photos so you can see the baby mountain goat~so sweet!!!
More Happy Things & Healthy Living Tips I’m Loving This Week…
- I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but these Creamy Sweet Corn Cauliflower Grits {Gluten Free, Vegetarian} from Lindsay at Cotter Crunch look AMAZING!!!
- The general consensus on exercise, is that we should all do it for the numerous health benefits, but for weight loss, it’s better to focus on diet. This small research study shows that more intense exercise may decrease your appetite {and help facilitate weight loss}, vs. less intense exercise. Has this been your experience?
- Are you juggling a busy work schedule and trying to figure out how to feed your family healthy, home-cooked meals? {Raising hand here!} Give these 6 tips at Wellseek a try, and see if you can save your sanity 🙂 Need more help? Check out my time saving meal plans + grocery lists for the ultimate sanity saver!
- Got zucchini??? You’ll love these 41 Creative Ways to use it up!
Want more happiness in your life? See all my Happy Things, Healthy Living posts here!
Let’s Chat! Have you made a Panzanella Salad before? If so, what do you like to put in yours? Any book recommendations? Have you been to Glacier National Park before???
