A Healthy Mediterranean-Inspired Salad

This recipe combines nutritious roasted cauliflower, avocados, grains, olives and feta cheese for a farro bowl salad with big Mediterranean flavors.

Reader Contribution by Renée Benoit
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by Flickr/Clare Cooks!

Years ago, when I first learned about Mother Earth News I also learned about a book that has since been called a classic. This was the quintessential vegetarian book and cookbook called Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe that also came out in 1971 just like Mother Earth did. This book was a revelation to me. I came from a mid-western family that ate well and varied but meat was served at almost every meal and especially lunch and dinner. I didn’t think anything about it. It was just how people ate. Diet changed all that for me.

I was then and am now deeply committed to following the philosophy behind Diet. I believe we eat much more meat than we need to and that we can get high quality protein from plant sources without going the whole route into veganism. The funny thing is, science is finally coming around to the plant-based diet as the most-healthy way of eating and one of the most famous is the Mediterranean way of eating. It’s nice to finally have the world catch up to you! By the way, I am not a vegetarian. I guess you could call me a flexitarian. I’ve heard this name being bandied about recently but to me this means I eat what makes sense to me and my body. All in all, I err on the side of plant-based.

This is one of my most favorite no-meat meals. It is a Mediterranean style dish that was inspired by my readings of Lulu Peyraud’s Lulu’s Provencal Table, Richard Olney’s Simple French Food, and Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Cooking.

Roasted Cauliflower and Grain Salad with Feta, Avocado and Olives

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