7 Sacred Species Whole Grain Salad Recipes

On the lookout for whole grain salad recipes? This tasty and gorgeous salad is one way to get my man to eat his fruits and vegetables!

I am married to someone that will eat salad, but generally saves it until he is full. 

In which case the salad has usually become soggy and lifeless and in general not a great way to eat salad.

Certainly not a great way to entice someone who really doesn’t like salad to become a salad lover.

Whole grains are all something most of us need more of in our diet.

A healthy grain salad provides us with lots of fiber which helps lower our cholesterol, our blood pressure and keeps us regular.

You catch my drift?

I discovered this salad because the name of it caught my attention.

It’s called the 7 Sacred Species Salad because it contains all 7 species mentioned in Deuteronomy, which makes this a fun salad to serve for many holidays and family gatherings.

Curious about the 7 species?

Besides Israel being the land of milk and honey, it is also the land of wheat and barley, grapes, figs and olives, pomegranates and dates.

Sounds pretty good to me!

This salad can be served year round and even if you can’t find fresh figs, dried figs are always available.

Loaded with fresh herbs and topped with a tahini salad dressing that conains balsamic vinegar, even Manservant approved.

Yes, this delicious grain salad requires a bit of chopping but I managed to simplify the grains part by using a 5 grain pilaf mixture that I found at Target.

(OK. Confession: I love Target!)

No Target near you? I am sure that you can find some kind of suitable grain pilaf at your local grocery store.

The 5 grain pilaf did miss out on the wheat berries but contained black pearl barley, quinoa, rice, millet and buckwheat.

It’s a hearty salad and could easily become a main course when topped with roast chicken or fish, or just goat cheese or feta cheese or all of it!

Make this how you prefer.

I served this with a roast lemon chicken, so I kept this great grain salad vegetarian and served it without cheese.

The nutty flavor and chewy texture of this side dish made me very happy that I had leftovers.

This great salad with a bright flavor, has tasted fresh all week and has certainly tried to keep me healthy.

Whatever you choose to use for your hearty grain salads is up to you.

This is perfect for summer picnics and the whole family will enjoy it!

Serve at room temperature because I said so!

SO let’s get started shall we?

I always keep in my fridge this tahini dressing. 

It tends to get thick in the fridge so I used 1/2 c of it to which I added balsamic vinegar, but red wine vinegar works too; more chopped fresh garlic and a dash of honey, along with some Urfa chile flakes, or if you don’t have those just grind in some fresh black pepper.

If the dressing is too thick add in a bit more extra virgin olive oil and whisk together with the tahini mixture.

Honestly, most any salad dressing can be used on this as long as it is homemade.

Why homemade? This is such a good salad that it deserves homemade dressing!

A Few Ideas For Whole Grain Salad Recipes:

Use the cooking time on the package directions to cook the pilaf.

Set aside and let cool. You can even do this and the salad dressing a few days ahead.

Once you are ready to assemble the salad, stir in the chopped dates, and halved grapes.

Add some red onion chopped fine, some minced sliced green onions or scallions, chopped garlic cloves, and 1 cup of fresh herbs.

Use your faves but I used cilantro, fresh parsley, basil and dill. As long as you have about a cup you are good.

Don’t forget the olives-choose your fave and try not to use those black olives from the can.

I think they are the reason I disliked olives as a kid!

This salad can be made with or without fresh greens..

If you love green salads and want to add some green, choose your favorite and figure about a handful per person.

Place the greens on a large serving platter or in a large bowl and then spoon this great recipe over the greens.

Garnish with fresh figs sliced in half and a good shake of  pomegranate seeds. 

This is an easy meal and can be made with any wild rice blend, or just make this a quinoa salad.

Like I said, healthy whole grain salads can last a couple of days in the fridge so make sure you use the grains you want to eat.

Kind of a personal preference thing!

This is a whole meal salad made with lots of fresh ingredients and at the end of the day it is pretty easy to make.

This is a salad you can pack and take to lunch as a grain bowl the next day.  Just package the greens seperately.

Perfect for any vegetarian in the crowd as long as your pilaf doesn’t contain any chicken bouillion.

Enjoy this pretty salad. I still am!

Still Hungry?

Farro Salad with Crispy Sage Leaves

Chopped Kale Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

Roasted Cauliflower Salad

 

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