Roasted roots happy salad recipe for refueling after training

It’s important to refuel right after a heavy training session, and this warm salad recipe is the perfect post-workout lunch. It’s packed with fibre to have you feeling full and energised, as well as protein for repairing muscles.

What you eat after training matters. You might not necessarily need to take protein supplements immediately after you’ve finished your last rep, but the meal you refuel with later on should be rich in muscle-loving minerals and anti-inflammatory vitamins to keep your body happy.

This colourful warm salad is full of nourishing nutrients and makes for the perfect post-workout refuel lunch. The root veggies are full of fibre – which will give you back the energy you need after a hard session. Walnuts offer a protein punch and a good dose of healthy fats, while you get beta-carotene, vitamin C and antioxidants from the spinach, citrus juice and red pepper.

“I believe that you eat and feast with your eyes first, and this dish is so beautiful that it’ll leave you feeling wonderfully re-energised,” explains the recipe’s author, Gemma Ogston. She says that you can use any root vegetables you like, so this is a great way of using up those old veggies that have been lingering at the bottom of your fridge. 

Ingredients

2 carrots, quartered lengthways

2 parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthways

2 red onions, peeled and quartered

2 raw beetroot, peeled and cut into chunks

1 red pepper, sliced into large chunks

A glug of olive oil

1 tbsp honey

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves (not peeled)

200g walnuts

100g spinach

A bunch of parsley, chopped

1 tbsp pomegranate seeds

For the dressing

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

1 tbsp mustard

75ml raw apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1-2 tbsp honey, to taste

100ml extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Edible flowers such as primroses and chive flowers to garnish (if you have them!)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 ̊c and line a roasting tin with baking paper.

Put the carrots, parsnips, red onions, beetroot and red pepper in a bowl.

Toss in some olive oil, the honey and some seasoning. 

Spread them out in the lined tine with the garlic.

Cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes until tender.

Gently cook the walnuts in a dry fryingpan over a medium heat, tossing them regularly until they turn a barker brown colour. It should only take a few minutes – don’t leave them or they’ll burn!

Tip them onto a plate to cool a little.

To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together.

Put the spinach, parsley and walnuts in a large serving bowl and add the cooked veggies, along with all the juices from the roasting tin.

Toss well to coat.

Finish with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds and drizzle over the dressing.

Image and recipe from The Self-Care Cookbook by Gemma Ogston.

Interested in picking up more simple and nutritious recipes? Make sure you check out the rest of our meal ideas in the SWTC library. 

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