Meal Planning (Turning This to That): Watermelon Feta Salad, Watermelon Gazpacho & Chickpea Salad
Who doesn’t love summer recipes?
What I love about these recipes is that they have that perfect summertime feel and are all quick and easy. Keep an open mind and don’t be freaked out that there are more than several ingredients in both recipes as you will see below, it is actually a benefit.
Between these three recipes, there are 7 common ingredients, which is a win when it comes to meal planning. Using the same ingredients in multiple recipes helps with reducing prep time, makes food shopping more efficient, minimizes waste, and gives you three completely different tastes, all of which are delicious!
The crossover ingredients are watermelon, lime, mint, feta cheese, cucumber, red onion, and extra virgin olive oil which will allow you to create a simple, yet delicious fresh-cut watermelon to be enjoyed anytime, Watermelon Feta Salad, Watermelon Gazpacho, and Mediterranean Chickpea Salad.
This will require a little bit of planning, prepping, and yes time. Invest now, enjoy later! The best way to become a food prepping queen is to review multiple recipes and look for the common ingredients so that you only have to prep the common ingredients once.
An example in these recipes is the watermelon which is used in both the watermelon feta salad and watermelon gazpacho. Cut your watermelon once and divide it accordingly. Because the Watermelon Feta Salad is best the day of, make that for today and make the Watermelon Gazpacho for tomorrow. Mint is used in all three recipes, so look for quantities in each recipe, and chop the mint once and divide as well. Both the Watermelon gazpacho and chickpea salad tastes great when made ahead, so perfect for later in the day or tomorrow. The Feta salad is best combined at the last minute, so you can prep the ingredients keeping them divided and finish quickly at dinner time as all of your ingredients will be ready to go.
The win in linking multiple recipes together is that you will be able to enjoy two very different flavor palates and foods that can be used for dinner tonight, lunch tomorrow, or a side another night. Having at least one part of the meal prepped and ready to go, reduces stress, and saves time.
Watermelon Feta Salad
Note: While this salad is best combined just prior to serving, you can cut the watermelon the day before.
Ingredients can be prepped ahead of time if kept separate. Combine ingredients one hour or less before your meal.
Cut rind from the watermelon, then chop the fruit into 1-inch chunks. Place chunks in a colander to drain as your chop.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, fresh lime juice, salt, and black pepper to create a dressing.
Place watermelon in a large salad bowl. Pour dressing and chopped mint over the watermelon and toss gently to coat. Pour the crumbled feta into the salad bowl and stir gently to integrate the cheese into the salad. Serve.
Watermelon Gazpacho
Serve right away, or save for a few days!
Combine 5 cups watermelon and the cranberry juice in the jar of a blender, and puree until the mixture is smooth.
Pass through a fine sieve into a large bowl or plastic storage container, discarding the pulp. You should have 3 cups of strained liquid.
Add cucumber, celery, bell pepper, onion, herbs, lime juice, vinegar, jalapeño, and remaining cup chopped melon to watermelon liquid, and stir to combine.
Cover and chill in the refrigerator until soup is well chilled, at least 1 hour.
Mediterranean Chick Pea Salad
Only takes 15 minutes to make!
(If using quinoa, prepare the quinoa first while you make the rest of the salad. You can also make extra and refrigerate or freeze for another day)
Rinse the chickpeas and allow to drain well while you prepare the rest of the salad.
In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, and a few spins of freshly cracked black pepper. Set aside while you chop the veggies. (I make the dressing in the bowl I’ll serve this in to save dishes. Alternatively, wish or shake the dressing ingredients in a mason jar and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.)
Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, and olives to be about the same size as the chickpeas (about 1/4-inch in size).
Finely chop the red onion.
Chiffonade the herbs into shreds by stacking the leaves and rolling them up, then slicing them the short way into 1/8-inch shreds (Or simply shred or tear them into small pieces.)
Add the drained chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, and onions to the bowl of dressing. Toss to coat all of the ingredients with the dressing. Add the fresh herbs and feta cheese if using and toss one more time.
Taste and add another sprinkle of salt if needed. It’s ready to eat right away, although it gains flavor when it sits in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the veggies to absorb some of the dressing. Serve or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
