Gladiator Bowl | Hearty Kale and Barley Bowl | Blue Zones Loma Linda

Did you know gladiators were called “barley men” because they ate so much barley. They were mostly vegetarians! So if you think vegetables are for weaklings, think again!

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This salad has a base of barley and then is topped with some Mediterranean accents to make it fully plant-based. Get creative and add what you like. Here’s some ideas! 

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Servings: 4

• 2 cups cooked barley (or quinoa to save time)
• 1 cup thinly sliced, loosely packed kale
• ½ cup cooked cannellini or chickpeas beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut in strips (use veg peeler)
• 5 to 6 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced in half
• 1 cucumber, cut into small dice
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• ½ red onion, sliced
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tsp. honey (optional)
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. cracked black pepper
• 3 to 4 basil leaves, sliced thin

Make the dressing by combining the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and honey, if using. Shake up in jar or whisk in bowl. Put ½ of the dressing on the kale and massage kale with hands for a couple minutes to tenderize it. 

Arrange other ingredients in a serving bowl. Then, dress with remaining dressing. Enjoy. amzn_assoc_placement = “adunit0”; amzn_assoc_search_bar = “true”; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = “chefjoannas20-20”; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = “manual”; amzn_assoc_ad_type = “smart”; amzn_assoc_marketplace = “amazon”; amzn_assoc_region = “US”; amzn_assoc_title = “My Amazon Picks”; amzn_assoc_linkid = “ba45228607c5345c81cd7852e161db2a”; amzn_assoc_asins = “B000QODRF0,B00LGLHUA0,B0161EG5IE,B076ZR57RR,B014CZMPZG,B01M71MZ5B,1426218486,1426220138”;  

Adapted from The Blue Zones Cookbook pg. 262