This post is written in collaboration with Blue Apron.
In my quest to be healthy this year, I tried to replace popcorn with broccoli at the ballpark.
Why?
What was I thinking?
The only thing broccoli and popcorn have in common is the crunch (and on a good day) maybe butter.
And besides, why was I working so hard when I could just order some vegetarian meals from Blue Apron.
So I did. And look what showed up on my front porch.
Sumac-Roasted Sweet Potato and Farro Salad.
Now just between us, the picture looked delicious, and I know my way around a sweet potato and some onions, but I had no idea what farrow or sumac was.
I think I thought farrow was kind of like a yam.
Wrong.
It’s a grain and it’s actually yummy. You cook it until it’s soft, but it still has a little bit of a crunch.
And sumac is a spice with a little bit of a tart flavor.
Look at all my new food knowledge and can you believe how quickly I left my broccoli/popcorn days in the dust?
I love Blue Apron because it just shows up at your door and all you have to do is fix it and go all fancy and drop farro and sumac in conversation.
If you’ve never heard of Blue Apron and want to learn more about it you can start here (and the first 20 readers will get two meals off their first Blue Apron order free)!
All the recipes are chef-designed and every recipe comes instructions and a recipe card and farm-fresh ingredients. The box is delivered right to your door in a refrigerated box so all the ingredients will stay fresh even if you’re not at home when your package arrives.
The ingredients look like I just bought them at the grocery store (except so much better).
Ingredients like red onion and kale and sweet potato and mint.
And ricotta salata cheese.
Here’s the recipe for the sweet potato salad.
I surprised my husband with it the other day for lunch.
Normally I might fix peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Ham and cheese if I’m feeling super adventurous.
But now?
This was sitting on the kitchen table.
The salad was so good with layers of sweet potato and kale and sprinkled with cheese and hazelnuts.
And there were fresh lemon wedges to squeeze over the top.
He ate the entire salad in about five minutes and looked around for more.
And as I watched him take bite after bite and give me the thumbs up and ask me when I was fixing lunch again, I kept thinking the same thing over and over.
Eating healthy never looked so cute. 🙂
PS You can order Blue Apron on a family plan or a 2-person plan. If you want to try it, Blue Apron is giving away two free meals to the first 20 readers who sign up. Just click here for details.
PPS There are dozens of recipes over at Blue Apron. Here’s some other fun vegetarian options: Chilled Sesame Soba Noodle Salad and Summer Soba Salad.
This post is written in collaboration with Blue Apron. All opinions are my own.
Please see my disclosure page for additional information.
Okay, "tried to replace broccoli with popcorn at the ballpark". Do you mean to say you normally eat brocolli at the ball park but shooting for more whole grain in your life, are now substituting popcorn? Cause that totally works in my book. Much rather have popcorn ... Not that brocolli is bad, just not as much fun as popcorn.
Well hello, farro!! That salad looks absolutely delicious!! And, you're right, Mr. Thistle is pretty cute, too!!
Cute sparkly eyes eating your Blue Apron salad:) I'm a pb&j fixer too! Interesting salad though!
I so wanted to do Blue Apron, but the calories are off the charts. Was Mr. Thistle full after the salad? I know he went foraging for more-was that because he was still hungry or because it was so tasty? Looks divine.
I'm surprised that you feel the calorie counts are high. We have found that a complete meal, sides.grains and/or salads included to be between 600-700 calories is very good. I often earpt far less than 1/2 of the starch that comes with, dropping the calorie count even lower.
Thanks Kari, I signed up for Blue Apron and used the discount. The salad looks so yummy!
Well, that salad sure is a bowl full of pretty!
I subscribed to Blue Apron almost a year ago and have not been disappointed in the recipes and the quality of the ingredients. Like your husband, when the meal is unusually good, he wishes there was more. They have made my life easier; no more wondering what I'm going to cook for dinner; little to no grocery shopping; and little to no left-overs.
I just recently started using Blue Apron too and had my first attempt cooking Farro last week- loved it! This one looks great too, although I have to be honest...I though sumac was something you got into in the woods, like poison ivy! I did a double take when I saw the word:)
Beautiful salad! I have heard many good things about Blue Apron.
The farro and sweet potatoes look delish. We've been using farro for a while and if you want to make a low calories sort of risotto, farro makes a pretty darn good substitute. I just made it with peas and carrots and it mimics the Italian Risi e Bisi. And another plus for farro is that it is very forgiving. Thank you for a great idea -- adding it to some sweet potatoes. Yeah for you and healthy eating -- popcorn can be good for you too - fiber. :-)
Can't give up my popcorn....
It does look yummy! But, I can't do vegetarian anymore - I'd need to put some bacon on mine! ;-)
This salad has some of my favorites, kale, farro, and sweet potato. Looks yummy.
What a delicious and gorgeous salad! I’m going to try this on the weekend!