Mexican Tortilla Salad with Lime Creama

Throughout my years as a dietitian and talking to many mums I've come to realise that lunch is often the most skipped meal of the day. I think so much effort goes into making lunch boxes and meals for the kids, that when it comes to yourself it's easy to lack the energy or inspiration to make something that is actually going to nourish you.

I think part of it is planning. If you haven't made a plan as to what you're going to take to work or prepare for yourself at home, it's far easier to hit the cafeteria or just eat a piece of toast!!

The best way I've found for myself to overcome this is to plan something for my lunches each week. I frequently make up all the ingredients for a tasty and filling salad at the beginning of the week and then use them to assemble a sale for lunch each day.

My Mexican tortilla salad with lime creama is one I've been having recently. The ingredients below will make one huge salad, but I'd suggest you prepare all the components then store in air tight containers in the fridge until you're ready to eat it (or toss it altogether in the morning before you head of to work and store your dressing in a separate container)

Ingredients:

1  capsicum

2 heads of corn

1 sweet potato

1 red onion

1 tsp ground corriader

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smokey paprika

salt and pepper 

Olive oil

1 cup of cooked quinoa

1 handful of crushed corn chips (plain or cheese flavoured) per serving

coriander leaves

avocado

pepitas (approx. 1 Tbs per serving)

feta cheese 

Lime Crema:

1/2 cup sour cream

juice of 1 lime

zest of 1 lime

additional hot water to thin if it becomes too thick.

Directions:

Heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a baking trap with paper.

Prepare quinoa according to instructions on the packet (I used tri colour quinoa but any colour you prefer is fine). 

Meanwhile chop sweet potato into 1 cm sized cubes. Slice the onion into thin slices and do the same with the capsicum. Place in a bowl and coat with olive oil (about 2 TBS)  then toss with the ground spices (coriander, cumin, paprika) and season with salt and pepper. Add to baking tray and cook for 10 mins.

Using a sharp knife remove corn kernels from the cob and place in a small bowl. Add a drizzle of olive oil and toss. When the other veggies have been cooking for 10 mins add the corn and mix through. Cook all veggies together for another 10 minutes then remove from the oven to cool.

To make the lime crema, add the sour cream, lime zest and lime juice to a small bowl and whisk to combine. If it is overly thick you can add a small amount of hot water to thicken. You want a thick but pourable consistency. 

To assemble:

Add a portion of your quinoa and roasted veggies to a bowl. Add in a handful of crushed corn chips. Scatter with 1 TBS of pepitas per serve and some fresh chopped avocado. Mix all of this together. Top with crumbled feta cheese, dollop on your dressing and scatter with corridor leaves and a wedge of fresh lime. 

Store used ingredients in air tight containers in the fridge to plate up for another day. They should stay fresh for around 3 days.