Make this nourishing farro and fig salad early in the week to enjoy all week long.
Let’s talk staying on track with healthy food goals.
It is January after all, and while I personally don’t tend to make hard and fast resolutions for the new year, this can be a great time to reset some not-so-ideal eating habits we may have picked up in December and focus on nourishing our bodies with whole, nutrient dense foods.
One of the best ways I’ve found to set me up for success with making consistently smarter meal choices is through meal prepping. My husband and I have been doing it for years and have noticed that when we take the time to plan our meals for the week, we eat healthier food, eat out less often, waste less food and save more money. Seriously a win-win.
Today I’m partnering with Bob’s Red Mill and Valley Fig Growers on their #MealPrepMonday project to share how we manage meal prep in our home and a recipe for a farro and California fig salad that is perfect for meal prep in more ways than one.
How I meal prep
Sticking to a specific formula for our meal plans has been great for us because we can come up with meal ideas more quickly, and this particular formula generally gets us through the majority of the entire week.
About once a week (ideally on Sundays), John and I craft a meal plan that looks something like this:
- Breakfast: 3-4 choices for quick breakfasts that we can make or grab throughout the week (typical examples include avocado toast, chia pudding, plant-based yogurt with fruit and granola, veggie and egg scrambles, hard boiled eggs, overnight oats)
- Lunch: 1 large green salad and 1 large grain salad (we’ll make enough for at least two servings each)
- Dinner: 2-3 entrees (again, enough for at least two portions each)
Then we’ll make a grocery list and shop for the ingredients to make these meals, plus a few healthy snacks (like hummus and vegetables, fresh fruit, natural protein bars, some dark chocolate), and sensible beverages (kombucha, unsweetened iced tea, sparkling water).
While we might treat ourselves to one or two meals out, as long as we make sure the meal choices in our plan are balanced and made from natural, unprocessed foods, we know we’re eating to feel our best all week long.
Why this Farro and Fig Salad is perfect for meal prep
Let’s get into this farro and fig salad! You may have noticed that one of the lunch options in our meal plan formula is a grain salad. This is typically a heartier type of salad that contains vegetables, fruits, nuts or legumes and has a base of a whole grain like quinoa, brown rice, millet…or in this case farro.
The organic farro from Bob’s Red Mill has a dense and chewy texture, and has the substance to hold up in the fridge over a few days, making it an ideal choice for meal prep.
This salad is wonderfully balanced with fresh arugula, toasted walnuts, creamy French feta and sweet, plump Blue Ribbon Orchard Choice California Mission Figs. I made a simple yet complex tasting Maple Tahini dressing and prepped all the other salad ingredients as the farro cooked, so it really doesn’t take long to prepare. This brings me to another key tip when meal prepping: keep your recipes simple so that you can prep as many items as possible in as little time as possible.
How to cook farro
My favorite way to cook farro involves toasting it in the pot with a small amount of oil. I find that this brings out the natural nutty flavors.
I also like to simmer the farro in vegetable broth instead of water to give it more depth of flavor.
Farro takes about 20-30 minutes to cook. It should have an al dente texture similar to risotto. If there is leftover liquid in the pot, simply drain it out.
Variations on this recipe
The other thing I love about grain salads like this farro and fig salad is their versatility. You can keep it plant-based and leave out the cheese, switch the feta out for different types of cheese such as goat cheese or gorgonzola, or add protein like grilled chicken or shrimp. This salad would also make a fantastic side dish for dinner alongside just about any protein from steak to seafood.
How far in advance can I make this Farro & Fig Salad?
This salad will keep well in the fridge for up to five days, meaning if you make enough you could certainly have it all week long. The beautiful thing about grain salads is that you can go ahead and dress them ahead of time, but since this salad has arugula in it as well, you might want to leave it out and add it in separately to keep it from wilting.
Thank you to Bob’s Red Mill and Valley Fig Growers for sponsoring this post. I hope you learned a little more about how meal prepping can help you reach your healthy eating goals and will try it out yourself if you haven’t before! If you make this Farro & Fig Grain Salad, share it with #LePetitEats!
Farro and Fig Salad with Maple Tahini Dressing
Make this nourishing farro and fig salad early in the week to enjoy all week long.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill farro
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups arugula
- 1 cup Blue Ribbon Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California dried figs halved
- ½ cup walnuts toasted
- ¼ cup feta crumbled
- Salt and black pepper
For the dressing:
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot. Add farro and stir to coat with oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes until al dente. Remove from heat, drain off any excess liquid and cool.
- While the farro cooks and cools, prepare the salad ingredients and make the salad dressing. Add arugula to a large bowl, slice the figs in half, toast the walnuts in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant and crumble the feta. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients.
- Add farro, figs and walnuts to arugula. Toss with maple tahini dressing. Add feta, season with salt and pepper and toss gently once more.
Recipe Notes
Variations on this recipe
You can keep it plant-based and leave out the cheese, switch the feta out for different types of cheese such as goat cheese or gorgonzola, or add protein like grilled chicken or shrimp. This salad would also make a fantastic side dish for dinner alongside just about any protein from steak to seafood.
I really cannot think of a more delicious way to include farro in my diet! LOVE the combination with the figs and the creamy dressing.