The Dish
This is a fast and easy salad to prepare that also has a lot of prep-ahead potential (a win for our meal-planning and prepping fans)! Our first prep-ahead option: our homemade BBQ sauce. Making a homemade BBQ sauce allows us to infuse more wholesome items into this recipe. Instead of using store-bought sauces, homemade options can use fresh ingredients while lowering sodium seasonings and refined sugar components — which is exactly the case with this tasty BBQ sauce. Nugget-sized pieces of salmon are slathered in the BBQ sauce and baked until tender and tasty. Joining the BBQ salmon are the rest of our salad components: fresh kale, cherry tomatoes, corn kernels, cooked brown rice (another prep ahead bonus), cabbage slaw mix, and low fat cheddar cheese. The salad dressing also utilizes the BBQ sauce, creating a quick and easy BBQ Honey Mustard.
Hacking this Recipe
The BBQ sauce can be made 4-5 days in advance and stored, covered and refrigerated, until ready to use. The recipe makes just about 1 cup (240g) of sauce (2 tbsp or 30g per serving), allowing for oodles of use throughout the week.
Vegetarian and Vegan Modifications
Feel free to substitute the salmon in this recipe with tofu or your favorite vegan meat or seafood-alternative. The cheese can also be substituted with a dairy-free cheddar or vegan cheese alternative. When making the BBQ sauce and salad dressing, use agave instead of honey.