How To Make A Chopped Salad Using The Holland Wood Bowl (2024)

In a previous post and YouTube video I showed you how to batch prep salads ahead for the work week. Today I am showing you how to take one of those batch prepped salads and turn it into a big beautiful chopped salad. Why take the time to chop a salad is a question I am frequently asked. You have to try one to taste the difference for yourself but, in the meantime let me try to explain the difference.
The salad has more incredible flavor when it is chopped verses being left in larger pieces. There is something magical that happens in that chopping bowl when those greens and raw vegetables are chopped into smaller pieces. It releases the natural flavors which makes each bite explode with all the flavors of the amazing ingredients! It tastes sweeter and is more moist which means you need less salad dressing or vinegar. Chopping reduces the overall volume of the salad too which makes it take a little less time to eat. Great if you are taking it to work with you and need to eat the salad within a certain amount of time. I have received so many emails from people telling me that they or their spouse were never salad lovers until they tried a chopped salad! Everyone that I have served a chopped salad to has loved it. It’s the perfect salad to serve to company because it’s unique and delicious.

Here is a video we made to show you how easy it is to chop a salad in a Holland Bowl Mill 15 inch handcrafted wood bowl. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. I have been eating a big beautiful salad for one meal a day since adopting a whole food plant based lifestyle. It helped me lose the weight and it helps me keep it off. The salads are low calorie density but are nutrient rich. If you are a volume eater you will appreciate the size of this salad! As a bonus the dark leafy greens contain thylakoids which help control the appetite. Who doesn’t need a dose of that everyday? Dr Fuhrman says, “Salad Is The Main Dish!”

Here is what my Holland Bowl looks like after being used every day for the past year. Yes it does have some cut marks and just a little bit of a green patina from all those healthy greens I eat! This is how my kitchen looks each morning as I am getting ready to chop a salad to take with me for my lunch. This is one of the batch prepped salads from the fridge. I chop the salad the same day I will be eating it.

A one pound salad from my . Click on the blue highlighted link to see how to batch prep the basic salad ahead for the work week! Then each day you take one of the batch prepped salads from the fridge and chop it the day you are going to eat it. Some people have told me they chop it the night before so it’s ready to grab and go the next morning for work and it’s still good chopped that far in advance. Experiment and see what works for you. My personal preference it to chop it and eat it the same day.

Here is how it looks after it is chopped using the mezzaluna knife in the 15 inch bowl. Notice how it is reduced in size and nicely chopped.

For this particular salad I decided to go with a Mexican – Southwest style. After chopping the basic salad I like to add some more cooked and raw ingredients to the salad. These add in items do not get chopped. They add flavor, texture and satiety. Each day I add some kind of starch or legumes to make the salad more filling. This day I went for a diced red bell pepper, frozen corn, Cooked Oat Groats, diced jicama. Juice of one lime and also not shown half of a plantain browned without oil in a ceramic non-stick Scanpan for a few minutes on each side. You can add fruit as well. Adding some fresh fruit either before or after chopping adds a nice sweet freshness. The fruit helps people to adjust to eating these larger amounts of greens. Fresh berries or apple are my favorite fruit to add to the salads. I like to add them after the salad is chopped. With the fruit added you need less salad dressing or vinegar. My Creamy Balsamic Dressing is very popular with the no oil crowd! Even non plant eaters love this dressing.

Jalapeno powder and ground cumin add a lot of flavor.

These are three of my favorite California Balsamic Vinegars. See my blog post to find out how to get 2 free sample size bottles with your order. Shown here are the 3 ounce travel sizes perfect for air travel!

There are so many different combinations and flavors that you can create a different salad everyday of the week! Follow me on my Nutmeg Notebook Instagram and my Nutmeg Notebook Facebook page for many more ideas and different combinations for chopped salads. I post frequently what I am eating. Subscribe to my Nutmeg Notebook YouTube channel for more fun and informative no oil whole food plant based cooking videos.

Holland Bowl Mill

The Holland Bowl Mill is now the best and largest solid wood bowl production facility in the world, making beautiful solid hardwood bowls of the highest quality, the same way they were made over 150 years ago. All of their bowls are sculpted from a solid block of wood using a lathe and a series of specialized knives that have been individually designed and forged at Holland Bowl Mill. Before smoothing and finishing, the bowls are steamed to help prevent the wood from cracking and splitting while air drying. After drying, sanding, and smoothing, the wooden bowls are bathed in food-safe mineral oil or their own bees oil wood preserver that nourishes the wood and brings out the beautiful wood grains unique to each bowl. If you prefer not to have the beeswax solution you can ask for your bowl to be sent to you unfinished. No two bowls are exactly alike. The wood bowls do have a lifetime guarantee. You need to continue to oil and care for your bowl to prevent it from cracking. You will get a little instruction card telling you how to care for it.

Get A Free Mezzaluna Knife

If you use my Holland Bowl Affiliate Link to purchase products from Holland Bowl Mill and have a minimum $140.00 order you will receive a free mezzaluna knife with your order! When you place your order on their website using my affiliate link use discount code NUTMEG to get a free mezzaluna knife with your bowl order. They have excellent customer service and everyone has received the free knife with their order. Thank you for your support.

Free Engraving

One of the special services that Holland Bowl Mill offers is to engrave the bottom of your bowl for free! I could have it say Tami’s Kitchen for instance. If giving one as a wedding or anniversary gift you can have it engraved with the couples name and the date. or you could choose a favorite quote. It’s a lovely personal touch. I have found that the 15 inch Solid Beechwood bowl is just the right size to chop my one pound of salad ingredients. The Holland Bowl Mill offers a variety of different wood to choose from. Any of them will work great but I don’t recommend anything smaller than the 15 inch to chop one pound salads like I do.

How To Order A Holland Bowl

When you are on the Holland Bowl Mill website, click on the Shop tab at the top of the page, from the drop down menu choose the type of wood you would prefer there is beechwood (this is what I have), cherry, maple, red oak and walnut. Scroll down the page until you come to the 15 inch bowl. Use my Holland Bowl Mill Affiliate Link and discount code NUTMEG to get your free mezzaluna knife with a minimum $140 bowl order. Be sure to have the bottom of your bowl engraved for free. Happy Chopping!

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