This is a great example of something that’s super quick and easy to make.

It’s also what I can one of my ankylosing spondylitis inflammation busters.

if you are not feeling great, and you need something that is not going to trigger any more pain I’ve found this meal hard to beat.

Ingredients Checklist:

✔️ Smoked salmon (1 x packet, approx 100g)
✔️ Salad (half a bag will do)
✔️ 1 x avocado
✔️ Olive or avocado oil

Instructions:

Step 1: Put your salad on the plate creating a sort of bed

Step 2: Unpack the salmon and separate out the strips. Cut into smaller pieces if required and then arrange them on top of the salad

Step 3: Peel and cut your avocado into eighths and add them to the salad and salmon

Step 4: Drizzle olive or avocado oil on top

That really is it!

No real preparation involved, no cooking.

Anyone can make this (even me).

Does this sound like the most expensive meal in the world?

Some elements of this meal are expensive, in particular, the salmon, but it doesn’t have to be unaffordable.

My partner is very hot on food waste. One of her passions outside of work is to help get food that would otherwise go to waste into the hands of people who need it.

Something like x9.5 million tons of food is wasted every year in the UK (and 103 million tons in the USA). Food waste is a huge, global problem.

When my partner volunteers she does everything she can to get supermarket and restaurant food waste out to people who need it but the one thing that is always left over is salad.

I’ve no idea why. Maybe because it goes off very quickly or maybe society doesn’t have a taste for salad. What ever the reason it is often left on the pile. That means we seem to have an almost infinite supply of the stuff. I can’t remember the last time we had to pay for salad.

So if you live somewhere which has access to a decent food waste app (and this will likely be easier in cities) do take advantage of it! You can help stop food waste and also save your budget.

And for anyone who is lucky enough to have garden space or a decent-size windowsill, you can, of course, grow salad for yourself from seed, which is incredibly inexpensive and easy to do.

Avocados are more expensive, but I found a bit of a trick to this too:

Find a place that sells odd-shaped avocados or ones that need a lot of ripening.

My local supermarket calls them ‘wonky avocados’ and sells them in packs of 6. They are several times cheaper than buying a large, individual perfectly ripe avocado.

Ripening tip: If you need to ripen them fast, just put them next to a banana in your fruit bowl, and you will speed up the process massively. If you have bought in bulk, keep the rest in the fridge until you need them as this will slow down the process massively here.

Salmon is definitely not a cheap ingredient, and ideally you want the wild-caught stuff.

My supermarket does multi-pack deals on smoked salmon but it is still expensive. However, if you are getting your salad for free and you can get your ‘wonky’ avocados for 50p a go, you can probably make this lunch for £5 alone.

It’s something you can pack to take to work or go on a trip or have at home and it works out cheaper than buying a ready meal in a sandwich shop and is much healthier.

Another option is to buy salmon steaks instead and cook them as needed. That way you can buy in bulk for less and freeze anything you don’t need.