The Build Your Bowl Salad Cookbook: 75 Recipes for Healthy Salad Bowls to Support Everyday Wellness

by Nina Cherie Franklin

Embrace the joy of salad making and learn how to build balanced nutrient-dense bowls to support your lifelong wellness goals.

In today’s fast-paced world, making confident, healthy food choices can be challenging. With conflicting advice and diet trends flooding the wellness industry, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The Build-Your-Bowl Salad Cookbook bridges the gap between short-term diets and long-term wellness, offering a sustainable path to health through the art of salad making.

Authored by Nina Cherie Franklin, PhD, affectionately known as “That Salad Lady,” this cookbook empowers you to create delicious, nutritious salads that are both easy to prepare and delightful to eat. Leveraging her extensive expertise in health, fitness, and nutrition, along with her passion for salads, Dr. Nina introduces the “Build Your Bowl” system, an easy-to-follow blueprint for creating balanced, nutrient-rich bowls. In her trademark system, each salad is a flavorful masterpiece designed to save time, reduce food waste, and nourish your body and mind. The 75 vibrant and easy salad recipes

Quick & Easy Meal Prep Bowls like the Spicy Elote & Shrimp Salad, Burrata & Grilled Peach Bowl, and Caribbean Jerk Chicken SaladHigh-Protein Bowls like the Deconstructed Reuben Salad, Chicken & Kale Street Taco Salad, and Lemon Herb Mahi-Mahi BowlLow-Carb and Keto Salads the Bacon & Brussels Sprouts Bowl, Eggplant Parmesan Bowl, and Spaghetti Squash & Meatball BowlHeart-Healthy Recipes like Spinach & Orzo Feta Salad, Cucumber, Mint & Yogurt Bowl, and Salmon & Avocado Green BowlVegetarian and Vegan Bowls like the Rainbow Three-Bean Salad, Roasted Tofu & Brown Rice Bowl, and Hearty Lentil & Veggie Bowl Anti-Inflammatory Bowls like the Ginger Turmeric Quinoa Bowl, Shaved Brussels Sprout Slaw, and Roasted Beet & Endive Salad 

Each recipe categorizes ingredients into whole food groups with nutritional analyses, helping you understand how to build your bowls layer by layer. Dr. Nina also shares practical tips on meal prep, smart shopping, and selecting the right kitchen tools, all aimed at making your journey to wellness seamless.

In The Build-Your-Bowl Salad Cookbook, each bowl is a step toward lifelong wellness. Whether you’re a lifelong health-and-fitness enthusiast, someone coping with specific health challenges, a person trying to get more protein or go more plant-based, a busy parent juggling responsibilities, or a young adult learning to make more informed food choices, this book makes healthy eating effortless and fun.

Join Dr. Nina on a journey to rebuild your relationship with food, embrace the joy of salads, and achieve optimal wellness.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Foodie

176 pages, Paperback

Published July 29, 2025

About the author

Dr. Nina Cherie Franklin, best known as Nina Cherie, PhD, is a research scientist, author, educator and founder of Complete Health Solutions, L3C. Her experience in health, wellness and exercise science spans over 15 years. Dr. Franklin holds a BS in Kinesiology, an MS in Movement Sciences with a concentration in Applied Exercise Physiology, and a PhD in Kinesiology, Nutrition and Rehabilitation with concentrations in Integrative Vascular Biology and Exercise Physiology. She is also a Certified and Licensed Clinical Massage Therapist, a Certified Health Fitness Specialist, and a Certified Group Exercise Instructor.

As a researcher, Dr. Franklin's interests are focused on specific mechanisms whereby exercise, sensible nutrition and alternative therapies can be effective in staving off cardiovascular disease and related risk factors including obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes. As an educator and advocate, she has conducted a wide range of courses, seminars and lectures for audiences in both academic and community settings related to cardiovascular conditioning, resistance training, lifestyle physical activity, nutrition, diet and weight loss.

Dr. Franklin is available for media appearances, workshops, seminars and lectures. For more information, visit www.NinaCheriePhD.com

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you think healthy eating is just all about boring salads, then maybe you should listen to That Salad Lady. Her real name is Nina Cherie Franklin, and she knows all about nutrition, but on social media she shares her healthy eating tips as That Salad Lady. Now she’s taken all her knowledge and put it into a book so you can create healthy bowls to maximize your health.

She created her “Build Your Bowl” concept as a way to layer healthy foods into salads so that they are packed with nutrients but also with flavor, texture, and color. She teacher readers to layer non-starchy vegetables, assorted fruits, whole food fat sources (like nuts or avocados), high quality proteins, and fiber-rich starches to create delicious bowls that are layered with taste.

She makes you a list of all the supplies you’ll find helpful and helps you prep, so when it’s time to put things together, everything is ready for you. And when you have a plan that sounds good to you, she helps you put it all together in a way that works for you, whether that mans a work lunch in a Mason jar, all wrapped up in a tortilla for nutrition on the go, or blended into a smoothie that’s easy to take on the go to the gym or as a breakfast.

There is a chapter for No-Cook and Easy Prep Bowls, like Not Your Average Tuna Salad or the Hearty Bison Taco Salad Bowl. If you’re looking for a Power-Packer High-Protein Bowl, than you can try the Mediterranean Shrimp and Pasta Salad, Barbecue Pulled Salmon Salad, or Rustic Autumn Chicken Salad.

Not a meat eater? Then you can head to the chapter of Vibrant Vegan and Vegetarian Bowls for a Sweet Sesame Tofu and Edamame Bowl, Vibrant Collard and Black-Eyed Pea Salad, or Watermelon and Roasted Beet Salad. If you’d prefer a Satisfying Low-Carb and Keto Bowl, you can try the Savory Sirloin Spring Salad, Eggplant Parmesan Spinach Salad, or Seared Pork Tenderloin and Kale Salad.

If you are dealing with health issues, you can head to the chapter of Nourishing Heart-Healthy Bowls and try the Mediterranean Tuna and White Bean Salad, Sunrise Quinoa Bowl with Scrambled Tofu, or Seared Salmon and Mixed Berry Salad. Or you can choose something from the chapter of Revitalizing Detox and Ant-Inflammatory Bowls, like the Japanese Cucumber and Seaweed Salad with Tempeh, Moroccan Carrot Bowl with Lentils, or the Citrus Herb Marinated-Mushroom Salad.

I like how this cookbook is colorful and gives lots of options to mix and match. You can use these recipes as is or as a jumping off point for experimenting. Franklin gives lots of information about the benefits of many ingredients, so you can choose the benefits you are wanting and create your own salad bowl from there. And almost every recipe comes with its own custom dressing recipe, so you can make all your own dressings to use on these bowls or any salad you make.

While salad bowls are obvious choices for lunch and dinner, there are also tips for breakfasts and snacks. And there is a section on mindful eating, so that whether you’re eating salad or a cheeseburger, you can slow down and appreciate each bite, making eating a healthier and more pleasurable experience. There are colorful photos throughout the book, which I love, making these dishes look so inviting. Vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores can find dishes in this book that they will want to make and eat. But hardcore carnivores might be harder to convince.

A copy of The Build Your Bowl Salad Cookbook was provided by Fair Winds Press through Amazon’s Vine program, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

There are a lot of salad books out there so it is already going to be a tough sell to add another one. Here, the conceit is that she has a formula for making all salads taste good: layering a combination of non starchy vegetables, assorted fruit, whole food fat sources, high quality proteins, and fiber rich starches. While I appreciated the clean presentation, I can't say that my salad bowls were much elevated.

The book breaks down as follows: the basics of building your bowl, going beyond the bowl, effortless no-cook and easy prep bowls, power packed high protein bowls, vibrant vegan and vegetarian bowls, satisfying low-carb and keto bowls, nourishing heart-healthy bowls, revitalizing detox and anti-inflammatory bowls.

Recipes include: spicy chipotle elote shrimp salad, deluxe burger bowl, lamb meatball & sweet potato bowl, spicy seitan and citrus salad, bacon & brussels sprouts bowl, creamy chicken & avocado bowl, Korean beef salad with lettuce wraps, apricot almond couscous bowl, seared salmon and mixed berry salad, Mexican carrot bowl with lentils, Japanese cucumber and seaweed salad with tempeh, quick and easy grilled chicken salad and many more.

Recipes are presented cleanly with two colors: large title, description, yield/prep time/cook time/total time, italicized bold ingredients and often large and clunky unnumbered steps broken down by sauce and then bowl. There are notes and nutritional numbers (calories/fat/carbs/fiber/sugars/protein). There are also colored call out boxes that break down the recipe by the author's build a bowl system.

There are photographs and they are professional presented. But there are not nearly enough and often I found myself wishing I could see what the bowl looked like when prepared. This was especially problematic when seeing images of bog standard cobb salads instead.

It is an interesting choice to present salads by modern eating habits - it means parts of the book (maybe many) will be inedible or unappealing to most of the audience. The keto people will not want the vegan section and certainly the vegan people only have one chapter of recipes to choose from. The author was conscientious of the needs of each of the groups but unless you are planning to make salads to a wide variety of people, you're likely only going to use 3-4 chapters of the book.

In rating this book, I rated up a bit because it isn't a mediocre effort. The author clearly spent a lot of time with these bowls and the book itself. All bowls are meant to be personalized using her build a bowl system. I can't say that I agree that a salad has a formula but I do respect that this is a modern and up to date cookbook for today's eaters. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Marne - Reader By the Water · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks, @quartobooksus, for this drool-worthy #gifted cookbook.

I love a salad with lots going on. Give me all the textures, add all the toppings, and bring out the unusual ingredients. I’m obsessed with this new cookbook from Nina Cherie Franklin, PhD. Not only are the recipes health-focused, supporting lifelong wellness goals, but they make me want to reach through the page and grab a forkful.

Dr. Franklin makes it easy to assemble your ingredients, offering nutritional information, easy substitutions, and a detailed profile for each recipe. I especially appreciate that she included a Keto chapter along with the usual vegan, vegetarian, heart-healthy, and anti-inflammatory options. My fellow cookbook (and salad)-obsessed friend @inthecommonhours teases me when she shows me a salad recipe and I ask, “Where is the protein?”

I’m hoping my #CookbookClub decides to use this one month because I’m dying to try all 75 salads, but I’m not THAT motivated. 😆 Some that I’m most excited about are:

🥗Ginger Brussels Spout Slaw - the tangy ginger lime dressing has my name all over it.

🥗Savory Sirloin Spring Salad - she calls it a salad for the “meat and potatoes person”

🥗Rustic Autumn Chicken Salad - sweet potatoes, apples, avocado, and toasted pecans topped with Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette? Just take my money.

🥗Eat-the-Rainbow Cobb Salad - if there is a Cobb salad option, you can bet I’m going to try it. I would swap out the Honey Mustard Dressing, but wow! Isn’t this a feast for the eyes?

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked some of these recipes, but I found the organization weird. It had effortless and no cook recipes that had multiple ingredients to chop and to either cook in the oven or stovetop. However, I can't wait to try some of these recipes.

[Kristen Barenthaler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not much of a salad person and even I have to admit that these look delicious and healthy! It's a win-win!

[GlutenFreePixels · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Won this in a goodreads giveaway*

An easy to follow recipe book with lots of delicious looking foods. I still have to make most of them, but I feel healthier looking at everything!