Chopped Greek Salad with Crispy Halloumi and Chickpeas

And a podcast about what Lineage Provisions is really all about.

Colorful chefs - happy MAY 1ST (what? how?)

First week of the month means my recipe is free for all. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you want to become a Color Club member but the $5/month cost is prohibitive for you right now, just let me know and I’ll set you up for free — no questions asked. 💛

Chopped salads > regular salads

• Chopped Greek Salad with Crispy Halloumi: This vibrant, ultra-flexible salad is perfect for the seasonal in-between moment that is right now. Roast or just throw in the chickpeas and peppers, and add any protein you like — but don’t skip the crispy halloumi (oven floor trick included!). With nine colors, a creamy tahini-vinegar dressing, and a balance of fat, fiber, protein, and micronutrients, it’s a classic Cooking in Color dish!

• A podcast about building a regenerative CPG company: Many of you know I went in-house with one of my clients, Lineage Provisions, at the start of this year. I made this decision for a number of reasons, but the primary one being I am eager to learn more about how CPG food companies and businesses can actually be part of the solution to fixing our food system. That solution starts upstream — at the very beginning — with soil health. I had never come across a CPG company that truly begins by solving problems for the soil and farmers first (e.g., selling the whole animal, not just muscle meats; converting more acres to regenerative agriculture), and then thinks about how to pair that with consumer needs (e.g., clean on-the-go protein, nutrient-dense snacks).

  On the podcast, Lineage co-founder, Anthony Gustin, shares the ethos behind Lineage.

  • 1. Create a supply chain that supports farmers working on regeneration

  • 2. Provide the healthiest food on the planet that’s transparent, clean and nutrient-dense

  • 3. Educate people and provide them with as much truth as possible

  • 4. Work to bring the price down over time to make the products even more accessible

  Everyone always asks about price, and in this episode, you’ll learn why our prices are what they are. (Spoiler: it costs nearly 2X more to work with truly grass-fed farms that actually let you visit — which makes you wonder why some suppliers claim “grass-fed” but won’t let you see the farm…) Long-term, our goal is to find a way to bring costs down without ever cutting corners.

  In the episode, Anthony says “At our current rate, we can’t be sold at every gas station in America yet. But, that is the dream, and we’ll get there eventually and figure out how to get the cost down. There are many people who think they shouldn’t do ‘XYZ business’ because they can’t have massive scale immediately and can’t price to Jack Links at the corner store. I say bullshit to that. Work on the hard problem, which is how do you get the price of this down to mass market over next 5-10 years? It’s achievable, and it’s more fun to win this way.”

  That’s the kind of problem I’m excited to help solve. And as you can imagine, it’s been a busy few months for me at Lineage, which is why I’ve mostly been sharing just one new recipe a week vs. more! But, I’m thinking it might be time to start bringing you along on my CPG journey — and into my kitchen. So, if you’re curious to learn more about what I’m discovering and learning while leading Marketing at Lineage, let me know what topics you’d like me to cover and write about here.

  Anthony covers a ton more about what we’re up to at Lineage lately, so watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. And yes, I have a discount I can share with you - enter SONJA10 at checkout 😘

If I could only eat one salad forever it might be this one

This salad is everything I’m craving right now: bright, fresh, easy, and perfect for that weird in-between season where you're ready to leave cozy winter foods behind but it’s not quite full-on tomato season yet (but trust me, I’m READY FOR TOMATO SEASON).

It’s super meal prep friendly — great to toss together for lunches or serve as a main for dinner. I’ve been really busy lately (solving problems at Lineage, as outlined above!) so I’ve been doing a ton of easy but bright, colorful salads and mains like this one.

The whole thing is incredibly modifiable: you can roast the chickpeas and peppers for extra depth, or if you’re feeling lazy, just toss them in raw for a crunchier, faster version. Add rotisserie chicken for extra protein, or you can mix in chicken thighs, chicken breasts, salmon, or really any protein.

I'm counting nine colors (!!) in this bowl, and the more finely you chop everything, the better it gets because every bite will have max flavors at once. Chopped salads > any other salad.

Nutrition-wise, it checks all our cooking in color boxes: fat, fiber, protein, and micronutrients, tied together with fresh herbs and a creamy tahini-vinegar dressing. If you are into tracking protein lately, it’s also got 41g per serving.

Lastly, speaking of halloumi — if you’ve made my Mediterranean Oven Fried Eggs with Crispy Halloumi or the Sheet-Pan Sumac Chicken with Plums and Halloumi, you know the trick: use the oven floor like a skillet to get your halloumi perfectly crispy without needing a frying pan. See below 👇🏻

*Ignore Alex talking to Alfie in the background of the video 🤣*

RECIPE LINK HERE — FREE

RECIPE LINK HERE — COLOR CLUB

• BTW: I really upgraded my search functionality on the Color Club, so it’s now much easier to use the search bar to find recipes. You can search “beef” or “fennel” or by really any ingredient to find recipes that contain those! Hope it helps as the recipe library only continues to grow!

If you make this recipe (or ANY of my recipes!) PLEASE share feedback with me!! Comment below or on the recipe in the Color Club, and if you are on IG, tag me @sonjakmanning.

Lastly, if you heart or re-stack this post or share it with a friend, you’ll help me and these colorful recipes reach more people! 🙏🏼

Chefs kisses,

Sonja