HEALTHY SALAD RECIPES

Vegetable Salad Delight

Large vegetable salads are essential to eating healthy. They should be eaten with lunch AND dinner. Make large ‘batches’ of salad for use over 2-3 days.

red leaf lettuce

green leaf lettuce
romaine lettuce
spinach
raw broccoli

cucumber

red bell pepper
celery

chopped squash (zucchini, yellow crook neck squash)

avocado
carrots (shredded or sliced/chopped)

tomato
Optional: olives (Kalamata, black, green), marinated artichoke hearts, raw or fresh toasted walnuts or almonds – 8 minutes at 350° on a pie pan in a toaster oven)

The washing and prep time for this may seem like a chore, but the payoff is HUGE – you’ll have great salad at your fingertips for days at a time. Don’t short yourself on this vital behavior!

• Wash all veggies regardless of the fact if they come prewashed
• Drain in colander
• What you don’t cut up for this large batch of salad, store wet in Tupperware or plastic bags (and use in green smoothies!)
• Cut, chop or shred all ingredients. 
• We recommend you prep one big salad that gets you through several meals. Store in large Tupperware containers 
• Add dressing of your choice. Only add and toss with dressing just before eating it or else you will have soggy veggies that go to waste. 
• To make into a meal, top with leftover chicken, fish, ???, steamed broccoli, egg salad – the possibilities are endles
• Don’t forget about Cashew Crunch ‘Parmesan Cheese’ as a delicious and nutritious topping – recipe at the bottom of this page

Pear and Walnut Salad

1-2 heads of red leaf lettuce (or mixed with green leaf lettuce)
1/3 firm, but ripe pear per person
raw walnuts

• In a pie pan, toast walnuts (9-10 minutes @350 in toaster oven – watch them so they don’t burn)
• Tear lettuce into small-medium size pieces and place in salad bowls
• Slice pears into thin slices; arrange on top of lettuce in a radial pattern
• Drizzle vinaigrette dressing over lettuce and pears
• Sprinkle toasted walnuts over salad and serve

Chopped Salad

This recipe takes about 30 minutes to ‘hand chop’, but stored in large Tupperware, it will keep fresh 4-5 days in the refrigerator.   If you have a food processor or a mandolin, we suggest you use it to save on time.  When you’re done, you’ll have a salad ready for the entire week that you can add sliced pears (with toasted walnuts – yummy!), avocados, grilled meat, or anything you can think of (okay, not Reece’s Pieces).

1/2 bunch spinach                                        
1/2 bunch each of two parsley (regular and flat/Italian)
1/2 bunch dandelion greens                                
4-5 chard leafs
1/2 head/bunch Bok choy                                    
1/2 head of Napa cabbage
6 celery stalks                                            
1/2 bunch kale
2-3 zucchini, grated
2-3 carrot, grated
Fresh lemon and/or lime

• Chop all vegetables (except zucchini and carrot which will be grated) to a medium to fine size.
• As you place into large mixing bowl, periodically squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice onto salad for freshness.  
• Serve with simple vinaigrette dressing.
• Serving tip: Tear up some green leaf or red leaf or romaine lettuce as a bed to put the chopped salad on top of – it adds some sweetness to the ‘heavy’ vegetable base of the chopped salad.

Carrot Beet Salad

This salad will surprise you in how delicious it is; it’s also very nutritious! It can be made the night before (while you’re making dinner).

Per person:
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 beet, peeled, then shredded (use vegetable peeler to take ‘skin’ off)
juice of 1 fresh orange 

• Combine shredded carrot and beet
• Squeeze fresh orange juice over and mix
• If making a larger batch, put half the carrot/beet mixture, squeeze orange juice, then repeat with the other half of shredded veggies
• Can be stored for 1-2 days

Sweet Kale Salad

1 bunch kale
4 carrots, shredded
2 cups red cabbage, shredded

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive or grapeseed oil,
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon pure maple syrup

• Combine salad ingredients
• Combine dressing and work thoroughly throughout the kale mixture!

Apple Pear Pecan Salad

3 celery ribs, chopped fine
2 red apples, chopped

1 green apple, chopped
1 pear, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup medjool dates, chopped

1/2 cup raw pecans, chopped
green leaf or red leaf lettuce

• Place chopped apples and pear in bowl and pour lemon and orange juice over fruit to keep it from turning brown
• Stir to coat all, and allow to marinate for 10 minutes
• While the fruit is soaking, chop dates
• Drain soaking fruit, saving juice
• Add the chopped dates, along with the celery and HALF of the chopped pecans to the drained fruit
• Make dressing by combining the other half of the pecans in a food processor with the reserved orange and lemon juice and puree into a smooth ‘nut butter’ sauce
• Add puree to the salad and stir to blend flavors.
• Serve on a bed of deep green lettuce.
• ENJOY!

Simple Vinaigrette Dressing

• 1 cup extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil
• Just less than ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 crushed garlic clove (not chopped, left semi-intact)
• Mix all ingredients together in jar or cruet

Cashew Crunch ‘Parmesan’ Cheese
This is soooo delicious AND it only takes 3 minutes to make! Sprinkle on top of salads, or on Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore or … you decide!

2 cups raw cashews
1-2 cloves fresh garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt

• Add all ingredients to food processor
• Pulse until granular, but not too fine