Super Salad
For week #50 of my 2018 challenge to try one new whole-food plant-based (WFPB) recipe each week, I tried this delicious salad. A friend and I recently met for lunch at Monarch Brewing Company in Monticello, Illinois. She recommended the Super Salad. It was really good. I knew I needed to recreate this one at home!
Monarch’s version contains baby kale mix, quinoa, peas, roasted beets, avocado, slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and goat cheese. It was served with white balsamic vinaigrette.
To keep this recipe WFPB, I omitted the goat cheese and instead added a bit of salt to the avocado, which gives the salad a creamy/salty taste (kinda like cheese!). For the dressing, I ended up adding some fresh-squeezed orange and a splash of balsamic vinegar (because that’s what I had on hand). I didn’t have any dried cranberries on hand, so I left this out. To save time, I used canned beets. They weren’t as good the roasted beets, but the convenience was worth it for the quick at-home version. :)
What I like about this recipe (besides the fact that it’s super-healthy):
Simple ingredients
Quick and easy to make at home
Love the combination of colors, textures, and flavors
Ingredients:
Baby kale salad mix (or whatever mix you like)
Red quinoa, cooked according to package instructions
Canned beets, drained and sliced
Frozen peas, thawed
Avocado, sliced and sprinkled with a little salt
Slivered almonds
Dried cranberries or raisins (optional)
Fresh orange
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Steps:
Layer the first 7 ingredients in a salad bowl. Proportion according to taste preference.
For the dressing, squeeze a little juice from a fresh orange, and add a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Toss. Add a little pepper and/or salt, if desired.
Enjoy!
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Kiley Owen, PA-C