Strawberry Spinach Salad with Toasted Walnuts

Salads can be incredibly healthy, but can also become monotonous if the ingredients aren’t mixed up from time to time.  Below is a personally created recipe for a delicious and healthy salad.  This recipe is easy to make and perfect for entertaining or eating at work.

Serves 1 (multiply ingredients for additional people)

Ingredients:

3 Strawberries (Julienned)

1 ½ - 2 Cups Spinach Leafs

¼ Cup walnuts (raw and crushed)

1 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar

 ½ tbsp. Olive Oil

Directions:

Place pan on oven top and turn heat to medium/high. Take flat side of chef knife and crush walnuts into smaller pieces.  Once the pan is warm, place walnuts inside.  Allow walnuts to sit for 1 minute and then stir.  Continue sitting and stirring for 5 minutes.  Once walnuts are toasted dark brown, remove from heat.  Place toasted walnuts on a paper towel or plate to cool.

Wash strawberries and spinach leafs.  Remove green leafs from strawberries and julienne with a small knife. Place spinach on plate and place strawberries on top.  Combine balsamic vinegar with olive oil in a small bowl. 

Sprinkle toasted walnuts over salad and pour dressing on top.  Enjoy!

Orange "Juice" Recipe

Juicing has become quite the fad in the past year.  Despite whichever side of the debate you lay on, juicing is a delicious and healthy choice for snacks and meals.  What is “Juicing” you may ask?  The process revolves around the idea of taking fresh fruits and vegetables, throwing them in a juicing machine, and drinking the extracted nutrients.  Here are some of the benefits to juicing: ability to eat more fruits and veggies in one day, a better taste (for those who dislike eating fruits or veggies on their own), and better absorption of vitamins and minerals.  Some of the disadvantages include the lack of pulp/fiber, expense of buying a juicer, lack of protein, and lack of fat. 

Serves: 1 person (double or triple the ingredients for more people)

You will need:

Juicer

3 Stalks of Celery

1 Orange

1 Lime

2 Carrots

½ Cup Spinach

Directions:

Start by prepping all of the fruits and veggies: wash all ingredients, remove peal of the orange and lime, cut off excess leafs from carrots, etc…

Place all products in the juicer.

Tip: if your juicer has a difficult time with leafy greens, begin by juicing the fruits and vegetables and then place juice and spinach leaves in a blender.

Serve over ice or drink straight.  Enjoy!

 

Calories: Approx. 95

Make it a complete snack! To combat some of the disadvantages of juicing, make sure to snack on some nuts or other protein and healthy fat.  With the recipe below, I would recommend a quarter cup or almonds or pistachios. Want less fat or calories?  Choose edamame beans or low fat yogurt.

Make it a complete meal!  To complete this meal, I served the orange juice with ½ cup Madras Lentils and ½ cup brown rice.  Topped with diced spinach leafs.  Delicious and Nutritious!