CHRISTMAS SALAD

 

Christmas Salad tweaked by me 
 from the recipe by same name
compliments of Julie's Album

I don't know about you, but I do not want to gain weight during the holiday season.  Therefore, I try to eat as healthily as possible with as many fresh fruits and veggies as possible and no desserts during the week. It's hard.  Now that I'm not teaching, I don't see sweets all day long that parents  and staff used to send us. In fact, I've only made one batch of Christmas cookies so far and I made sure they were healthy and low sugar/no fats and I froze almost the entire batch. Some will come out for Xmas Eve and some will be saved until our Family Gathering on the 29th. I did set aside a few for Dave and I to enjoy in the next week. However, this past week, I had to attend a Christmas Brunch so I made the above salad and snapped the pic at home before  bringing it to church. I knew there would be a plethora of pasta dishes (and there were) so I wanted to bring something different. It seemed to be a hit with the other ladies as I had none left at the end of the morning!

I found the recipe at a website but tweaked it to add extra fruit, different cheese and mustard,  and changed the type of nut. 

CHRISTMAS SALAD

1 container of raw baby spinach (5.5 oz carton)

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

1 c. blueberries

1 c. raspberries

1 small can of mandarin oranges, drained

1/2 c. pomegranate arils

1 c. of chopped cashews

1/2 c. sharp vermont cheddar cheese

DRESSING

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

3 Tablespoons of spicy brown mustard

3 tablespoons of organic honey

2 Tablespoons of lime juice

• Place baby spinach in a large clear glass or wooden bowl. I used clear so that people could see the gorgeous colors. 
• Add in the rest of the salad ingredients and toss gently. 
• Prepare the dressing in a glass mason jar or dressing bottle. Shake well.
• Drizzle on to salad and toss gently.
• Keep in fridge until time to serve. 

Note: I prepped the salad the night before so the flavors of the dressing really soaked into the spinach/berries, etc. It was divine!

MY TIPS

Serve with a loaf of  garlic or french bread for an easy, quick dinner.

Serve on the side with grilled salmon or chicken (or even baked salmon/chicken). 

ENJOY!