Tag: #Salads

Posted in Curated Recipes

Carrot and Raisin Salad

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

This carrot and raisin salad is quick and easy to make. It brings a sweet and tangy crunch to your table. Made with just a few simple ingredients, this salad is perfect for picnics, potlucks, or even a light lunch. It’s a delightful mix of shredded carrots, plump raisins, and a creamy dressing. The dressing is slightly sweet and comes together in minutes. You might want to add more veggies to your diet. Or perhaps you need a dish to bring to a gathering. This salad is a crowd-pleaser you can whip up in no time.

Ingredients for Carrot Raisin Salad

  • Shredded carrots: Fresh, crunchy carrots add a vibrant color and satisfying crunch to the salad. For convenience, you can buy pre-shredded carrots at the store or shred them yourself for the freshest flavor.
  • Raisins: Raisins provide a burst of natural sweetness that balances the savory notes in the salad. You can swap them out for dried cranberries for a tangier bite if you prefer.
  • Mayonnaise: The mayonnaise serves as the creamy base of the dressing, binding all the ingredients together with its rich texture. Try using light mayonnaise for a lighter option.
  • Sugar: Adding a touch of sugar adds sweetness and helps to mellow the tang of the mayonnaise.  Try using honey or a sugar substitute to taste if you’re watching your sugar intake.
  • Milk: In this recipe milk adds a light creaminess to the dressing, helping to thin it out to a pourable consistency without making it too heavy.

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Posted in Curated Recipe Lists

34 Protein-Packed Salad Recipes to Fuel Your Day

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

These protein-packed salad recipes are full of lean meats, whole grains, and fresh vegetables. They make it easy to add healthy, high-protein bowls to your meal plan.

If you consider salad rabbit food, these protein-packed salad recipes will change your mind. These high-protein bowls are more than just a meal to carry you from lunch to dinner. They prevent you from dipping into the snack drawer. They are filled with colorful vegetables, lean meats, seafood, pasta, eggs, and flavorful dressings. These ingredients ensure they taste as good as they look. Each recipe in this collection has at least 20 grams of protein per serving. This helps to fuel your day without weighing you down.

Far from boring or one-note, these high-protein quick and easy salads prove that healthy eating isn’t a compromise. One has all the elements of a cheeseburger. Another tastes like taco night. Both offer the same satisfaction as your favorite easy and healthy 30-minute dinners. There are salads you can quickly toss together to take to work, and elegant, arranged ones, pretty enough for company.

These bowls are easy to customize for dietary needs. For a celiac-friendly meal, choose gluten-free salad dressings and replace croutons with toasted seeds, nuts or crispy corn tortilla strips. Set out dishes of the ingredients for a mix-and-match salad bar. Everyone can make their bowl exactly how they like it. Fresh herbs or a squeeze of citrus can quickly brighten a salad if it needs a little oomph. With salads this satisfying, hitting your protein goals has never been so easy and delicious.

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Posted in Curated Recipes

30 Bright Winter Salad Recipes You’ll Crave All Season

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

There’s nothing I love more than enjoying a fresh salad that celebrates fruits and vegetables at their peak. In summer salads, that might mean bowls filled with sweet corn and peppery arugula or a sun-ripened peach Caprese salad with juicy tomatoes. As the weather cools, it’s all about roasted squash, blue cheese and crunchy pepitas. The best salad ingredients should shift with the seasons, and these winter salad recipes prove there’s zero excuse for sad meals, even in the coldest months.

Winter salads have their own magic. This is the moment for hearty greens like kale, radicchio and escarole that hold up beautifully to thick and creamy or light and zippy homemade salad dressings, as well as craveable add-ins, such as roasted root vegetables, caramelized squash, toasted nuts, warm grains and crumbly cheeses. It’s also peak season for citrus, pomegranates, pears and apples, bringing juicy sweetness, bright acidity and pops of color.

To add more heft and satiety to these leafy creations, top with your favorite protein, such as grilled chicken tenders, sliced flank steak or sauteed shrimp. With that in mind, get ready to bookmark these recipes that hit the sweet spot of seasonal produce, vibrant flavors and weeknight ease. They’re hearty enough for cold days and colorful enough to brighten your table.

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Posted in Curated Recipes

Sweet Potato Salad

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Calling all potato salad lovers! Have you ever tried swapping your Yukon golds for orange-fleshed sweet potatoes? This sweet potato salad recipe is a nice change from the old-fashioned potato salad you’d expect at a cookout or potluck. Loaded with sweet potatoes, tart cherries, crunchy walnuts and fresh parsley, it’s full of nutritious whole foods that bring some color to the picnic table.

Sweet Potato Salad Ingredients

overhead shot of all ingredients for Sweet Potato Salad; white wooden background;
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  • Sweet potatoes: This roasted sweet potato salad calls for 4 cups of cubed sweet potatoes. Depending on the size, that’s about four to six whole sweet potatoes.
  • Olive oil: Coat the sweet potatoes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to promote roasting and caramelization. The best part of roasted sweet potatoes is always the dark, caramelized bits!
  • Walnuts: Not usually a fan of walnuts? I find that toasting the nuts brings out their rich, nutty flavor better.
  • Dried cherries: Sweet with a tart aftertaste, dried cherries are an unexpected ingredient that adds a chewy bite and dynamic flavor.
  • Parsley: Since the sweet potatoes, cherries and walnuts are heavier, richer ingredients, we’ve added fresh parsley to break up the monotony and create a bright flavor.
  • Mayonnaise: Full-fat or reduced-fat mayonnaise would work in this sweet potato salad.
  • White vinegar: Tangy and bright, white vinegar imparts freshness. Apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or lemon juice would work in a pinch.
  • Honey: We sweeten this recipe just a touch with a bit of honey. Make sure you’re buying real honey, and leave the fake honey on the shelf. The quality makes a difference!
  • Lime zest: I absolutely love using grated citrus zest in my cooking. The simple ingredient imparts a bright acidity that tunes up the flavors to a 10 and makes the dish taste like it came straight out of a professional kitchen.

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