Spring Salad and Strawberry Vinaigrette

Recipes Salads and Sides

Melissa

Saturday, 07 May 2016

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Thanks to some spring rain and mild temperatures my little garden is already starting to produce spinach and green onions. Yay! I've been working on finishing my bachelors degree in nutrition and with a busy family I'm so glad my garden has been able to handle some neglect - I mean just look at this beautiful salad it helped make! Thanks to some homemade strawberry jam with no refined sugar it made the Strawberry Vinaigrette so simple and healthy. Strawberries and spinach are both full of vitamin C and B6, folate, magnesium, fiber, and a handful of other vitamins and essential minerals.

Overnight Strawberry Jam

4 cups crushed strawberries
1/2 - 3/4 cups honey or 1 - 2 tsp. stevia powder or liquid
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 tbsp. chia seeds

Combine all the ingredients, pour into jars or freezer containers, and place in the fridge overnight. The chia seeds will cause the jam to thicken. Store jam in the freezer until ready to use.

Spring Salad and Strawberry Vinaigrette

Recipe Type: Salad

Author: Melissa Cornwall

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4 - 6

Sweet and tangy strawberry vinaigrette is made from homemade no refined sugar strawberry jam and drizzled over an array of delicious and healthful veggies and fresh strawberries! A little feta cheese crumbled on top adds just the right amount of salty goodness, but can be substituted for a nut cheese for a vegan alternative.

Ingredients

Spring Salad
10 oz. spinach, kale, and red or green chard mix
1 large avocado, pitted and sliced
handful strawberries, stems trimmed and sliced
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
2 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp. feta cheese, crumbled
Strawberry Vinaigrette
1/3 cup no refined sugar strawberry and chia seed jam
2 1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp. water
pinch of course sea salt

Instructions

Place all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a glass jar. Put the lid on a shake until everything is well blended.
Rinse, slice, and toss all the ingredients for the salad and put them in a bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle the feta cheese on top (or a yummy cashew cheese for a vegan alternative), or have the dressing on the side for everyone to drizzle as they like.