Don’t get me wrong, I love salads. But usually if they have blackened salmon or juicy sliced steak on them, along with walnuts and blue cheese crumbles and the like (far from low cal). Especially if they are made by anyone other than me. So I have to share my gratitude for actually finding a salad that is easy, low cal and healthy, and that even I enjoy!
The holidays are here and this is when I find myself surrounded by food that I love to indulge in and that can make my clothes even tighter. So, if I can switch out a few meals a week to this tasty salad that isn’t wracked with fat and calories, hot damn and hallelujah!
I found the recipe in a magazine and modified it so that even I would not be able to find too many excuses for not throwing it together quickly in a time crunch. Therefore it had to use ingredients that were easy to find, inexpensive and keep well in the fridge for a week or so. And it has to be quick and easy, and yummy.
Check it out:
Let’s call it – Life on Wry Salad
Ingredients – (now I keep this all on hand)
-Spinach or Arugula (or my favorite – a mix of both that comes prewashed and ready to eat in a container at the store. Yes, I go for easy)
-A sliced up apple (I like Fiji)
-Nuts (slivered almonds, walnuts or pine nuts or whatever you like. I go for a bag of presliced almonds so it’s ready to go.
-Quinoa – (This is new to me. Pronounced Keen -wa. It looks funky but it’s good. Look for near couscous/rice in grocery store. I cook a small saucepan full – about a cup of it according to directions – and I keep it in a small container in the fridge ready to go – that is key for me.)
-Blueberries (the trick for me is to keep any berries in the fridge prewashed from the moment I put them in the fridge – so I have no excuses not to eat them)
-Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (you can make your own or use Paul Newman’s like I do)
Directions –
Get your quinoa boiling per box directions (or pull out what you’ve got ready in the fridge). Then put as much spinach or arugula in bowl as you’d like, toss on some blueberries, a sliced apple, some nuts. Add some quinoa – 4 tablespoons or so – just eyeball it – and throw on some light balsamic vinaigrette. Voila!
End result –
A salad that is easy, tasty and high in all kinds of nutrients and vitamins that are good for your brain and everything else. And that I’m grateful I discovered!
Enjoy!
What are you grateful for today?
life on wry 
YUM! I love the sound of this salad (and the name). I’m definitely trying it 😉
Woo Hoo – thank you!
i LOVE quinoa, and esp in salads, yours looks so beautiful, my mouth is watering!!
Oh Yummy easy and I live the fruit in it.. Will put this in my handy, dandy “good eats” notebook!!
Hey, I practically live on that salad (with couscous or brown rice). Sometimes I add roasted vegetables — chunked up sweet potato or beets (I know, I’m weird….). From now on, it’s officially Life on Wry Salad!
Sounds delish!!! Do you deliver? Can you send me over some right now?
it looks delish! I love Quinoa. It is high in protein – so when I can, I eat it for a meat substitute. Nice to know you have it in the fridge ready for my next visit! And for a second, I thought those were hearts of palm in your salad – must be the apple.