Autumn Chopped Salad & Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

I have a new obsession: Pinterest. It is so much fun! It was on Pinterest that I found this beautiful salad with pears, cranberries, pecans, and feta, and knew I had to try it. The recipe calls for two dressings - poppy seed and balsamic vinaigrette. Since I don't use store bought dressings because of their mysterious ingredients, I decided to come up with my own poppy seed dressing for this yummy looking salad. I have since made this salad twice - in one week! Instead of using both dressings, I used just the poppy seed dressing, and it was great.

Click here to go to the Autumn Chopped Salad. 

Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

2/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp dry ground mustard

2 green onions, white parts removed

1/4 cup +  1 Tbsp agave nectar

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp poppy seeds

1. Combine vinegar, dry ground mustard, green onions, agave nectar, and salt in a blender and blend on high until combined.

2. Reduce speed to medium, and very slowly drizzle in olive oil. 

3. Once combined, turn blender off and stir in poppy seeds.

4. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Roasted Carrot Salad

I am so excited to share this recipe with you! My hubby and I have been getting carrots in our produce share from Rawfully Organic Co-Op every week for almost two months now. While carrots are great, and I enjoy carrots, we had so many carrots in our fridge that I didn't know what to do! We couldn't seem to eat (or smoothie) them fast enough. So last week, I decided it was time to find a recipe that featured carrots - and lots of them. After some quick googling, I came upon this amazing roasted carrot salad. Oh my goodness. It is delicious AND easy AND gluten free! The only change I made was to substitute feta cheese for blue cheese, which is sometimes aged on bread and therefore not safe for people with gluten intolerance. Feta was a great substitute!

Here is a link to the original recipe: Roasted Carrot Salad: Allrecipes.com

I will be making this again soon - and I can't wait! Who knew that carrots, almonds, feta, cranberries, and arugula would all taste good together?!? I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Balsamic Vinaigrette

The salad dressing aisle is not a safe place for those of us that are gluten intolerant. Almost all dressings have some kind of thickener - wheat or corn starch, many have soybean oil as their first ingredient, and even the organic dressings often contain xanthan gum, a binder that is derived from corn.

This delicious sweet and tangy balsamic vinaigrette is very easy to make, completely grain free, and is great on any salad.

Hope you enjoy!

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbs agave nectar
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp sea salt

1. Combine all ingredients into jar
2. Shake or whisk well
3. Serve over your favorite salad!
4. Store in air-tight container in refrigerator for up to two weeks

Back Bean and Mango Salad

Tonight, the hubby and I returned home from a wonderful trip to visit family in Dallas. After being away from our kitchen all weekend, we were ready for a super healthy meal! I looked in the fridge and found lots of raw fruits and veggies, along with a very ripe mango. So, I threw together this healthy salad, which we actually ate as tacos on romaine lettuce! It was delicious, and I hope you enjoy it.

Black Bean and Mango Salad

1 can organic black beans, drained and rinsed
1 mango, chopped
1 avocado, diced
8-10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
2-3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 romaine lettuce leaves, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 Tbs chopped cilantro (optional)
juice of 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients in large bowl.
Serve over more romaine, either chopped for a salad, or whole for "tacos."