It's a new year, so start it off right with this delicious apple cranberry salad with apple dijon dressing!
It's the season for healthy eating! I've made it my goal to stop eating so much sugar this year and more protein. I love carbs, especially those amazingly tasty sugar carbs so focusing back on protein is going to be a hard one for me after a carb filled holiday season. I'm also hoping to get back to the runs I was having. After an injury this fall I'm hoping that I'm able to get back on track. I miss running long distances.
And on one of my first long runs of the season it of course would be my luck to run into what I think was a cougar. My dog and I were running and were by some horse stables on one of my favorite tracks that backs to the hills. We came around the corner of the trail where the horse stables were and saw a large oversized looking dog like thing drinking excessively from a short distance. The tail of the animal was long and tipped a darker brown than the tan color the animal was. It had it's back towards us and I was unable to see it's face. But my dog stopped and froze and I stopped and froze. It was hard to tell what it was and when I told my dog "heel" and started to turn around, my dog pulled hard on the leash and we ran at a very fast pace for about a half mile until I could get her to slow it down to a slower pace. It totally worked great for my overall time though.
Today I'm featuring one of my new favorite salad recipes. I found it on one of my favorite websites, then did a few adaptations to make it more of a wintery meal. This apple cranberry salad with a drizzle of apple dijon dressing is amazing! Salads are some of my favorites because they are easy to make and can be made a little bigger so you have leftovers the next day for lunch. This is the perfect winter salad.
And if you are looking for some other delicious salads to start the year off right, consider some of these:
Almond, Apple and Basil Quinoa Salad
Grilled Citrus Kale Walnut Salad
Grilled Pear Salad with Sweet Honey Pear Vinegarette
Pomegranate Orange Walnut Salad
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp honey
- 8 cups rinsed and chopped lettuce (I like romaine or spinach)
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 apple, cored and thinly diced
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- 4 cooked chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces (optional but recommended if eating as a main meal)
- Pepper
Instructions
- In a blender, combine all ingredients for the dressing. Blend until smooth. Place salad dressing in a container and store in fridge until ready to serve.
- Chop the lettuce into bite sized pieces, than place in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle the cranberries, almonds, gorgonzola (and chicken, if using) over the top of the lettuce. Sprinkle a small amount of pepper over the top of the salad. Cover and refrigerate the salad until ready to serve, or serve immediately with dressing.
- To serve: Have each person serve up desired amount of salad and drizzle with salad dressing. Mix dressing right before serving to avoid settling of ingredients.
Recipe adapted from Detoxinista
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