Get Nutritional Boosts by Eating a Strawberry Arugula Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Advantages of Balsamic Vinegar
Balsamic vinegar is a popular food condiment for good reasons. In addition to the irresistible taste, it contains only natural sugars and has been proven to lower cholesterol and stabilize blood pressure. This homemade dressing recipe below gives you a sweet dressing to offset the peppery arugula and flavorful gorgonzola without any added sugars. Making your own dressing allows you to control the ingredients and substitute healthier alternatives. For more information, read Healthline’s overview on balsamic vinegar.
Benefits of Making your Own Balsamic Vinnaigrette
- many prepared dressing use highly processed canola oil and a significant amount of sugar and salt
- use healthy oils like extra virgin olive oil
- eliminate sugar – no added sugars in the recipe
- minimize salt – control the amount
- add healthy kinds of vinegar like balsamic or apple cider vinegar
Recipe Steps
1
Toast honey-glazed pecan halves in a skillet.
2
Cool honey-glazed pecans and break into smaller pieces.
3
Combine greens, strawberries, cheese, red onion, and cranberries.
Advantages of Eating a Salad
- meet vegetable requirement
- get a low-calorie food
- eat healthy greens that have vitamins, mineral, and water
- consume raw vegetables which can have more nutrients than cooked
- add fiber to your diet
Takeaway
Serve With
Strawberry Arugula Salad with Sugar-Free Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup halved pecans
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 5 ounce container of arugula or a 50/50 blend of arugula and spinach
- 8 ounces fresh strawberries tops removed and sliced or quartered
- 2 ounces gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled*
- 1/2 cup red onion, sliced – about 1/2 onion
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar**
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 Tablespoon of sugar-free strawberry jam or 1 teaspoon raw honey ***
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Toast Pecans. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add pecan halves. Drizzle honey over pecans and stir to coat. Toast the pecans for a few minutes. Place on wax paper to cool. Try not to eat them all while making the salad. Break into smaller pieces.
- Combine Salad. In a large salad bowl, combine greens, strawberries, cheese, red onion, and cranberries.
- Make Dressing. Add all dressing ingredients except olive oil in a small bowl or shaker cruet. Shake to combine. Slowly add olive oil.
- Serve. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently mix. Serve immediately.
Notes
* Omit if paleo; I prefer the milder gorgonzola. For the best taste, do NOT get the pre-crumbled package. Buy it in a small block and crumble it just before serving.
** Balsamic vinegar substitute: SCD – many balsamic vinegar bottles have added sugar; substitute with red vinegar or make your own legal homemade balsamic vinegar substitute through SCDRecipe
*** Use jam or fruit preserves with no added sugar and sweetened with fruit juice.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 5
- Category: Salads
- Method: Stovetop (nuts only)
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Colorful summer salad, festive salad
One response to “Strawberry Arugula Salad with Sugar-Free Balsamic Vinaigrette”
Very good salad – loved the flavor of the toasted pecans, cranberries, and Gorgonzola cheese with the strawberry dressing.
★★★★★