If you are feeling the heat of summer, you will probably want to cool off with food. What better way than with salad? You’ll love this salad with apple and craisins.
This salad with apple and craisins is so satisfying. It has a sweetness from the apple, tartness from the craisins, sweetness from the dressing, saltiness from the blue cheese, and richness from the sunflower seeds.
You can grill your own chicken or use store-bought grilled or whole-roasted chicken to add to this salad for some protein.
Image by 955169 from Pixabay
What apples should you use in cooking?
Depends on what flavor profile you are trying to achieve. Also depends on the texture you want.
Granny smiths (sour & crisp): good for baking because they hold up when cooked and give a tart sourness to contrast in desserts; also great for salads because of their tart flavor
Image by Michael Higgins from Pixabay
Honeycrisp (sweet and sour and crisp): great for serving fresh/raw in salads because of their crisp texture, juiciness, and strong sweet and tart flavor. Also great for cooking because of their strong flavor profile.
Image by Michele Walfred from Pixabay
Fuji (sweet and crisp): great for serving fresh/raw because of their crisp texture and juiciness. Fuji apples have a milder flavor profile, so they would not hold up as much in desserts.
Image by Michele Walfred from Pixabay
For other salad ideas, check out my delicious Healthy Caesar Salad.
Using soft cheeses in salads
Soft cheeses are very creamy and delicate. Make sure you toss your salad with dressing first. And then add in pieces of your soft cheese. Otherwise, the cheese will smear into your salad and dressing.
How to spice up a salad
Spice up your salads with a variety of:
- cheese (feta, brie, blue cheese)
- fruit (apple, peach, pear, raisins, dried cranberries)
- nuts (sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts)
- protein (chicken, shrimp, steak)
- vinegars/acid (Champagne, balsamic, citrus, red wine, mulberry, lemon juice, mustard)
That way, you won’t get bored as easily.
Price Comparison
How much did this salad with apple and craisins set me back? This is how much I spent on the ingredients: mixed greens ($1), blue cheese ($.50), mulberry vinegar ($.50), honey ($.50), walnuts ($.50), apple ($.75).
Restaurant ($10-13) vs. Home-made ($1.88)
There is a steep mark-up when you buy salad from a restaurant vs. making it at home. It’s definitely more economical to make salad at home. Be a smart shopper and consumer.
Make your salads at home if you can and splurge on eating out for items that have less of a mark-up or are more difficult to make at home. With salads, it is easy because you can get pre-washed and pre-bagged mixed salad greens and have dinner ready in a jiffy.
Mixed Green Salad with Apple, Crasisins, and Blue Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 cups mixed green salad
- 1 honeycrisp apple cored and sliced
- 1/4 cup blue cheese
- 1/4 cup craisins
- 2 tbsps sunflower seeds toasted
Mulberry dressing
- 1 tbsp mulberry vinegar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare apples by removing their cores and cutting them into thin slices.
- Prepare dressing by mixing together mulberry vinegar, salt, honey, lemon juice, and olive oil.
- Gently toss mixed greens with apples, craisins, sunflower seeds, and dressing. Then gently sprinkle with blue cheese and toss gently until evenly dispersed in salad.
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