Radish & Radicchio Salad

This is a simple salad that makes a great no-fuss side dish on a warm evening. We paired it with Chicken Piccata and sauteed spinach.

Radish & Radicchio Salad

8-12 radishes, sliced thin
2 heads of radicchio, leaves removed and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 scallions, sliced
1 avocado, diced
juice of 1 lemon
1T olive oil
pinch of salt (1/8 t)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whisk the oil into the lemon juice in a small container and blend until emulsified. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Serves 4, <100mg sodium per serving

Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Sweet-Hot Lime Vinaigrette

One more bowl of awesomeness in this series of summer salads! We could eat this every night and not get tired of it.

Vinaigrette:

1/4 c lime juice
zest from two limes
3 T sugar
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t black pepper
1 T canola oil

Mix all ingredients using a immersion blender until well blended (or shake in a sealed container to combine).

Salad:

1 box baby spinach leaves, large stems removed
2 c strawberries, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 shallot, sliced thin
2 T fresh mint leaves
2 T pine nuts
Vinaigrette (see above)

Combine spinach, strawberries, mint and shallot in a large bowl and toss with dressing. Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with pine nuts.

(If you want this to be the main course, you may wish to add pan seared chicken as shown in the photo.)

Serves 2 (if main course) or  4 (if side salad). Sodium content is near zero unless you add chicken.

Citrus Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette

Here is another delicious salad for those hot summer months. This one is light and refreshing, and is easily converted into a full meal by adding some pan seared chicken.

Salad:

1 pkg Arugula
1 grapefruit
2 oranges, clementines or tangerines
1/2 c red onion, sliced
2 T fresh mint leaves
almond slivers, toasted
shaved parmesan cheese

Cut grapefruit in half, then cut peel and pith off outside with a sharp knife. Loosen the sections from one another, then remove seeds and outer layer from fruit. If using orange, repeat this process, or for clementines or tangerines, section the fruit and remove all pith and seeds. Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl and toss with dressing. Garnish with almonds and cheese. Top with cooked chicken if desired.

Dressing:

3 T freshly squeezed lime juice
1 T cider vinegar
2 t honey
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 t lemon verbena leaves, minced
2 T olive oil

Place all ingredients in a glass bowl and mix with an immersion blender until emulsified.

Serves 4 - sodium content is low, but depends on how much parmesan cheese is used and if chicken is added

Mesclun Salad with Chicken and Lemon Vinaigrette

What to do with a single leftover chicken breast? On this warm July evening, we decided to make a light and healthy dinner salad with it. Good call! This meal was both delicious and satisfying. As an added bonus, we didn't heat up the kitchen and cleanup was minimal.


For the dressing:

2 T lemon juice
1 T white wine vinegar
1 t Dijon mustard
tiny pinch of salt (~1/16 t if you insist on a measurement)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
dash of onion powder
1 T extra virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients in a small, deep container (a 2 c capacity glass measuring jar works very well) and mix with an immersion blender. Set aside. If you don't have an immersion blender, then add everything except the olive oil. Whisk the ingredients rapidly while you slowly add the oil. Stir vigorously until well blended.


For the salad:

1 chicken breast, sliced into two thin cutlets
5 oz box of mesclun salad mix
1 carrot, julienned
1/4 c dried cranberries
2 scallions, sliced thin
2 T pine nuts
2 T shaved parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
Mrs. Dash original blend seasoning
1 T vegetable oil

Season the chicken cutlets with black pepper and Mrs. Dash. Cook in oil over medium high heat until outside is browned and inside is cooked through. Set aside to cool, then cut into bite sized pieces.

In a large bowl, combine the salad greens, carrots, cranberries, scallions and pine nuts. Pour dressing over salad and toss well to coat evenly. Transfer to serving bowl, then top with parmesan and chicken.

Serves 2
<250 mg sodium per serving

Spicy Asian Slaw

This recipe was something I threw together to use some random odds and ends from the fridge. It was good enough to be my new recipe of the week. We'll definitely make this again. Super fast and easy! If you don't have all the ingredients, this recipe is flexible enough to make substitutions with similar foods. I chose this particular mix partly because I had the onion, jalapeno and cilantro left over from a burrito meal, and the cabbage was left over from another recipe. The only thing I had to buy was the cucumber.

Spicy Asian Slaw (serves 4)

2 T rice vinegar
2 T vegetable oil
1 T sesame oil
1 t low sodium soy sauce
1 t sugar
freshly ground pepper
2 c. shredded cabbage
1 cucumber, peeled, quarted lengthwise, seeded and chopped into 1/4" slices
2 T chopped onion
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
1 T sesame seeds, toasted

Whisk first six ingredients together in a bowl until well blended. Fold in remaining ingredients, stir to combine with liquid sauce, then refrigerate for about an hour prior to serving.

40 mg sodium per serving (or omit the soy sauce to remove all but trace amounts of sodium)