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This is a sponsored post I was happy to do for the Calfornia Dried Plum Board.
Looking to get more vegetables and fruit in your life in the new year? An excellent and simple way to tick off a lot of boxes on the improved eating list is to incorporate more salad. I’m not talking about a dressing-heavy classic Caesar salad or a light green, pale iceberg lettuce mix. A top-notch salad includes lots of bright, natural colour from a variety of vegetables. Chopping in dried fruit like California prunes adds delicious flavour and texture along with added nutrients including iron. In studies where people ate about 5 prunes a day, a positive effect on bone health was seen.
Salad can also make for a time-saving complete meal. By keeping some cooked whole grains in the fridge like brown rice or quinoa along with chopped cooked protein like chicken, chickpeas or tofu, you can make quick work of assembling a meal like this one. It’s inspired by the concepts of a Cobb Salad and a Cowboy Salad*, but I’m calling this one a California Prune Farmer Salad.
California Prune Farmer’s Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette Serves 4
Dressing
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
Juice of 1 fresh lime
1/4 tsp salt
Salad
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups cooked chopped chicken, chickpeas, tofu or protein of your choice
4 cups chopped fresh salad greens
2 medium tomatoes, diced
½ cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 cup cooked corn
2 avocados, diced
1 cup chopped California prunes
- Make dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients in a container with a lid and shake well to blend. Set aside.
- Prepare salad ingredients. To serve, either toss all together in a large salad bowl or arrange on plates as pictured. To serve, drizzle with dressing.
*In one of my all-time favourite cookbook series – Whitewater Cooks – there is a “Cowgirl Salad” along with many other gorgeous salads and more. Be sure to check out this series, including the newest 5th and most recent book in the series called Whitewater Cooks More Beautiful Food.
