Try this nutritious and quick-to-make main dish salad that is perfect for one person or a hungry family on the go.
This spinach salad with salmon is sophisticated enough for adults’ palates, but is also a good recipe for kids to help prepare. If you have a budding cook in your kitchen, ask him or her to measure ingredients, wash and dry the spinach, rinse the berries and assemble the salad. Older children can operate the food processor or blender, but be sure to supervise them carefully as they work with those tools. Here’s food for thought about teaching children to cook.
Now for the spinach salad:
Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
Ingredients
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup raspberry balsamic vinegar (or regular balsamic vinegar is fine, too)
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons raspberry preserves (for less sugar, choose a low-sugar or sugar-free preserves option)
¼ fresh raspberries or strawberries
Salad
Ingredients
Red onion, sliced
Salmon filet (you can also use lean beef or chicken)
¼ cup slivered and toasted almonds
1 cup of fresh baby spinach, washed and dry
¼ cup mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
¼ cup fresh berries
Directions
- Put all the ingredients for the vinaigrette into a food processor or blender, and puree. Set aside.
- Slice red onion in thin slivers.
- Grill or sauté the fish, steak or chicken, brushed lightly with olive oil. Set aside to let rest for a few minutes.
- Toast the almonds in a toaster oven, or in a frying pan on very low heat. They burn fast, so be careful.
- For each serving, assemble the spinach, onions, mushrooms, almonds and berries in a bowl. Drizzle lightly with dressing.
- Place 3 ounces of fish, or slices of chicken or beef, atop the salad.
Note: This salad is a powerhouse of nutrition for your healthy diet! One serving contains 58 percent of the recommended Vitamin A, 114 percent of Vitamin C, 16 percent of Calcium and 29 percent of the recommended Iron, based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Nutrition Facts per serving of Salmon Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette: Serving Size: 1 cup of salad with 3 ounces of protein. Calories 524. Total Fat 17.6 grams. Saturated Fat 1.7 grams. Sodium 80 milligrams. Total Carbohydrates 71 grams. Sugars 50 grams. Protein 24 grams.
Stacey Kendrick, MS, is a health educator with more than 20 years of experience in wellness and population health. She spent much of her career at Vanderbilt’s Faculty/Staff Wellness Program and currently works in Strategic Marketing at Vanderbilt. She is mother to two adult daughters. In her free time, she teaches healthy cooking classes, runs, gardens and enjoys backyard bonfires.
