Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Toasted Walnuts

It’s almost funny to watch our food cravings change as the seasons change. Predictably, we crave comforts when the weather gets colder – heavy sauces, goodies, “special occasion foods”. We spend Thanksgiving to Christmas gorging on desserts (which is totally fine and a behavior I fully endorse).

But then New Year’s Eve comes around it’s time for Resolutions and Changes and Going Back To The Gym. So you start to see more articles about healthy foods and recipes for light meals. But let’s face it…when it’s 13 degrees out, what’s the incentive to eat a salad?

That’s why I like to turn to this yummy salad, inspired by (surprisingly) a salad served at my local bar. Spinach will give you some very essential nutrients to help you stay healthy through the winter. Plus it’s one of the super foods we wrote about in December. Goat cheese, apple slices, grapes, and warm toasty walnuts just kick it up a notch. BAM!

If you don’t like the taste of just straight spinach for your salads, mix in some field greens for variety.

Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Toasted Walnuts

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 cups baby spinach

1/2 gala apple

1/4 cup of red grapes (about a handful)

4oz mild soft gold cheese (small log)

1/4 shelled walnuts

Directions:

Wash the baby spinach and spin/pat dry.

In a small skillet over medium, toast the walnuts until they become fragrant and golden. Stir constantly to avoid burning. This should take less than five minutes.

Cut the apple into very thin slices – to avoid cutting yourself, slice the apple in half first, so you have a flat surface to serve as a stable base, then place flat-side down and cut into slices. Wash the grapes and cut in half.

Let goat cheese come to room temperature and break it apart into crumbles. Toss the spinach leaves with the apples, grapes and cheese. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts and drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

(Adapted from a fabulous recipe by FoodPlusPolitics.com, a great blog I just discovered)

Makes about 1 1/4 cups.  Save in your fridge for up to two weeks, shaking well before serving.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mild oil (I recommend canola, vegetable, or safflower oil)

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp Dijon mustard (use the good stuff!)

3 tbsp red wine vinegar or raspberry vinegar

1 tsp fresh lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup frozen raspberries, thawed

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients except for the berries in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times to emulsify. Add the thawed berries and then blend until fully mixed. Will keep for about two weeks. Store in the fridge and whisk/shake before using.