2013 – Gluten Free Living

I saw this fabulous salad recipe last week when I was hunting through salad recipes on WordPress. Wow, I wasn’t disappointed. I love spinach salads, and I love spinach salads with strawberries (I make at least 5 or 6 different ones!). But this one had a twist I’ve never used before–peaches! Yay! I love peaches as they are my favorite fruit. I loved this combination. Unfortunately, fresh peaches are just not available this time of year. My husband suggested trying it with dried peaches. Instead, I decided to try canned peaches. It was not a bad choice as the salad was quite wonderful.

On top of that, I decided to use the peach liquid which was composed of peach and pear juice and pulp and use that as a base for a homemade vinaigrette dressing. I made it with honey rather than sugar for those who have issues with sugar, also. The salad dressing turned out excellently too. This gluten free, low calorie, healthy salad recipe is a keeper. It’s a great way to eat healthy and enjoy what you’re eating at the same time!

In keeping with my 2013 theme to present lots of gluten free recipes here’s one I hope you and your family really enjoy. If you’re looking for new, fresh ways to eat healthy and you’re tired of eating salad the same way all the time here’s a great recipe you and your family can add to you weekly menus. If you are trying to lose weight this year consider this low calorie recipe to support your weight loss goals. We really loved this delicious salad and believe you will too!

Lots of juicy peaches and strawberries mingled with feta cheese and roasted pecans. Oh, yum!

I made up my own salad dressing which has just enough sweetness to counteract the bite of the balsamic vinegar. It was wonderful. But if you like a sweeter dressing add another tablespoon or two of honey.

This is a fabulous healthy, gluten free, low calorie, and incredibly delicious salad. You and your family will love it.

This close up allows you to see the texture of this marvelous salad.

This refreshing salad is so quick and easy to make. We loved the combination of strawberries with peaches. It was fabulous.

Here’s what I did.

Place a 9-oz. bag of spinach in a large salad bowl. I de-stemmed the spinach leaves, but if you like eating the stems you don’t need to remove them.

My husband won’t eat a salad that only has spinach leaves so I mixed in a 9-oz. bag of Romaine blend with carrots and red cabbage. Toss the two lettuces together.

I added a pound of sliced strawberries.

I would have used 3 unpeeled, sliced fresh peaches if they were available. I substituted 2 15-oz. cans of sliced peaches instead. I drained the peaches saving the juice.

Here I’m patting the peaches dry so they don’t add too much moisture to the salad and cause quick decomposition.  The juice was made from peach and pear juice and pulp. I reserved the juice for the dressing and for 2 cans it came to about a cup of juice.

Here’s the reserved juice.

Spread the peaches on top of the salad.

Roast pecans in toaster oven or oven at 400 for about 10 minutes.

Here the pecans have been roasted.

Toss the toasted pecans on top of the salad.

Add 8-oz. feta cheese, crumbled on top of the salad.

To make the salad dressing, place the reserved peach juice in a blender.

Add olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

Add 3 green onions, diced.

Add Kosher salt and black pepper.

Add honey. I used only 2 tablespoons but if you prefer a sweeter dressing increase the honey by a tablespoon or two.

Blend all the ingredients in a blender for about 20 seconds until completely blended.

Here’s what the salad dressing looks like after blending.

Here’s a look at the salad with dressing on top.

Here’s another view so you can see more of the ingredients.

This picture shows the salad ingredients before the dressing has been added.

This close up shows the wonderful textures of this delicious salad.

This view shows the dressing in great detail.

You will love this great salad. It’s great to serve for company too.

Achieve your weight loss goals by adding this salad recipe to your regular menu.

This gluten free salad is a great healthy option for lunch or dinner. Your family will love it and won’t even realize they are eating gluten free!

Here’s the recipe.

FRUITY SPINACH SALAD WITH PEACHY BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

(Salad recipe adapted from Words and Warmth)

9-oz. bag baby spinach

9-oz. bag Romaine lettuce blend with carrots and red cabbage

16-oz. fresh strawberries

8-oz. Feta cheese

3 fresh peaches, diced (I used 2 15-oz. cans sliced peaches, patted dry, reserving liquid)

2/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Fill a large salad bowl with baby spinach leaves. De-stem if desired.  Add Romaine lettuce. Slice fresh strawberries and toss overtop the spinach and Romaine in the bowl. Dice fresh preaches and add to the salad. (Since I could not find fresh peaches at this time of year, I used 2 15-oz. cans sliced peaches and reserved the juice). Place pecans in pan in toaster oven at 400° to 450° and roast for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and toss over top of salad. Crumble feta cheese over everything. Toss salad. Serve on plates and drizzle with Peachy Balsamic Vinaigrette. About 10 servings.

PEACHY BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

(My own concoction)

1 cup juice from peaches

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

3 green onions, sliced

2 tbsp. honey

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for 15-20 seconds to liquefy. Serve over salad. Makes about 2 1/8 cups vinaigrette.

Lots of luscious fruit, nuts, and cheese in this delicious salad. Oh, my! It’s wonderful.

Why don’t you make this salad one of your healthy menu options this year? 

This salad is rich in antioxidants and other healthy and nutritious vitamins so necessary for good health.

This salad is so quick and easy to make. You can have it ready to serve in no time!

I’ve saved a plate for you.  Try some!

You may also like these salad recipes:

Harvest Turkey Salad with Cherry Vinaigrette

Spinach Pomegranate Salad

Salad Greens with Berries, Cashews, and Goat Cheese

Spring Mix with Peaches, Walnuts, and Feta

Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Sarah’s Delicious Salad

Spinach and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

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