Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Waldorf Re-Mix

I'm a sucker for salads that include both veggies and fruit.

Add some toasted nuts into the mix, and I just may reach food nirvana (I just invented food nirvana. Don't question it.).

So when I stumbled upon a recipe for Waldorf Salad in my Moosewood Restaurant's Low-Fat Favorites cookbook, I knew it would be a winner in our house.

This salad combines the best parts of an old-school Waldorf Salad (fruit + veggies + nuts), while nixing the less-than-desirable part (creamy over-the-top mayonnaise sauce). Instead of the creamy sauce, we go with a light, oil-free orange juice dressing.

Paired with spinach salad and a slice of Irish Soda Bread, this was an easy dinner to pull together. The salad is quite reminiscent of one of my ol' favorites: Apple-Almond-Bulgur Salad. I noted few differences between the two, although I found the Waldorf Salad a bit more filling and suitable as a "main course" salad.

Eat up, friends, and enjoy this hearty salad while it lasts. Tomorrow? We're talking homemade (and arguably "healthy?") peanut butter cups.

Stay tuned.

Waldorf Salad, Re-Mixed

The one things missing from this delightful salad? Grapes! If you have them on hand, I recommend halving a handful and tossing them right into the mix.

Salad Ingredients:
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 - 1/2 cups diced apple
  • 1 bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
  • 3 TBSP lemon juice
  • 1/3 - 1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped
Dressing Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 TBSP honey
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander
Directions:
Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Pour over salad and stir to coat. Enjoy!

10 comments:

  1. Looks great! I love salads that have a veg/fruit/nut mix!

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  2. Oh my gosh I love salads that have fruit in them! So refreshing!

    I can't wait to see the peanut butter cups!

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  3. This sounds delicious -- I love Waldorf Salad!

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  4. I love Waldorf salad. My favorite is made with yogurt, but I'm thinking that this one with orange juice dressing would be delicious as well!

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  5. Umm, no joke, I am making this for lunch tomorrow. I love the use of orange juice as the sauce, but I think I may use apple only because that is all I have right now!! Thanks for another winning recipe girl :)

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  6. I definitely do not eat enough salads with fruit in it. I bet that dressing would be great on a lot of things.

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  7. Dried fruit in salads is one of the only way I'll eat salads! SO GOOD!

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  8. This looks so good.. I love a waldorf salad... I'm thinking of buying a small bag of brown rice and switch it up a bit between white..

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  9. I loooooove waldorf salads minus the mayo! =) Thanks for the recipe doll!

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

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