Super Food Salad with Ginger Sesame Dressing has amazing color, interesting ingredients, crunchy texture, and delicious taste!
Being a food blogger has its perks. Besides becoming a member of a terrific community of encouraging and helpful bloggers, I’ve had the opportunity to attend various conferences in some really beautiful places these last three years. This month, I attended the Food and Wine Conference hosted by The Sunday Supper Movement at the gorgeous Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando.
Top left: the view from my room! Bottom: One of many beautiful fountains. Right: Café Osceola.
On my arrival day before the conference began, I lounged by the pool for a couple of hours—pure bliss, by the way!—and enjoyed a Super Foods Salad from Rosen’s 18 Monroe Street Market. I was so impressed, that I decided to recreate it at home!
One of the things I loved about the salad was the combination of good-for-you, colorful super food ingredients—kale, yellow beets, pomegranate, carrots, broccoli, and walnuts.
I never thought that I liked beets because I’ve always associated them with red pickled beets (not for me!), so I’ve shied away for years. Recently, though, I’ve found that roasted beets are actually delicious! (TIP FOR PEELING: Hold onto the greens to easily and quickly run a peeler down each side.)
The natural sugars in yellow, or golden, beets add a little sweetness to this salad. According to One Green Planet, yellow beets are “heart healthy, excellent kidney and body cleansers, high in powerful antioxidants, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, treats anemia and fatigue, and more.” Look at what I’ve been missing!
Another interesting ingredient in this salad is red quinoa. Adding just half a cup gives this salad a delicate flavor, crunchy texture, and adds protein and many essential minerals and vitamins. Quinoa is actually a seed, not a grain, and is gluten-free, by the way.
As a fruit, pomegranates are higher in carbohydrates, lower in fat, and higher in sugar. Even so, a higher fiber content balances out the effects on blood sugar levels. Check out the video to learn how to remove the seeds from a pomegranate.
Fresh ginger and dark sesame oil are create a perfect flavor combination in the dressing. For more protein or to make this salad a full meal, add grilled chicken.
Super Food Salad with Ginger Sesame Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale, removed from stems and chopped
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup carrots, julienned (or matchstick)
- 1/2 cup cooked red quinoa
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 bunch yellow beets (3-4 beets)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Morton's Lite Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Ginger Sesame Dressing
- 2 3-inch fresh ginger, unpeeled and shredded
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
Instructions
Ginger Sesame Dressing
- Use a box grater to shred the ginger root. Wrap ginger in a piece of cheese cloth and squeeze to extract the juice (about 4 teaspoons). (Discard the shredded ginger.)
Whisk together the remaining ingredients, adding the olive oil and sesame oil last.
Salad
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the greens off yellow beats leaving about 2 inches (for holding). Peel beets, then cut off remaining tops and cut into 8 slices.
- Place beets on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until tender.
- Place kale, broccoli, carrots, red quinoa, pomegranate seeds, and beets in a large bowl. Pour Ginger Sesame Dressing over all and gently toss. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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