Perfect Summer Salad: Berries, Blue Cheese, and Toasted Walnuts

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Combine your favorite greens and berries like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries with toasted walnuts and strawberry balsamic vinaigrette for a perfect summer salad.

I hope you found the words and photograph from Songs for a New World as inspiring as I do, the subject of yesterday’s rarely seen theater-related post. I’m not quite through with my week of strawberry goodness, however. To recap, I’ve thus far written about my go-to hydrating beverage, summer sun tea, and a fabulous salad of spinach, strawberries, and sunflower seeds. The plethora of strawberries staring at me from the fridge also inspired an inadvertent cocktail kick: I mixed up a strawberry margarita, strawberry mojito, and even a strawberry-basil martini, all of which were unbelievable. (Recipes are in the posts.)

I have a few more strawberry-related pieces in mind, including today’s, but this post is very short (see how I resisted saying berry short?) and features just a fabulous photo. A little healthy food porn, if you will. (Check out my boards on Pinterest if you want more.) And now – drum roll *- I bring you what may well be the perfect summer salad: a berry trifecta (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries), toasted walnuts, blue cheese and a sprinkle of scallions reside gracefully on a bed of crisp green spinach. A splash of rosy strawberry balsamic vinaigrette on the plate’s surface completes the meal, presented to give the appearance of a lovely summer flower.

What else is there to say about this sublime salad that is as delicious as it is beautiful and nutritious? Not much, other than to remind you to toast whatever nuts you’re using, choose whatever berries please you, mix up the greens as you prefer, and include whatever cheese suits you or leave it off altogether. (The cheese is really not necessary.) In other words, make modifications that encourage you to eat more salad.

Whether served on its own or perhaps with a few ears of corn on the cob, I will continue to motivate you to give this type of supper a shot. Summer’s the best time to develop the “big salad for dinner” habit since there’s so much stimulation from seasonal produce. But whatever the weather and wherever you buy your food, incorporating more vegetables and fruit into your diet along with heart-healthy fats is a step in the right direction towards better health. I’m here to help you do that in as tasty a way as possible and think this salad will make you smile.

Or, in my case, do a little dance in the kitchen.

But, you know, whatever.

Just: Eat more salad, okay?

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* Forget drum roll; this salad merits a trumpet fanfare. Yeah, it’s that good.

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Learn more about food personality and health expert Dr. PK Newby here, or her experience as a nutrition scientist, professor, and consultant here. Or click here if you just want to ogle food porn featuring plant-based, globally inspired cooking.