Frisée Salad with Cherries & Goat Cheese

This is a light salad full of flavor thanks to delicious cherries!  The original recipe calls for blue cheese, which you are more than welcome to use.  But I’m not a big blue cheese fan (unless it’s with buffalo wings!) so I used goat cheese as a substitute.  Also, because I didn’t have any raspberry vinegar in the house, I used pomegranate champagne vinegar.

Because of how light his salad is, I would make this as a side for dinner.  (In fact, I made this to compliment the Seared Tilapia with Cherry Salsa.  Horray, cherries!)  But if you do want to make this a meal, have it for lunch and compliment it with a whole grain roll or soup.

Servings: 2
Active Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons, divided
2 thin slices prosciutto
¾ cups sweet cherries, pitted and halved, divided
2 teaspoons raspberry vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped shallot
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
3 cups torn frisée or curly endive
2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese

Spinach Quinoa Salad with Roasted Grapes, Pears & Almonds

This salad is wonderful as a full meal because it is filling and packed with protein and fiber to keep you satisfied. But feel free to also eat it as a side at dinner and cut the calories.  Considering how fulfilling this salad is, it’s actually very easy to make!  Try it and let me know what you think.

Servings: 2
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup red seedless grapes
1 large Bartlett pear, chopped
½ tablespoon honey
1 cup water
Pinch of sea salt
½ cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
4 cups fresh spinach
¼ cup chopped almonds

Lemon-Honey Dressing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ teaspoons honey
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cherry-Almond Farro Salad

This recipe, like many recipes I make, was published by Eating Well and it’s delicious!  It’s a great alternative to your typical leafy salads and it’s high in protein and fiber.

I originally made this for lunch, but feel free to also make this as a side for dinner when you’re grilling.

Servings: 2
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1/3 cup faro, rinsed
2/3 cups water
¼ teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup sweet cherries, pitted and halved
¼ cup diced ricotta salata or feta cheese
1 ½ tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon finely diced red onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint