Now that I have a roommate living with me, we are trying to get into a cooking routine and take turns cooking, which is nice for both of us. Rhonda eats mostly Paleo, which is a way of eating that I’m not completely well-versed on (although my sister and brother-in-law are eating that way too). I do know that Paleo diets consist of lots of meat, veggies and fruits, some dairy, and no grains or legumes. I think some do rice, but no pasta. Anyway, it’s hard to keep up with all of these type diets and I am not committed to any one of them, but I want to try to eat healthier this year.
Sugar is by far the hardest thing for me to cut out and there is so much sugar in everything these days that you really have to read labels to see it all. And I’m so not good with reading labels. Trying to get better with that too. If you don’t eat out of a box, you can surely control the sugar a lot more, that I do know. So cooking from scratch is something that we are doing more of around here. I’ve cooked from scratch many times over the last few years, but I want to be more intentional about not using shortcut items too, that may have hidden preservatives and sugar in them.
One of my friends, Lynn, who is vegan, made this salad for me at her house one night and I just LOVED it. So, I’m sharing it with all of you. Lynn said she made it up and if so, she needs to be a chef, perhaps, because the flavors in this salad are delish. This is one healthy salad.
There is one prepackaged part to this, frozen veggies from Trader Joe’s, so I’m hoping you all can find this (or something similar) at a local store, but if not, you could always roast your own eggplant and zucchini in the oven and that would probably be even better. We have a Trader Joe’s and I’m just now getting into shopping there, but you probably have your own organic type grocery store in your area. I do prefer to buy frozen veggies over canned ones when fresh are not available.
Roasted Veggies Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen eggplant and zucchini from Trader Joe's or fresh cut
- 1 sweet potato peeled and sliced into chunks
- 1 package fresh baby spinach
- Sliced almonds
- Dried cranberries
Instructions
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Roast the veggies in the oven until brown and done
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Layer spinach leaves on a large platter.
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Cover with roasted veggies
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Mix up dressing and pour over all.
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Add dried cranberries and toasted almonds, salt and pepper.
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Dressing:
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Four TBL olive oil
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Two TBL Balsamic vinegar
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Two TBL honey
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Whisk together and pour over salad
This is a frozen package from Trader Joe’s called Misto alla Griglia, a mix of marinated grilled eggplant and zucchini. I will definitely be making this in the summer when my parent’s garden comes in, since they grow both of these.  My dad grows sweet potatoes too, so I used one of those fresh from his garden.
Lay out the frozen veggies and cook according to the package directions. They are already grilled, but frozen. I left mine in a little too long and they got really brown.
One peeled and chopped sweet potato.
Place on a baking pan and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. Roast in oven about 30 min. until they start to brown.
Prepare fresh spinach leaves on a big platter.
Mix up the salad dressing (recipe below).
Take out the roasted veggies from the oven and you are ready to assemble.
The finished salad, ready to eat. All of these flavors are really scrumptious together with the fresh oil and vinegar dressing and the addition of the sliced almonds and dried cranberries.
Tasty and healthy, these are the kinds of recipes I love to discover. So, thanks to my friend, Lynn, I have a new one in my recipe file. Hope you’ll try this one too if you are looking for new and tasty recipes.
I love eating healthy, but don’t like to sacrifice flavor either and this one has it all.
Are you trying to eat healthier this year too?
We have been eating on the Paleo plan a long time. We are on it 90 per cent of the time – not for weight loss but for health. We leave 10 per cent of our eating for special treats on certain days. We always eat healthy and work out a lot, but this just takes the healthy eating up a notch. I miss bread….Have you tried the chocolate covered frozen bananas at Trader Joe’s? Dark choc is okay.
I am on day 15 of vegan eating. My husband and I are just testing it to see if it makes any substantial changes in the way we feel. It has been a pretty big jump. This salad looks wonderful, thank you so much for sharing it. The non-vegan part of me wants to throw a little goat cheese on it!
This looks delicious!
My children will eat roasted veggies all day! I don’t cook them as much as I should, because it takes so long to chop. Oh, what I would give for a Trader Joe’s!
Your veggies look cozy and warm for a cold day!
Sounds delicious! I am definitely going to try it. Thanks!
Gorgeous salad! I will be trying this one today.
Love the recipes you bring us Rhoda because they are always so good! This one is another must try! Yes, trying to eat healthier this year too. Sugar? Sodas? That is harder. Trying to drink more water and then allow a cheat every once in a while. I’ve heard frozen bananas blended in a blender is great and smooth like ice cream!
My hubby has been following the Paleo diet for a year now…not so much to lose weight, but to adhere to a healthier way of eating…not that he didn’t eat healthy before….I have gotten used to it…but I must admit…I cheat on the weekends!!….The salad looks wonderful…thanks for the recipe as I will be making it soon!!
That looks scrumptious!! My guys won’t eat it; eggplant–eewww. But right up my alley, so I get to eat more than once, lol. Can’t wait to try it.
This salad looks awesome! I roast a lot of vegetables & we eat heathy most of the time so this recipe will be a great addition to my recipe collection. Thanks, Rhonda!
Just ate this for dinner, it was delicious! Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Great recipe..fixed this for dinner tonight..yum…me…so good and easy to make..
I have wanted to comment so many times as I watched your lovely home take shape and your wonderful parents helping you to make your dream a reality…made me miss my mom and daddy so much…your dad reminds me so much of my dad..such talent…cherish your time with them..
The recipe doesn’t show how many tablespoons of the ingredients. Thanks for sharing, it looks yummy. We love roasted and grilled veggies at our house.
In the comment above I meant for the dressing.
Thanks for noticing that, Cindy! I updated it, for some reason that form doesn’t like numbers.