Blueberry and Apple Salad with Parmesan

I feel like everything I’ve been eating since the middle of November has weighed at least 2 pounds per plate. Seriously, this holiday season has not been very scale friendly and I’m not a huge fan of New Years resolutions. But I am a fan of  healthy salads!

So for the next 7 days I’ll be sharing some of my favorite salad recipes with you. They’re simple, tasty and easy to prepare. This first blueberry and apple salad is packed with flavor. Full of crunchy apples, blueberries, cranberries, pistachios and sunflower seeds. This is a perfect salad for just gorging on and feeling completely satisfied when you look down at your empty bowl. I promise you’ll be chasing that last blueberry around the plate with your fork, it’s that good!

The dressing is just as simple as the salad. A light olive oil, lemon and herb vinaigrette is all it needs. Sorry dressing but the stars of this salad are the ingredients! Whatever you do don’t dowse the salad with the dressing either. Add a little drizzle at a time, you just want to make those leaves glisten.

This salad is so versatile. You could switch out the nuts if pistachios don’t rock your world, add raspberries instead of blueberries and use pear instead of apple. Look at that, I just gave you a whole new recipe for a different salad. It’s kind of a fridge clean up salad so go peek in the fridge, throw some stuff in a bowl and dress it up. You might just love the taste!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of my salads every day this week, with a huge salad round-up on the last day!

Blueberry and Apple Salad with Parmesan

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 ounces mixed greens
• 1 cup diced apple
• 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup roasted pistachios
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan for garnishing
• For The Dressing:
• 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

• Combine the Oil, lemon juice, dried basil, salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk. Set aside.
• Place the greens in a bowl. Add the apple, seeds, cranberries, pistachios and blueberries.
• Drizzle about 2 tbsp of the dressing into the bowl and toss gently. I use my hands just because I feel I can judge the amount of dressing better.
• If you think you need more dressing, add another drizzle but don't drown the salad.
• Season with some sea salt, black pepper and shave fresh Parmesan cheese over the top.
• Serve at once.

Notes

This salad makes enough for one main course or two small appetizer portions. Any fresh mixed greens will work and feel free to adjust the quantities of the ingredients, salads are very forgiving except for the dressing. Too much and the leaves will get mushy.