RECIPE

Antipasto Salad Recipe

Salads are a great refreshing and light meal in the summer months.

While salads are an easy option for getting in your daily dose of veggies, they can also quickly become a high calorie meal. Toppings like bacon bits, croutons, candied nuts, and extra cheese can end up adding excess fat, sugars and enriched carbs to what would have been a great whole food option.

Salad dressings also typically contain high amounts of sodium. Some great ways to limit those additional calories is to make your own dressing, buy your choice of organic and dark, leafy greens (for an extra vitamin boost) as a salad base, and bulk it up with your own preference of high fiber, healthy fat toppings.

At Flavor & Fettle, we love a good salad. Check out this healthier version of an antipasto salad recipe below. Always feel free to throw in extra veggies of your choosing! More veggies = more yum!

Dressing:

  • 2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp of dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 tbsp of honey
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1/4 tsp of ground black pepper

Salad:

  • 2 cups of mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
  • 1, 15 oz can of artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 6 slices of reduced-fat salami
  • 4 cups of mixed salad greens
  • 2 oz of fresh mozzarella cheese

Directions:

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
  • In a large salad bowl, toss together remaining salad ingredients, besides the greens.
  • Drizzle dressing over vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
  • Serve vegetables over salad greens and cut small cubes of fresh mozzarella on top.

For anyone keeping their health in mind, increasing vegetable intake should be a top priority. Salads are an easy, simple way to do that!

Salad greens are nutrient-dense foods, low in calories, but full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber - all important for our heart and gastrointestinal health. Watercress, spinach, kale, arugula and romaine all rank amongst the most nutritious greens. Mushrooms have been shown to be a powerful antioxidant protecting our cells against damage.

Veggies are each full of their own unique nutrients and are naturally fat-free, cholesterol-free, low in sodium and high in fiber, all great for our overall well-being.

What salad mixtures are you going to try this summer? Share your favorites with us at Flavor and Fettle.

**Recipe sourced from Food.com