Why We Like It

An Eat REAL America member request for a homemade healthy raspberry vinaigrette inspired us to come up with this absolutely delicious salad dressing. Of course, we had to have a flavor-loaded salad to go with it! This dressing would also be fantastic on some of our other salads such as the Toasted Walnut Berry Kale Salad and the Grape Fig and Walnut Salad.

Make the Dressing:

1 cup raspberries (fresh or thawed if frozen)
1/4 cup olive oil (or plain nonfat Greek yogurt, see quick tip)
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp onion powder (or granulated onion)
1/4 tsp salt

Add to a small food processor and blend until well combined. Set aside.

Toast the Nuts:

1/2 cup chopped pecans (or other variety of nut such as walnuts or almonds)
1 tsp pure maple syrup (OPTIONAL)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (OPTIONAL)

Add the nuts to a small dry skillet over medium heat. (If desired, add the cinnamon and maple syrup to make candied pecans.) Cook and stir the nuts frequently until toasted and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

Put it all Together:

6 to 8 cups romaine lettuce (or greens of your choice)
1 small red onion (thinly sliced, about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup raspberries (fresh)
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh)
1/2 cup strawberries (fresh and sliced or chopped)
1/4 cup feta cheese (or goat cheese, or cheese of your choice)

Add greens to a large bowl and then add all of the toppings, including the toasted nuts. Gently toss to combine.

Serve and Enjoy!

Add dressing to the entire salad and toss to combine, or let each person add about 2 Tbsp of dressing to their individual salads.

Quick Tips

Substituting the oil for plain nonfat Greek yogurt also works great and will change the nutritional information to be 135 calories and 8 grams of fat (1.2 g saturated fat) for one serving.