Blueberry & Goat Cheese Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing

We are always being told to eat healthy. Our daily servings of fruits and veggies, is listed as taking in somewhere between 2-2.5 cups of raw vegetables a day.

Incorporating this into a regular day can mean a lot of grazing on red pepper sticks, gnawing on carrots in front of the computer, and furtively sneaking a cucumber in your gin and tonic, pretending that it now counts as a ‘vegetable serving’. It’s a lot easier to make a meal out of it (the veggies, not the gin).

The “Super Foods” label has been used for a few years to popularize fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s a food marketing term that, generally speaking, applies to foods that are nutritionally dense. Superfoods aren’t going to let you see in the dark, or suddenly be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but they are full of important fats, vitamins, and minerals that are crucial to a healthy diet (not as exciting when you market it that way). Fruits and Vegetables like dark leafy greens, berries, nuts, seeds, garlic, and olive oil make the cut.

Whether you call it super food, scrumptious salad, or triathalon arugula, I find that incorporating big & bold flavors is the way to go! The easiest way to put it all together is in a well-composed salad.

Salad making is an art of its own! My advice to create a terrific salad is to keep these four points in mind:

1. Color; Bright greens, colorful fruits, richly colored vegetables, etc
2. Textures; Crunchy nuts, creamy cheese, chewy dried fruits, etc
3. Flavor; A mix of sweet/bitter/salty/sweet
4. Fats; This could be brought to the table in the form of a dressing, grilled proteins, or the addition of high fat foods like cheese or olives.

Layering these components is key. Create a colorful base (In this case, I’m using mixed leafy greens). Next, add some textures (today I found some cucumbers, pumpkin seeds, & a creamy avocado). Add in a dash of flavor, in my salad, I love the tart savory taste of the goat cheese, contrasted with sweet blueberries. Finally, on top of that, our balancing fatty component is going to be a phenomenal creamy basil dressing with a base of olive oil & greek yogurt. If your salad hits all of those notes, the layers of flavor you create will keep you coming back until the bowl is empty.

My Blueberry & Goat Cheese Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing is a lovely way to eat your “super foods”. This recipe is a nutritonal power punch: Topped with a fresh basil dressing that’s upped at least 6 notches with garlic, olive oil, & creamy greek yogurt, and then given a sweet finish with a touch of local honey. Easily adaptable, and perfect with a little bit of grilled chicken or salmon, this recipe will knock your socks off!

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Blueberry & Goat Cheese Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing

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serves 2

4 cups mixed baby greens or leafy greens of choice

3 persian cucumbers

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1 ripe avocado

2 ounces creamy goat cheese

1/4 cup toasted or raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

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dressing

1 handful fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2-1 full clove of fresh garlic (we used 1 clove because we love the taste!)

salt & pepper to taste.

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for the salad

Wash & dry your greens, cucumbers, & blueberries

Using 2 large bowls, portion out the greens equally.

Trim the ends off the cucumbers and slice into 1/4 inch pieces. Divide equally to the bowls.

Next, cut the avocado on the bias and scoop out the flesh. A great trick is to pop the seed out by coming down on it with a sharp knife and twisting. Be careful and use a kitchen towel to hold the avocado half if you’re nervous about cutting yourself!

Slice each half of the avocado into 1/4 inch pieces. Arrange on the salad in a loose fan shape.

Now, scatter the blueberries on top and add 1 ounces of goat cheese to each bowl. I like to dollop them around the greens.

Sprinkle on the pepitas and dress with the Creamy Basil Dressing.

Enjoy!

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for the dressing

In a blender, add the washed basil leaves, yogurt, olive oil, champagne vinegar, and lemon juice.

Pop in a clove of garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of honey. Add a generous pinch of salt and a few grounds of black pepper.

Close and blend on high until creamy. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Let the dressing sit for 5 minutes before using, to allow the flavors to meld.