Arugula Tomato Salad - Oil-Free Dressing

I love the beautiful greens in this arugula tomato salad, but I decided to add cooked wild rice and pine nuts, it gave this beautiful simple greens salad a richer more filling flavor.

Arugula is a spicy green that gives a salad a perky spicy flavor. 

I started to make this Arugula tomato salad just using arugula, spinach, and cut up cherry tomatoes. I loved the look of this bright green healthy salad but I wanted more flavor. 

I decided to add wild rice and additional healthy vegetables to my salad such as sliced celery, red cabbage, parsley. blanched almonds, pine nuts, and some wild rice. The salad was filling and satisfying.

You might be thinking. "Wait"- that doesn't look like just wild rice in the photo. You are right. When I went to make the salad to photograph, I only had brown rice. Thus this photo of the salad  is with brown rice but the recipe is made with wild rice.

The wild rice is delicious, but if you don't have any you could substitute brown rice like I did.

I love the taste of the balanced almonds and the pine nuts. 

I'm always looking for new ways to keep salads interesting. I think the wild rice adds an exotic touch to this delicious salad.

What is salad without a dressing? 

I've been dressing my salads with a low calorie no oil dressings lately and loving it. 

Let me explain why. For years,  I've been noticing that many of the doctors who are writing diet books are suggesting a no-oil approach. Partly because of calories and partly for heath reasons. Initially, it sounded absolutely crazy to me; however,  the more I've been reading, the more I realize they have a point. 

The Oil-Free Thoughts

1. Oil is a processed factory-made product that is very concentrated. 

2. It is very high in calories and calorie density 

3. It has no fiber and very few nutrients

4. It's questionable (depends on which research you look at and which doctor you follow) if oil is actually good for us- yes this includes olive oil.  

4. Most agree that natural fats such as avocado, nuts, olives, and seeds are very good for you and I do include them in my diet. 

I've decided to try no-oil cooking and salad dressings. 

I've found great websites, Youtube demonstrations and recipes for inspiration. 

My Favorite Websites and Youtubes for Oil-free Recipes 

My favorite oil-free ideas and recipes come from Plentiful Kiki (link) but I love her YouTube videos the best! followed by High Carb Hannah. - Both of their recipes are based on the McDougall Diet (link) and the book The Starch Solution. 

Forks Over Knives (link) is another site that has a variety of oil-free recipes 

Fit for Life based on Dr. Joel Furhman's diet (link) also advocates oil free cooking.

I made a very simple salad dressing that I find flavorful and delicious. 

Ingredients

I use 1/4 cup of dijon mustard

1/4 cup of rice vinegar

Directions: 

Whisk them well together and pour on the salad and toss

 

Yda's Arugula Salad with Shaved Parmesan

Sweet red onion rings, slivers of colorful apple, peppery arugula, and shavings of Italian Parmesan cheese, burst with flavor when tossed in my homemade creamy lemon olive oil dressing.  This beautiful salad will delight your family and friends whether it's for a weeknight family dinner or upcoming holiday dinner.

I'm a lover of salads. In fact, we eat a salad everyday. However,  I do try to vary my greens and other ingredients to avoid boredom.

When I want to add some zing to my salads, I add a little arugula. This feathery simple green not only has a zesty taste, but it also provides powerful nutrients.

8 Healthy Salads for Entertaining

Salads are a perfect side for a Memorial Day or party or BBQ.
These gluten-free favorites are sure to please guests who want to eat light,  healthy, gluten-free, vegan/ vegetarian or just love salads!. I've rounded up some of my most popular posts that are fast, easy, and delicious still in time to make for the holiday or anytime!

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 #1 Raw Kale and Blueberry Salad with Orange Dressing

# 2  Arugula and Cashew Salad with Lemon-Mint Dressing or oil-free creamy dressing (link) 

#3                 Fresh Raw Corn and Tomato Salad ( my favorite)

#4 Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad with Balsamic Glaze

#5  Asian Quinoa Slaw Salad

#6  Sorry- Caprese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes ( not vegan) My blog is now totally vegan - this is old recipe was from when I was vegetarian. Skip if you are vegan..

#7  Avocado Caprese Salad ( Vegan) 

#8               Black Bean and Raw Corn Salad with artichokes and tomatoes 

My favorites are the Kale and blueberry with orange dressing and the vegan caprese avocado salad. 

Linked :My Blog Carnival List and Souper Sunday at Kahakai Kitchen

Pin It Please leave a comment so I know you stopped by. Scroll down to the end of the post and click on comments.

Arugula and Cashew Salad

I love the flavors of this healthy summer salad. It makes a colorful presentation and has a unique taste. If you are trying to vary the greens in your diet, arugula is a good choice.

When my mother- in- law offered me a container of baby arugula, I couldn't refuse. It is one of our favorite greens, and I knew I would put it to good use with some of the cashews I had.

Arugula is a pungent green that looks like little pieces of wild spring lettuce. Of all the salad greens, it is one of the most nutritious. 

Being a cruciferous vegetable, it provides some of the same protective health benefits as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbages. 

I decided to make a salad with tomatoes, red cabbage, cashews, and raisins!

Arugula has a somewhat light peppery flavor and gives a salad a real kick. The raw cashews give the salad some protein and good fat, while the raisins sweeten up the bitterness of the arugula. The red cabbage adds crunch and additional antioxidants making this quite a nutrient-rich side.!

Salad Ingredients
2 cups arugula 
2 cups of chopped organic romaine lettuce
1 cup of chopped purple cabbage
2  vine-ripened summer tomatoes, quartered
1 chopped green tomatillo, (which has a tangy flavor)
1/2 a chopped sweet red pepper,
1 cup sliced baby Persian cucumbers
1/4 cup each of raw cashews, chopped raw walnuts (optional), and plump dark organic raisins.

Directions: 
Mix all ingredients together and toss well.

Delicious oil-free cashew dressing (link)

Easy to make mint and lemon dressing 

I dressed the salad with my sister-in-law Joyci's original dressing recipe made with the recipe:  lemon, mint, parsley and red onion dressing
The salad was stellar and tasted as good as it looked.

With some rice crackers and hummus, my arugula salad served as lunch for two hearty salad eaters.

You could be as creative as you like making this salad and use any vegetables that are seasonal. Personally, I love to include some purple cabbage in all my salads. It not only adds some incredible phytonutrients to the mixture, but it also adds some incredible color contrast. I love the purples, greens, and reds.
It's appealing, nutritious, gluten-free, and vegan.




Enjoy with Quick and Easy Hummus Bruschetta Appetisers


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