Orange Thyme Salad with Beets & Walnuts

Sick of salads? Sounds like you need some inspiration...try out any of these healthy recipes.

So dig into those recipes and...here it is...actually make one of them! Or at least let the recipe guide your next meal. That's what I did with the following recipe—I took the basic principle and ingredients of the recipe, just changed a few things to fit my taste (and what I had on hand).

The original recipe for this salad (found here—do yourself a favor and check out this woman's food photography—totally gorgeous) came from a raw food blog. While I eat a diet high in raw foods, I am not exclusively a "raw foodist" by any stretch, and I don't have a dehydrator which the original recipe requires. So I changed a few things in order to suit my own needs and preferences.

INGREDIENTS

(adapted from Rawmazing)

Makes 2 large meal salads

2 medium beets, sliced and then quartered

Balsamic vinegar & olive oil

4-5 cups greens (I used arugula)

Segments of 1 orange

FOR THE DRESSING

Juice of 1 navel orange

1 tsp orange zest

1 tsp dried shallots (I would use fresh if I had one on hand)

1 T fresh thyme

1 tsp whole grain dijon mustard

3 T olive oil

FOR THE WALNUTS

1/2 cup walnuts

1 tsp orange zest

1 T maple syrup (use the real deal)

Sprinkle of sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss beets with a sprinkle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt. I never peel my beets, but feel free to do so. *I chose not to fully glaze these beets. There are already a lot of sweet elements in this salad (beets, orange slices, orange juice, walnuts, maple syrup), so I reduced some of the sweetness along the way.

Roast beets until they begin to soften and brown, about 30-40 minutes. Be sure to give them a toss throughout cook time so the bottoms don't burn.

As those cook, blend all dressing ingredients together in a blender. *I left the walnuts from the original recipe out of the dressing, but if you'd like a creamier dressing, you can add about 1/3 cup walnuts to the blender.

Combine walnut ingredients in a small bowl and give them a toss. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread walnuts out evenly on sheet. Put in preheated oven until slightly browned and fragrant—only about 5 minutes or so. Keep your eyes on the walnuts, because they will burn quickly!

Add greens to a large mixing bowl and toss with the dressing. Then add orange segments, beets, and walnuts and toss again.

I served this salad with roasted Brussels sprouts (roasted same time as the beets). This salad would be FANTASTIC served with a little bit of goat cheese, as well. Enjoy!