Easy Healthy Summer Salad Recipe Pictorial

On days when I feel like having an all-raw and relatively light meal, I turn to some type of salad with a handful of raw nuts. The other day, I found a recipe for baby spinach salad with pecans and Bosc pear in a wonderful raw foods cookbook called Living Cuisine. I tweaked the recipe a bit, taking into account the ingredients that we had on hand in our kitchen, and proceeded to have a truly memorable salad meal.

If you enjoy healthy salads that provide a number of contrasting textures and flavors, I encourage you to give the following recipe a try. Did I mention that it's really good for your health? It's rich in calcium, iron, folate, healthy fatty acids, healthy protein, and complex carbohydrates, including fiber. - Ben Kim

Romaine Salad with Pecans and Bosc Pear

Makes 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

1 pound Romaine Lettuce Leaves (or you can substitute with baby spinach leaves)
1 cup chopped raw pecans
1 Bosc pear, peeled, cored, and sliced
4 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro or parsley leaves
Juice of one small lemon
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine pear slices, green onions, lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, honey or maple syrup, and sea salt in a bowl and give all ingredients a good toss. Allow ingredients to sit and marinate for about 5 minutes.

2. Add romaine leaves, chopped cilantro or parsley, pecans, and gently toss again.

Serve immediately and enjoy this light, delicious, and healthy romaine salad with pecans and Bosc pear.

This recipe was adapted from a similar recipe found in a wonderful raw foods cookbook called Living Cuisine.