Earlier this month, I was in the beautiful beachside town of La Jolla, California for a friend’s wedding. Sunday morning I wanted to explore La Jolla a bit and strolled over to the nearby Hillcrest Farmer’s Market.
I always love seeing how farmers’ markets vary from city to city, from the vendors and food options to local bakeries and shops selling their goods. Thankfully as I was wandering through this farmers’ markets, I stumbled upon the Terra Bella Ranch booth that neatly displayed an array of dried fruits and nuts.
What caught my eye the most were their red walnuts – something I had never seen until that very moment!
Walnuts are known to be one of the healthiest nuts available, but red walnuts offer even more nutritional value/ The red skin automatically adds antioxidants while still serving as an excellent source of protein, fiber, vitamin E, magnesium and Omega-3s.
Nutritional Benefits
Walnuts: Walnuts, in general, are a great source of omega-3 fats, which help promote bone health and stabilize moods (tip for the ladies: munch on walnuts if you tend to get grumpy during that time of the month). Walnuts are also rich in zinc, which helps maintain collagen to keep your skin smooth and firm.
Beets: With zero trans fat and no saturated fat, beets are very good for cardiovascular health. Beets contain plenty of vitamin C and about 7% of the daily potassium requirements – potassium lowers heart rate and regulates metabolism inside cells.
Spinach: These leafy greens are an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, magnesium, folate, manganese, iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B2, potassium and vitamin B6.
Raisins: While the antioxidants in raisins are beneficial to men and women, the high levels of Boron in raisins is extremely beneficial to women. Boron is essential for bone health and is sometimes used to help fight the onset of Osteoporosis.
Blueberries: These berries are said to help reduce belly fat as well as risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. Blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity of all fresh fruit and are rich in copper, which is an effective immune builder with anti-bacterial properties.
- Vibrant Antioxidant Salad
- What You’ll Need:
- ½ cup of golden raisins
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ a lemon
- 6 beets, golden or red, steamed
- 4 tbsp. of red walnuts (halved)
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 3 tbsp. of aged balsamic vinegar
- 1 plastic bag (I used two sandwich sized bags but I’d recommend 1 of the Gallon size bags)
- Begin by putting the golden raisins and blueberries in a plastic bag and add the juice from one half lemon. Give it a little shake just to make sure the lemon juice coats the raisins and blueberries. Set aside while you rinse the beets and slice them into quarters.
- Add the beets to the raisin, blueberry and lemon juice mixture so they can soak a bit while you wash, dry and tear the spinach leaves. Add the spinach, the halved red walnuts (or regular walnuts if you can’t find the red variety) and the balsamic vinegar. Seal the plastic bag tightly and shake to combine all of the ingredients. Pour the contents of the bag onto a plate and serve!
35 Comments
Olga @ mangotomato
October 7, 2011 at 3:36 pmgreat combo: love adding nuts and berries to the salads. but then you also used beets: some of my favorite root vegetables.
I’ve never had red walnuts before!
Betty @ scrambled hen fruit
September 17, 2011 at 12:52 amNever heard of these gorgeous walnuts, but they sure do add to this beautiful salad! I could eat a salad like this every day. 🙂
Kay
September 14, 2011 at 7:03 pmPretty! I love salads with lots of “stuff” haha.
Lisa @ Tarte du Jour
September 14, 2011 at 8:51 amColorful, healthy and delicious! What a delicious salad!
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
September 14, 2011 at 7:40 amSuch a great colorful salad. California Farmers Markets are so great. I liked candied walnuts on a salad. Do you think that cooks the nutrients right out?
Laura
September 16, 2011 at 1:43 pmHi Barbara, thanks for your comment. I looked this up just to be sure and apparently, the nutritional value of walnuts changes only slightly (and insignificantly) when roasted, toasted or baked for short periods of time.
Here’s more info if you’re interested: http://bit.ly/mV1Qit
Kitchen Belleicious
September 14, 2011 at 7:16 amred velvet walnuts? What? I must get me some- how cool is that. This salad looks amazing!
chopinandmysaucepan
September 14, 2011 at 12:47 amThe colours looks so vibrant and healthy! Looks like Superman’s salad and I’m not sure if all the toxins in my body can take this ultra shake up 🙂
Junia @ Mis Pensamientos
September 13, 2011 at 11:16 pmthis is the beauty salad! antioxidant powerhouse = beauty :D. i lOVE putting berries in my salads. i switch btwn strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries, depending on what i can find organic.
Roz@weightingfor50
September 13, 2011 at 10:09 pmThat is ONE delicous looking salad Laura. Thanks for the inspiration to eat more color!!! And Maris, hope you are doing well.
NancyC
September 13, 2011 at 10:02 pmThat’s a beautiful salad–love all the colors in it! I didn’t know there was such a thing as red walnuts, either! I’ve heard how beautiful La Jolla is, but haven’t had a chance to go there yet.
Baking Serendipity
September 13, 2011 at 9:56 pmLa Jolla is one of my favorite places on earth. I’ve never been to their farmer’s market, but I can imagine it is fantastic! This salad looks like the perfect late summer lunch 🙂
Joanne
September 13, 2011 at 9:31 pmI love seeing farmer’s markets whenever I’m traveling also. it’s always great when you locate a fun find like those walnuts! What a fabulous salad! You must have been exuding health after eating this!
lisa {smart food and fit}
September 13, 2011 at 8:49 pmNever heard of red walnuts, glad you shared that with us. This is such a wonderful recipe that is so nutrient dense. I love it, very colorful and creative! Yummo!
Pudding Pie Lane
September 13, 2011 at 7:27 pmI love farmers markets and the different array of foods to find these, shame I’ve never come across these but I’ll keep on the lookout 🙂 Great salad too!
Cakelaw
September 13, 2011 at 5:32 pmWhat a gorgeous looking salad – and a great way to get some anti-oxidants into the diet.
Heather @ Get Healthy with Heather
September 13, 2011 at 1:49 pmRed walnuts?! How cool! This looks beautiful and refreshing. Love how salads are so energizing.
Susan
September 13, 2011 at 12:46 pmWhat a gorgeous salad packed full of nutrition and what a gorgeous place to find them. La Jolla is so beautiful and San Diego is such a fun place to visit. I wonder why I’ve never seen red walnuts before! I do try to eat a small handful of walnuts every day around lunch time. Great snack.
Elle
September 13, 2011 at 10:05 amThis is so beautiful…. and I bet it is just as delicious. I have never seen red walnuts either. I am one of the few people I know who like walnuts and I eat them often.
Rachel @ Not Rachael Ray
September 13, 2011 at 9:17 amGreat post! This looks delicious and I’m sure my body would appreciate something like this. I’ve never heard of red walnuts, how interesting!
Blond Duck
September 13, 2011 at 5:47 amHappy Tuesday!
Angie@Angiesrecipes
September 13, 2011 at 4:17 amI have never seen nor heard of those red walnuts….the salad looks gorgeous!
Claire @ Un Bello Aperitivo
September 13, 2011 at 4:12 amAs soon as I saw the picture in this post, I thought in my head, “Ooooo…that’s what I want for lunch!”
I’ve never heard of red walnuts; it’d be interesting to see if they taste any different.
Daryl
September 13, 2011 at 3:50 amThis salad is absolutely gorgeous and I love everything in it!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen
September 12, 2011 at 9:52 pmWhoa! I am suddenly and unmistakenly smitten with these walnets and must have them!!
Erika - The Teenage Taste
September 12, 2011 at 8:56 pmSalads like this make me wonder why people say salads are boring. I love this! 😀
alyssa - fashion fitness foodie
September 12, 2011 at 8:51 pmthat salad is so pretty! ive never seen red walnuts! I’ve actually never heard of them
Sue/the view from great island
September 12, 2011 at 8:41 pmI’ve always heard that the more naturally colorful the food, the more healthy it is for you. I have to find red walnuts, I’ve never heard of them— I just sent away for black walnuts and can’t wait to try them.
Laura
September 13, 2011 at 8:28 pmSue, black walnuts sound interesting as well. Where are they grown? Are they suppose to taste different than regular brown walnuts?
polwig
September 12, 2011 at 7:41 pmThese look beautiful and I am sure are super tasty and healthy. BTW the girl on the Sheraton Add looks a lot like you, is it?
Blond Duck
September 12, 2011 at 7:25 pmIt’s so pretty!
Juliana
September 12, 2011 at 6:50 pmMaris, what a beautiful and healthy salad…never seen the red walnuts…
Hope you have a wonderful week ahead 🙂
Heather @girlichef
September 12, 2011 at 6:37 pmSo beautiful! I never even knew that there was such a thing as red walnuts. Would love this salad.
Shilpa Sharma
September 12, 2011 at 6:00 pmWhat beautiful colours on a plate…gorgeous…I thought walnuts only came in a shade of brown 🙂 they are great combined with blueberries…
Three-Cookies
September 12, 2011 at 4:33 pmI have never seen nor heard of those red velvet walnuts. They seem awesome