Bright and tangy fruit and nut summer salad with blackberries, raspberries, cherry tomatoes, avocado and toasted hazelnuts – all dressed in a simple balsamic vinaigrette  

May I present to you my fruit and nut summer salad – also known as my throw-whatever-I-found-in-the fridge-that-goes-together-in-a-bowl summer salad.

You feel me?

Before we get to that though, how was your weekend?

Mike and I celebrated our 2nd (!!!) wedding anniversary this Saturday. I worked for most of the morning, but later in the day we drove out to the countryside and went on a little walk through the moors. After we got home I got to sit back with my feet up while Mike put himself to work making me pizza from scratch (which reminds me that I need to put up our pizza crust recipe soon!). No other way I’d rather spend the day.

It made for a nice change to have him make me food for once. It’s not that he’s opposed to cooking, it’s just that he’s been physically unable to for such a long time. His PoTS makes cooking difficult because it’s a condition that causes your heart rate to rise while your blood pressure drops when you move to an upright position. This leads to dizziness, sweating and fainting  just from standing for too long.

Thinking back to our wedding day two years ago we had a genuine concern that he wouldn’t be able to stand for the whole ceremony. That was before he was diagnosed with PoTS and had no idea why standing still made him dizzy while walking around wasn’t as much of a problem. While he still has a ways to go as far as health goes, it’s nice to realize how much he’s improved since then.

About This Summer Salad

Ok now salad talk!

I have the Flavor Thesaurus to thank for this particular creation. This and many of the recipes I share on my blog actually. It’s probably my number one go-to kitchen tool at the moment because I just love it so much. It’s basically exactly what it sounds like – a comprehensive list of foods and flavor pairings with the occasional recipe idea sprinkled throughout the book.

I find it especially useful when I need to clear out the fridge and I’m not sure what to do with what I’ve got.  Which is exactly how this salad was born. A quick browse through the index and I gathered together everything I had that went with the carton of raspberries I needed to use. Blackberries, avocado, hazelnuts, mint, tomatoes, soft cheese. YUM!

Yield: 5 servings

Simple Fruit & Nut Summer Salad

4.7 Stars (3 Reviews)

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

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Bright and tangy fruit and nut summer salad with blackberries, raspberries, cherry tomatoes, avocado and toasted hazelnuts - all dressed in a simple balsamic vinaigrette | Paleo, Grain Free, Low Carb

Ingredients

Salad

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• 2 cups salad greens, I used watercress & arugula
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 cup fresh blackberries
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 fresh mint, roughly chopped
• 2 peaches, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 6 ounces goats cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

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• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• salt and pepper

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

1. Combine the salad greens, berries, tomatoes, mint and peaches to a large bowl and gently toss to combine. Top with the diced avocado, cheese and nuts.
2. Add all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette to a small jar, cover and shake to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Just before serving, drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

5

Serving Size:

salad
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 399Saturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 137mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 8gSugar: 13gProtein: 10g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Salads Cuisine: American