Organic Strawberry & Cranberry Salad with Candied Almonds

Paleo, AIP (without almonds) & Later Stages of GAPS Friendly

This salad takes me back many years ago to summer get-togethers with friends. It is refreshing, colorful, sweet and savory all in one. Whenever we had a potluck style fellowship, this dish always showed up. I remember devouring it because it was so delicious!

The ingredients the original recipe used, I don’t eat anymore so I have revamped this beloved recipe of mine to make it Paleo friendly and now it is chock full of vitamins, minerals and clean fats along with loads of antioxidants for your vitality!

Let Your Friends Try It – Bring It This Unique Salad Along to Your Next Gathering

This is a quick and easy side dish to bring to potlucks because it can be thrown together in about 20 minutes. You can dress and toss the salad once you arrive at your destination so it doesn’t arrive soggy.

You can leave out the candied almonds if you cannot eat nuts and I promise you will still enjoy this mouthwatering salad. I personally have to eat this without the candied almonds since I don’t tolerate nuts and it is still delightful.

Be Prepared – You Will be Asked for the Recipe!

Since I replaced the not-so-healthy ingredients from the original recipe with healthy ingredients, I thought it would be best to share with you what I used and where I get these healthy foods. Check out the box below to learn more!

Be sure to buy your greens (especially if there is spinach in the mix) and strawberries organic because they are on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list which means they were tested to be extremely high for toxic pesticides and herbicides that cause cancer and other diseases.
Dried Cranberries It’s hard to find dried cranberries that aren’t soaked in GMO sugar to make them sweeter. I like these dried cranberries because not only are they organic, but they are sweetened with apple juice rather than refined sugar!
Organic Raw Almonds It’s really important to buy organic almonds because when they’re not organic they have been irradiated which kills all the natural enzymes which make them healthy. Also, when they are raw, they have not been roasted and coated with all kinds of unhealthy ingredients. Here is where I like to get my raw organic almonds.
Coconut sugar is a staple in our house now. It has replaced refined sugar and is among our top favorite wholesome sweetener along with raw local honey. This is my favorite kind of coconut sugar.
Organic Red Wine Vinegar Before my healthy days, I didn’t realize that I needed to buy my red wine vinegar organic because the non-organic version (which is made from grapes) contained high amounts of herbicides and pesticides. This is my favorite brand of red wine vinegar as well as my favorite place to buy it.
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Personally I love this brand because it tastes amazing and it sold in a dark bottle which helps this extra fragile oil from going rancid.
Raw Local Honey We always have a gallon or two of this on hand that I get at my local apiary. If you want to see if you have an apiary near you, check here. If you don’t you can get great raw honey here.
Pink Salt or Sea Salt Be sure you are using a healthy salt in your diet. This is one of my favorite kinds.

As you can see, I LOVE Thrive Market for getting all my organic, whole-food ingredients at up to 50% less than retail. If you want to start a free 30-day trial, click below.

Here’s the Recipe for An Awesome Organic Strawberry & Cranberry Salad with Candied Almonds

Organic Strawberry and Cranberry Salad with Candied Almonds

Author: Jennifer @ www.feastingonjoy.com

Recipe type: Salad

Prep time: 20 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

Salad

4-6 C. Organic Mixed Greens, loosely packed
1- 1½ C. Organic Strawberries, coarsely chopped
¼ C. Dried Cranberries, *not sugar sweetened, not Craisins
1 C. Almonds, slivered or sliced
¼ C. Coconut Sugar

Dressing

¼ C. Organic Red Wine Vinegar
½ C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp. Raw Local Honey
¾ tsp. Sea Salt

Instructions

For the Salad:

Mix the organic greens, organic strawberries and dried cranberries together in a large bowl. In a skillet combine the almonds with the coconut sugar over low-medium heat. You will heat these until the sugar starts melting. Stir until all the almonds are coated with sugar and sugar is thoroughly melted. Monitor your pan and heat so you are sure not to burn the sugar or almonds. Pour out almond mixture onto parchment paper to cool. They will crisp up. Once they are cool place them into the salad mixture.

For the Dressing:

Whisk together the organic red wine vinegar, organic extra virgin olive oil, raw honey and sea salt.
Toss the salad with the dressing when you are ready to serve

Notes

This salad is best using Organic Mixed Greens or Organic Spinach not iceberg or romaine as they are too watery. Plus, mixed greens and spinach have a better vitamin and mineral profile than iceberg or romaine.

Strawberries & Cranberries – They Just Go Together

Whether you are in need of a nutrient-dense side dish for your family for dinner or a light lunch or a quick dish to take to your next gathering, this salad will do the trick. I dare you to try it! If you do, let me know how you like it by commenting down below and rating the recipe! Enjoy.