Apple Carrot Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
Apple Carrot Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
When I’m short on time and need an easy side dish for dinner, this recipe pops into my mind. I often have these ingredients around so Wa-Lah! I love grated carrot with all it’s moisture, wholesome goodness. I can eat a lot more grated carrot than a bunch of baby carrots or carrot sticks. This concoction brings together so many favorite ingredients that taste so wonderful when combined like apples, grapes, coconut, celery, almonds and the dressing is just sweet enough to please everyone.
Eating carrots is not just good for your eyes/night vision, although that’s a pretty good perk for all that orange pigment called carotenoid. Carotenoids are a large class of pigments (over 600) and are found abundantly in orange, red and yellow fruits and vegetables. They provide antioxidant protection for the heart, blood vessels and have also been shown to reduce the incidence of certain cancers. They are best absorbed in the presence of some kind of fat. Certain carotenoids, including beta-carotene found in carrots, convert to vitamin A which provides additional immunity building, growth and development.
Don’t just eat your GREENS! You also need to eat your ORANGES!
- Apple Carrot Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
- 3 cups grated carrot
- 2 cups diced apple, skins on (I love PinkLady, Jonagold, Fuji or Gala)
- 2 cups halved red grapes
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice from about 2 lemons)
- 2 Tbsp agave nectar
- 2 tsp diced onion
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
- Combine carrot, apple, grapes, celery and coconut in a medium bowl. Toss to combine.
- For the Dressing: Combine lemon juice, agave nectar, onion, mustard and salt in container of food processor fitted with a metal blade. Cover and process until smooth. With the chute open and machine running, pour olive oil in a slow steady stream to incorporate. Add poppy seeds and process just a few more pulses to mix.
- Pour dressing over carrot mixture, tossing to combine. When ready to serve, top with sliced almonds.