I was looking to create a beautiful dish for a cooking class I was teaching, as well as something perfect to bring along to holiday parties. I like using different kinds of bases to my salads, and breaking the concept that a salad doesn’t need be iceberg lettuce! Salads should contain nutrients that don’t leave you feeling like you’re a rabbit. You want substance, nutrition, without the wasted calories that can be found in most salads. The beautiful colors in this harvest buckwheat salad, come from in-season Brussels sprouts, carrots, apples, fresh parsley, pumpkin seeds, as well as dried cranberries. Bursting with antioxidants, this dish is certain to brighten the table!
Hidden Calories in Salads
Some of the highest caloric foods on a restaurant menu can be a “salad”! For example, if you order off the Cheesecake Factory’s salad menu, watch out! Their Grilled Chicken Tostada Salad comes in at 1,130 calories and 2,150 mg sodium! So you thought you were making a good choice by picking the salad, not that choice! For a listing of salads with more calories than a Big Mac, check this link)! How can this happen?! Where do these calories come from? Lettuce is one of the lowest caloric foods out there, but that’s not where you calories are coming from. It’s in the cheeses, dressings, meats, oil sautéed veggies, the caramelized nuts made with butter and sugars. Then, check out the sodium levels! News flash, it’s not healthy.
Healthy Salad Dressing
Skip the ranch and thousand island dressing, and make a light, refreshing dressing using just balsamic vinegar. For our weeknight salads, that’s simply all we use. Various flavored vinegars from a local store make the perfect salad topping. If you’re out at a restaurant and you’re ordering a salad, ask for balsamic vinegar on the side as your dressing (not balsamic vinaigrette, just the vinegar). If you’re feeling fancy, you can whip up this quick oil free dressing, sweetened with dates and apple cider. For a few other choices, check out my oil free balsamic vinaigrette, my carrot ginger dressing, or miso dressing.
What is Buckwheat?
Buckwheat is a gluten free seed. It’s popular in Eastern European cuisine, typically roasted as kasha. Here, I use in its un-roasted form. You can buy it in bulk, or on line, and it’s sold as buckwheat groats. It’s hight in plant-based protein, since it’s a seed. It’s very low in calories, and makes the perfect replacement to dishes calling for couscous or quinoa (and it’s less money than quinoa).
Do-Ahead Ideas
I hope you enjoy this as much as everyone I have served it to has! Double it to bring to a holiday. The dressing and buckwheat can be made ahead, and you can pre-chop/shred all of the ingredients other than the apple to save on day-of prep time! Mix ingredients together before serving. This salad lasts for 5-7 days in the fridge (if you haven’t eaten it all by then).
Serves 10-12 side servings, easy to double for a holiday
Ingredients:
Apple Cider Dressing:
- 6 tbsp apple cider
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (I use raw Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar)
- 3 dates, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, pitted, and drained
- 1/4 tsp salt
- scant 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic (about 1 tbsp)
- 3 tbsp minced red onion or shallot
Reminder of salad ingredients:
- 1 cups buckwheat groats
- 4 cups water (plus a pinch of salt to the water)
- 1/4 cup of pumpkin, sunflower seeds or a combo of both
- 2 cups Brussels sprouts, shredded/chopped
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 firm apple, of your choice, about 1 cup chopped
- 1 cup juice-sweetened (not sugar) craisins, soaked until plump, and then drained-if you can’t find these, use raisins, or another dried fruit, dried without added sugars (preferably w/o oil, although hard to find in a craisin)
- fresh black pepper and salt to taste
Instructions:
- Bring pot of water up to a boil, add in buckwheat and cook until tender to taste but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Drain excess water. Set aside and let cool. This can be made a day or 2 ahead.
- Place dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Place 2 cups of Brussels sprouts into a food processor, and pulse until lightly shredded. Do the same for your carrots. I find the shredding attachment on my food processor to work the best for this.
- Place salad ingredients into a large bowl, and mix. Add in salad dressing, mixing as desired.
Add 1/2 cup of dressing to start, and taste. Add remaining dressing if desired, making sure not to make salad mushy (you may be left with a few tbsp of dressing. Use this for a traditional salad!). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
- Great as a stand alone salad, or place on top of additional greens, like a massaged kale salad! Add in some Butternut Squash Soup, and you’ve got the perfect harvest meal!
Nutritional Benefits:
- Oil and saturated fat free-perfect for heart health
- High in fiber, great for regulating blood sugar, digestive health, and satiety
- Full of antioxidants to boost immunity and fight disease
- No refined ingredients, whole-food, plant based, fights inflammation
If you like this salad, you’ll also love my Buckwheat Tabbouleh, Quinoa Confetti, and Moroccan Massaged Kale. For a colorful rice salad, try my Rainbow Rice Salad too!
- 6 tbsp apple cider
- 1 tbsp mustard
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 dates, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, pitted, and drained
- ¼ tsp salt
- scant ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic (about 1 tbsp)
- 3 tbsp minced red onion or shallot
- 1 cups buckwheat groats
- 4 cups water (plus a pinch of salt to the water)
- ¼ cup of pumpkin, sunflower seeds or a combo of both
- 2 cups Brussels sprouts, shredded/chopped
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 firm apple, of your choice, about 1 cup chopped
- 1 cup craisins, soaked until plump, and then drained
- fresh black pepper and salt to taste
- Bring pot of water up to a boil, add in buckwheat and cook until tender to taste but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Drain excess water. Set aside and let cool. This can be made a day or 2 ahead.
- Place dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Place 2 cups of Brussels sprouts into a food processor, and pulse until lightly shredded. Do the same for your carrots. I find the shredding attachment on my food processor to work the best for this.
- Place salad ingredients into a large bowl, and mix. Add in salad dressing, mixing as desired. Add ½ cup of dressing to start, and taste. Add remaining dressing if desired, making sure not to make salad mushy (you may be left with a few tbsp of dressing. Use this for a traditional salad!). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Do you think I could substitute pearl barley for the groats?
yes Janel, will take a little longer to cook, but should be similar
I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving! I have oat groats I would like to use up, would those work?
Thank you
yes, oat groats would work too! Cook them pasta method until done. Enjoy!
Is the first ingredient supposed to be apple juice or apple cider vinegar? Vinegar is listed twice
The recipe states apple cider (the juice) listed first. I will add the word juice to help clarify. Thank you and hope you enjoy!