Hi Everyone,
Today I teamed up with Dole to share with you heart healthy recipes. You do know that February is National Heart Healthy month. However, I truly believe that every month should be a heart healthy month. You need to eat more fruits and vegetables. I know that I need to eat more fruits and vegetables too! Now that spring is just around the corner, that means fresh produce will be coming our way. Spring is my favorite time of the year because of trees and flowers blooming as well as freshly picked produce.
For my heart healthy recipe I made Blueberry and Steak Salad with a simple homemade blueberry dressing. Everything in this recipe is heart healthy. For the base of the salad I used Dole’s 50/50 salad mix which is 50% spring mix and 50% baby spinach. It’s full of vitamins and nutrients. I also topped my salad with lean sirloin that has been grilled to perfection. The sirloin contains protein which is great for the body and helps promote strong muscles. Plus protein is filling too. The blueberries are low-calorie, full of antioxidants and fiber. One of my favorite little berries.
The salad also contains healthy fat such as walnuts and goat cheese. A little bit of these healthy fats is great for the body because it promotes healthy hair and nails. I noticed when I went on a low-fat diet a couple of years ago, my hair got brittle. Once I brought it back in small doses, my hair got shiny again. Protein is also great for the hair too!
The dressing is loaded with flavor and a little bit goes a long way. It’s made with fresh blueberries, balsamic vinegar and dash of sugar and olive oil. You could use stevia if you prefer over sugar, but honestly I have been doing so much better on my diet using real sugar over stevia. But this recipe only contains a half a teaspoon of sugar. The olive oil, is a healthy fat too! I just love this salad. It put me in the spring mood. I know most of you are having cold weather and snow, but in Northern California it has been in the 70’s. Spring fever has hit!
I am happy that Dole is promoting healthy heart month. I didn’t realize but Dole not only has banana’s and pineapple but they also have a ton of fresh fruits, like blueberries, strawberries, plums, peaches, grapes and more. Plus they also have a large selection of fresh vegetables, like onions potatoes, radishes, mushrooms and salad mixes. I loved their bagged salad mixes too! Lots of different varieties that are perfect for lunches.
I wanted to let you know that this salad would also make a great side salad. You could skip the steak and just make little portions to go with your dinner. I was really surprised, but when I put the salad together, my Husband told me he couldn’t wait to try it. Really? Your excited for a salad? He saw me making the dressing and I think he was intrigued by it. Funny how that is. You know, it’s so much healthier to make your own salad dressing than buying it. You can change-up the flavors by adding a little bit of dijon mustard or adding other fruits to it. It’s a great base for a dressing. Try it with strawberries instead of blueberries!
- Serves: 4
- Serving size: ¼ of the recipe
- Calories: 413
- Fat: 15
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Sugar: 4
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 31
- Cholesterol: 82
- 12 oz lean sirloin steak
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- Dressing:
- 1 cup Dole blueberries, divided
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salad:
- 4 cups Dole 50/50 Spring Mix and Baby Spinach
- ¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- Heat grill to medium.
- Rub steak with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle pepper.
- Place on grill and cook each side for 6 minutes for medium cooked. Once cooked, take the steak off the grill and cover with aluminium foil. Let the steak rest for 5 minutes. Slice against the grain into thin strips.
- To make dressing: In a blender or food processor, add half a cup of blueberries, sugar and balsamic dressing; process until combined. With the food processor on, slowly add the olive oil. Taste it to see if you need to add a dash of salt and pepper.
- Between 4 plates, evenly divide the Dole 50/50 Spring Mix and Baby Spinach, cooked steak, walnuts, blueberries and goat cheese. Pour dressing over the top
Dole also provided me with a couple of recipes that I wanted to share with you. They are heart healthy and looks so delicious!
Heart and Hand Tarts – So adorable! They would be great in lunches.
You can check out other great, good for you recipes on Dole’s website. Just go to the following links:
I hope everyone is getting healthy! I have been trying! Eating healthy salads, fresh fruit smoothies and I have been walking. I feel great!
Toodles,
Jennifer
This has been a paid post. All opinions are my own.
Yum. I love steak salad and the addition of the blueberries is perfect.
Thank you so much Marlene! 🙂