Plant Based U

Fat-Free and Low Fat Vegan Plant Based Recipes

pomegranate

Pomegranate Apple Green Salad With Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

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The other day I went to a raw food potluck in Calgary and someone made this delicious salad that had a bunch of mixed vegetables and pomegranate seeds and it was quite delicious. So I thought why not make my own pomegranate salad for the holiday season?

To easily peel a pomegranate, you can cut it in half and fill a large bowl or sink full of water. Start peeling off the outer peel. The seeds will sink and the white parts will float so you can scoop them out and discard them. Once you’re done peeling everything apart you can drain the water and you’re left with pomegranate seeds.

(Or you can go to Costco and buy packages of fresh pre peeled pomegranate seeds in the refrigerated produce section if you don’t want to peel one.)

This is a really lovely salad that I designed to be really simple to make yet seem a little fancier. It’s got antioxidants from the pomegranate and the raspberries and omega 3’s from the walnuts (in the dressing).

I prefer to make all of my own salad dressings and not use any oil in them at all. So I used walnut pieces for healthy fats in this dressing. If you don’t have fresh raspberries right now, you can also use frozen. Just let them sit out for a few minutes to defrost a little first.

So let’s check out the recipe:

Raw Vegan Pomegranate Apple Green Salad

(With Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette)

Serves 2 side salads or 1 medium/large salad

Salad:

4-6 cups mixed greens
1-2 apples peeled and sliced
1-2 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
3 tbsp fresh pomegranate seeds

Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup mandarin orange juice (2 oranges)
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp broken walnut pieces
2 large medjool dates, pitted
1 tbsp Trader Joe’s orange muscat champagne vinegar/other fruit vinegar/apple cider vinegar
1/8 tsp Herbamare or salt *optional

Directions:

  1. Arrange the salad ingredients in side salad bowls or a large serving bowl.
  2. Place the salad dressing ingredients into a Vita-Mix or a blender and process until smooth.
  3. Drizzle dressing overtop of salad.
  4. Serve.

Additional Tips:

Feel free to double this recipe if you’re entertaining.

What’s your favorite holiday salad? Have you ever used pomegranates in a recipe? 

80/10/10 Recipe: Raw Vegan Pomegranate Apple Grape Juice

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FTC Notice: This blog post contains affiliate links which go towards supporting the blog. We got some delicious pomegranates from Costco this week, so I’ve been eating them different ways, snacking on the seeds, straight juice and mixed juice. Today I’m having an (80/10/10 diet approved) antioxidant rich breakfast: a bowl of raspberries and a pomegranate, red grape, apple juice. Pomegranite juice on it’s own isn’t so bad, it just has a really bitter aftertaste. If you find it too strong and want to enjoy some nutritious juice this season, mix it with other sweet juices. Apple, grape, or pear works best. Maybe even an apple celery pomegranate concoction would be nice as well. To juice a pomegranate you’re going to want to use a citrus juicer.  The kind you press the handle down onto it. I have a Breville 800CPXL that works great You can try a hand held citrus juicer, but they’re not easy to juice like oranges, and you will find you get whole pieces stuck in crevasses near the peel. For the rest of my raw vegan juice I used my regular Breville centrifugal juicer , which I enjoy as it’s much easier to use and clean than my previous Jack Lalane juicer. I tried that one and actually returned it, it was too messy to use and clean.

Raw Vegan Pomegranate Apple Grape Juice

Ingredients: 1 pomegranate 2-3 peeled apples 2 cups of red grapes (sweet) Directions: Cut the pomegranate in half and using a citrus juicer, juice half of the pomegranate at a time. Really press down with the juicer until the pomegranate seeds all come out. Repeat with the other half.  For any seeds you missed in the strainer, use a spoon and push down on them to pop out the last bits of juice. Take your apples and grapes and run them through a centrifugal juicer. Pour into a tall glass, ensuring the extra foam stays in the container and doesn’t go into the glass. Now pour your pomegranate juice into the glass with the other juice and mix. Serve with ice cubes if desired. Enjoy your delicious juice without the bitter aftertaste of pomegranate!