Paleo Summer Moscato Strawberry Salad

Are you looking for a light salad that you can feel great about eating? Summer is the perfect season for adding fruits and fresh product to salads but salad can get boring fast. Since I started back on paleo, I am trying to eat salads that taste great, are filling, and follow paleo strictly but also that have less calories so I can lose weight. It's a tall order! Strawberries are in season but the typical strawberry, feta or blue cheese, and walnut salad is NOT paleo. I created this Paleo Summer Moscato Strawberry Salad in response! This salad combines the freshest in season fruits and veggies in a salad with LOTS of flavor, lots of vitamins and anti-oxidants, and that happens to be paleo, whole 30, no-sugar, vegetarian, and vegan compliant. It's like the salad jackpot!

With paleo, salad dressings can be a challenge because we don't use sugar, dairy, and other oils typically found in commercial salad dressings. I just did a couple of blog posts using wine so I had two open bottles of wine in the fridge. I decided to create a vinaigrette with wine as the star, giving the salad dressing a sweetness that typically pairs well with sweet strawberries in a salad.

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Next, I chopped up a wide variety of vegetables and fruit to give the salad unique flavor and crunch. Here's what I added and why:

• Buttery style lettuce – baby lettuce and butter lettuce leaves are softer and wilt with a vinaigrette, making them less bulky and easier to chew. You can use kale if you like.
• Strawberries – the color of strawberries is appetizing and the sweetness if refreshing on a hot summer day. If you've been on paleo a few weeks, strawberries taste like candy!
• Pichuberry – I saw these at the grocery store and decided to share them. They are sticky when wet, look like a tomato when cut and have a tartness like kumquats with a sweet peppery flavor.
• Bosc Pears – these pears are crunchy and sweet and hold their shape when cut in salads.
• Avocado (barely ripe) – the creaminess of the avocado cuts the acidity of the dressing and Pichuberry, making up for the lack of cream in the dressing.
• Fresh blackberries and boysenberries – my garden is overflowing so I had to use these. They lend a pretty pop of color to the salad and a bit of tart sweetness to the salad.
• Shaved fennel – the fennel has a refreshing flavor, lots of crunch, and an almost licorice taste that cuts the sweetness of the fruit in this salad.
• Pecans – pecans have a sweet nuttiness that compliments the strawberries and gives another layer of crunch and texture to the salad.

You can use whatever fruits and vegetables you want for this salad, just choose a few sweet items, a few tart items, and 1-2 peppery items to balance everything out. You don't have to use cheese to get a creamy flavor – avocado or mango both can add creaminess without using any dairy.

Watch the video above to see how to make this salad, lickety split! Scroll down for the printable recipe.

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Summer Moscato Strawberry Salad Recipe

Click below to print the recipe:

Paleo Summer Moscato Strawberry Salad

Print Recipe

A delicious summer salad with a homemade moscato wine dressing.

• Author: Jennifer Priest
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 20 mins
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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• 1 bosc pear, sliced
• 1 lb strawberries, sliced
• 2 cups fresh blackberries or boysenberries
• 1 – 4oz. pack of Pichuberry
• 1 lb butter or baby lettuce
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 2 bulbs of fennel, sliced thin
• 3 TBSP dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup pink moscato wine
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt

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Instructions

1. Whisk together wine, mustard, salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil to make a vinaigrette.
2. Place lettuce, pears, pichuberry, strawberries, and fennel in a bowl. Pour vinaigrette over.
3. Toss salad until blended.
4. Add avocado and berries. Toss lightly.
5. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup
• Calories: 865
• Sugar: 14.7 g
• Sodium: 403.3 mg
• Fat: 84.3 g
• Carbohydrates: 27.5 g
• Protein: 8.5 g
• Cholesterol: 162.5 mg

Keywords: salad, salad dressing, summer, moscato

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Do you have favorite way to use strawberries? Or a favorite salad recipe? Share your ideas in the comments below.