Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Orange Maple Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Did you read that title?!?! As if orange maple dressing wasn't enough, then adding roasted sweet potatoes in too?? Heaven in a jar! I will say though, you have to like the sweet/savory meal, because this salad is on the sweeter side. But it is sooo good! And as usual, super easy! Spend an hour or so on the weekend making all 5 lunches for the week and you're good to go!

The quantities listed below are enough for 5 pint sized mason jars. If you are making more or less salads, adjust the quantities as necessary.

Completed Mason Jars

Ingredients for Dressing:
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1.5 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Ingredients for Salad:
1 cup quinoa, uncooked
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch squares (I left the peel on)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 medium apple, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup red grapes, cut in half
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
2-4 cups kale or choice of greens (enough to fill jars)

1. Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
2. Spread the sweet potato chunks on a baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over them and roll around to coat. If desired, season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are cooked thoroughly and slightly crispy on the outside.
4. Cook the quinoa according to package instructions.
5. Mix together all dressing ingredients in a bowl. Add the dressing evenly to each of the 5 mason jars.
6. Add the ingredients evenly to the mason jars in the following order (bottom to top): apples, sweet potato, grapes, cranberries, goat cheese, quinoa, walnuts, greens.
7. Shake, dump, and ENJOY!

You can then add whatever type of protein on top that you prefer or eat it just as is. Pumpkin seeds, chicken, or a sweet chicken sausage would all pair well with this salad!

With no protein added, one serving is 330 calories, 48g of carbs (thank you quinoa!), 13g of fat, 8g of protein, 74g of sodium, and 18g of sugar.

Like I said, this one is a winner!! If you try it out, let us know how awesome you think it is!!

Ready To Devour!!!