Living La Vida Holoka


Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

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Lettuce turn up the beet with this delicious Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts!  It’s a light, late summer dish that’s perfect for welcoming in some fall flavors!


Yesterday was my birthday. And while most people celebrate a birthday week or even month, I kind of ignore it.  I’ve never liked having the spotlight on me.  I’d love to crawl under the table when the birthday cake comes out and “Happy Birthday” is sung.  Plus, when it’s 90-something degrees outside, there’s not much I feel like doing other than being inside with the air conditioner pumping. 

Instead, I had a small celebration over the weekend and went on a little shopping spree my birthday morning.  One place that I stopped at was Whole Foods.  I made this roasted beet salad last week and had a craving for it again. The roasted beets give the salad a slight sweetness and every bite is a mouthful of deliciousness! 

A flavorful transition from summer to fall!

 
To me, this salad tastes like a seasonal transition. Once my birthday ends, I am so ready for the fall (in fact, I bought a Halloween lantern and fall candles during my shopping trip yesterday). Not that I wasn’t ready for it during the first heatwave, but creeping into August makes it feel like it’s just around the corner!

This salad is just the right balance of a light summer dish with cool weather veggies that welcome in the next season.  It’s perfect for making that mealtime transition from summer to fall recipes.  I even whipped up a homemade balsamic Dijon dressing to drizzle onto the salad that’s tangy and slightly spicy.


I know that beets are an iffy little root veggie for some people.  But if you’re trying them for the first time, I always recommend roasting them in a drizzle of olive oil.  Beets are earthy, but a sweetness comes out in them when they’re roasted that makes them so delicious! 

I also recommend using food safe gloves when you’re preparing beets.  They’re pretty color will stain your hands (and clothes, etc.)!  And don’t toss the tops!  They taste similar to kale and can be used in a saute with a little olive oil and garlic.

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Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Serving Size: 2

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Ingredients

    For the salad:
  • About 4 cups mixed salad greens
  • 2 medium beets, roasted and sliced
  • 1/2 small red onion, sliced
  • 1/4 cup snap peas, sliced
  • 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • 2-3 tbsp. walnut halves, crushed
  • Optional: fresh thyme
  • Balsamic Dijon dressing
    • For the balsamic Dijon dressing:
  • 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

    For the salad:
  1. Divide salad greens evenly among salad plates.
  2. Top with roasted beet slices, snap peas, goat cheese, walnuts.
  3. Garnish with fresh thyme and drizzle with balsamic Dijon dressing.
    4. For the dressing:
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, and olive oil.
  5. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Then, drizzle over each of the salads.

Notes

To roast the beets: remove the stems and wash. Place the beets in foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap tightly and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour, or until fork tender. Once they are cool to the touch, you can easily rub the skin off of the beets. Slice and add to the salad.

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There’s really just so many great flavors going on in this salad! And it’s got such pretty, deep colors, too!  If you’re not quite ready to let go of summer salads, but are looking forward to the fall, this roasted beet salad is definitely one to put on your menu! 

If you give this salad a try, share your pics of this recipe on social media using the hashtag #livinglavidaeats.  Don’t forget to tag me @lavidaholoka!

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If you like this salad recipe, you might enjoy these as well:

Mixed Berry Salad with Grilled Chicken

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This post may contain affiliate links.  Making a purchase through one of these links helps support this blog.

Make the best of those summertime berries with this Mixed Berry Salad with Grilled Chicken and a homemade strawberry balsamic vinaigrette! It’s a light and delicious summer lunch that’s bursting with berry flavor!  


We’ve probably had the best strawberries ever growing in our garden this year. I’ll attribute that to completely relaying soil in our strawberry boxes and adding a few new plants. Of course, the weather could definitely be a factor, too.  Strawberries are down for a good drink (facts!) and they’ve had their fill lately with all of the rain we’ve been getting. 

Whatever it is, I’m entirely thankful for the big, sweet berries we’ve been plucking from the vines. Whenever I get a good handful – and when I don’t pop them straight into my mouth from the stem – I like to add them to salads.


I was totally craving a summer-inspired salad last week.  But if I was going to make a salad bursting with berries, I was going to need a lot more than what we get off our plants!  So I hit the mecca of berry sales at Whole Foods – 2 for $5 organic strawberries, 2 for $5 organic raspberries, and super cheap organic blueberries.  I loaded up on all of them!  

The mix of berries add a mouthful of sweetness to this summer inspired salad.  I’m such a fan of big salads that are full of fresh ingredients and flavors that play off of each other in every yummy forkful.  

A “berry” delicious and light summertime lunch!

 
Honestly, a big salad bowl full of greens, berries, onion, sliced almonds, and cheese would have been enough to satisfy my craving for a light, summertime lunch. But I tossed in a little chopped, grilled chicken, too.

I also topped this salad with a homemade strawberry balsamic dressing.  Sure, I could have used the bottled, berry vinaigrette in our fridge, but it’s so easy to make your own!  I was able to put some of my strawberries to good use and blended them with olive oil, balsamic, and a touch of honey! 

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Mixed Berry Salad with Grilled Chicken

Mixed Berry Salad with Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

    For the chicken:
  • 1 large, or 2 small, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
    • For the salad:
  • 2 small heads of Romaine lettuce, cleaned and chopped
  • 1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 cup raspberries
  • 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
  • 4 ounces mozzarella balls, halved
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
    • For the dressing:
  • 1 cup strawberries, cleaned and halved
  • 6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp. honey

Instructions

    For the chicken:
  1. Preheat the grill to medium heat.
  2. Season the chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  3. Place the chicken on the grill and cook for five minutes on each side, or until cooked through completely.
  4. Once cooked, let the chicken cook down for a couple minutes. Then, dice.
    5. For the salad:
  5. Add the Romaine lettuce, berries, onion, mozzarella, almonds, basil, and chicken to a salad bowl. Toss to incorporate all of the ingredients.
    6. For the dressing:
  6. Blend all of the ingredients together.
  7. Strain and pour over salad.
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If you need an idea to use up those berries picked from a local farm or want to take something red, white, and blue to a 4th of July barbecue, this mixed berry salad is it!  It’s colorful, it’s fresh, and it tastes like summer should!  It’s a little sweet, a little tangy, and a whole lot of delicious! 

Omit the chicken if you’re vegetarian or feeding a crowd at your next cookout.  The strawberry dressing makes a lot, but you might want to double the recipe for a big bash.


If this salad was all I had to eat all summer long, I definitely wouldn’t be mad.  In fact, I probably will make this most of the summer because it’s just that good!  

If you make this salad, let me know what you think in the comments!  Also, make sure that you tag me on social media with the hashtag, #livinglavidaeats.  I want to see your beautiful salad creation (and that way I can relive this recipe)! 

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If you like this salad recipe, you might enjoy these as well:

Wonton Noodle Soup with Pork Meatballs

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This post may contain affiliate links. Making a purchase through one of these links helps support this blog.

If Chinese takeout is a must on cold days, enjoy the flavor of homemade wonton soup without the fuss with this homemade Wonton Noodle Soup with Pork Meatballs recipe!


Why do I always want soup when it’s warm out? 

We just went through a Polar Vortex of extremely frigid temperatures (or so I’ve been told – the cold never bothered me anyway).  Then, it went from one extreme to another and warmed up to 60 degrees.  I was in the middle of a little “meal prep Monday” session when I started getting a sinus headache.  It turned into a full blown migraine that had me in bed for a good portion of the day. 

Thankfully, I had finished my meatballs for this soup beforehand!  All I had to do the next day was boil my soup and dish it out into a bowl!  So on a 60 degree day, that felt more like springtime than winter, I whipped up a batch of this wonton noodle soup and enjoyed every single, slurp-worthy second of it!

It’s takeout soup without the delivery wait!

 
There’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of noodle soup.  Even in warm temps when you’re battling day two of the raging sinus headache (thankfully, this one didn’t last as long and wasn’t as severe).

Chinese takeout and wonton soup are usually reserved for snow days, but I had been dying to make this recipe for months (there was even an Instagram poll about it – did you see it?)!  Making the pork meatballs the day before ended up being a blessing in disguise.  All I had to do the next day was drop them into broth with some chopped bok choy and wonton wrappers.


I decided to use wonton wrappers as an easy noodle replacement.  I cut the wrappers into strips using a pizza cutter.  They don’t take long at all to cook.  Maybe about a minute or two.  Some of them stuck together in the process, becoming one thick, chewy noodle! 

You might have to add a little more broth or even water after adding the wonton noodles.  They tend to suck up a lot of the liquid while they’re cooking.

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Wonton Noodle Soup with Pork Meatballs

Wonton Noodle Soup with Pork Meatballs

Ingredients

    For the meatballs:
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Splash of sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce, or your favorite soy sauce
  • 1-2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 small head bok choy, leaves removed, cleaned, and chopped
    • For the soup:
  • 32 oz. (approx. 5 cups) vegetable or chicken broth
  • 25-35 wonton wrappers, cut into strips
  • 2 small heads bok choy, washed and roughly chopped
  • Pork meatballs
  • Green onions, chopped, to garnish
  • Optional: 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated

Instructions

    For the meatballs:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix the meatball ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  Then, form mixture into small, 2 inch meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet.
  3. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until fully cooked through.
    4. For the soup:
  4. Bring the vegetable broth to a rolling boil.
  5. Carefully drop in pork meatballs and bok choy. Cook until the bok choy starts to wilt, about 4 minutes.
  6. Add the wonton strips and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the wontons are soft.
  7. Spoon soup into bowls, garnish with green onions, and serve.
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You’ll probably end up with about half a package of wonton wrappers leftover. I’m still deciding what to do with mine. In the meantime, I have them in the freezer. When it comes time to whip up some amazing takeout-at-home style recipe, all I’ll have to do is thaw them out! 

And speaking of the freezer, this soup serves about 4-6 bowls, so enjoy it all week or freeze the leftovers and have better-than-takeout style soup anytime the craving hits!

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If you like this soup recipe, you might enjoy these as well:

Goat Cheese, Fig, and Prosciutto Sweet Potato Toast

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This post is sponsored by Montchevre but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Make lunchtime or snacktime the G.O.A.T with this easy, sweet, and savory Goat Cheese, Fig, and Prosciutto Sweet Potato Toast recipe! 


Sweet potato toast has become pretty trendy over the past few years.  So I thought it was about time that I tasted what this healthy trend was all about!  I’ve seriously been missing out, guys!  With fall just a few weeks away, sweet potatoes are going to show up on our plates a lot and sweet potato toast is bound to become a new favorite lunch or snack!  I mean, the topping possibilities are basically endless!  I’ve seen sweet potato toast topped with berries and nut butters, tomato and avocado, and all kinds of interesting combos.  They all look so good!

Plus, one sweet potato makes a lot of toast!  So you can keep switching up how you eat it throughout the week (keep raw slices wrapped up in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them).  This Goat Cheese, Fig, and Prosciutto Sweet Potato Toast turned out to be a pretty perfect lunch!  The sweet and salty combo of flavors is the best of both worlds!  As an Italian girl from Jersey, I’m no stranger to prosciutto and figs (figgettaboudit!).  This time of year, I cannot wait to find figs at my local markets!  Figs have a sweetness all their own that works so well with savory flavors – like prosciutto and goat cheese!



Under all of the sweet and salty goodness is a nice layer of Montchevre Goat Cheese!  Goat cheese is one of my absolute favorite types of cheese!  It’s creamy, salty, and mild in flavor.  We crumble it on top of our salads, mix it into our breakfast scrambles, and now I’m topping sweet potato toast with it! 

You can easily incorporate Montchevre Goat Cheese into your healthy lifestyle, which makes it perfect for sweet potato toast!  It’s made with quality goat’s milk that’s collected from local, independent family farms.  It’s high in protein, calcium, vitamin D, is rich in nutrients and vitamins, and contains less lactose!

Montchevre Goat Cheese is available in so many flavors, too!  I’ve never tried anything more adventurous than garlic and herb goat cheese before.  My fridge usually contains natural goat cheese.  Since I knew that I wanted to finish this sweet potato toast off with a drizzle of honey, I used Montchevre’s Honey Goat Cheese for this recipe.  The hint of sweetness is a nice balance to the tanginess of the goat cheese.

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Goat Cheese, Fig, and Prosciutto Sweet Potato Toast

Goat Cheese, Fig, and Prosciutto Sweet Potato Toast

Ingredients

  • 1 small sweet potato (or 1/2 large), cut into 1/4 inch slices with a mandolin
  • 4 oz. Montchevre Goat Cheese Log, plain or honey
  • Prosciutto slices
  • Figs, stems discarded and sliced
  • 1/4 cup salt and pepper pistachios, crushed
  • Honey, to drizzle
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Grey sea salt (or coarse sea salt), to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Brush both sides of sweet potato slices with extra virgin olive oil.
  3. Season with sea salt.
  4. Place on baking sheet and bake for 28-30 minutes or until bottoms turn golden brown. Remove from baking sheet.
  5. Spread Montchevre Goat Cheese onto each potato slice.
  6. Top with a slice of prosciutto and fig slices.
  7. Sprinkle pistachios on top, drizzle with honey, and serve.
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My first sweet potato toast experience did not disappoint! If you’re into the sweet potato toast trend and looking for a new way to top it, this is the way to go!  This medley of sweet and savory flavors is so satisfying!  No matter what combo I end up topping my next sweet potato toast creation with next, one thing’s for sure – I’m going to make it the G.O.A.T. with a creamy layer of Montchevre Goat Cheese!  It’s the perfect base for all sorts of healthy toppings!

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What Montchevre Goat Cheese flavor would you top your sweet potato toast with?


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