Arugula Salad with Pears, Beets, and Candied Almonds

I'm always coming up with new and creative salads to serve with dinner or for lunch. I have found that they key to a successful salad is using a combination of savory and sweet elements with different textures. In today's salad, I used peppery arugula, with sweet pears and beets, salty goat cheese and a citrus mustard vinaigrette.

Sometimes, in the winter, it can be challenging to serve colorful dishes since there are not a ton of fresh vegetables to choose from. I have found that beets are a beautiful addition to almost every salad and can be found all year round. I buy them pre-cooked at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods so I don't have stained purple hands. ;)

For a little bit of crunch, I wanted to add candied almonds to my salad. You can purchase these at the grocery store but they're usually pretty expensive. I decided to experiment by making them myself, and they turned out wonderfully! The directions are below and I suggest you try to do it yourself! You can use almonds, walnuts or pecans.

I made a homemade citrus mustard vinaigrette that is super simple to prepare. Feel free to swap out your favorite store bought salad dressing, however, if you prefer.

Arugula is a superfood because it is loaded with calcium and iron. In it also said to have more vitamins than any other green. One of the vitamins it provides is Vitamin K which helps promote good bone and brain health.

Ingredients:

1 bag of arugula

1 cup almonds

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup water

3 cooked beets- sliced

1 pear- sliced

1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese

1 tsp. dijon mustard

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Juice from 1/2 orange

3 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. honey

3 tbsp olive oil

salt/pepper

Directions:

1) To make candied almonds, bring 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil.

2) Add almonds and stir for 15 minutes or until all water has evaporated and almonds are coated in sticky mixture.

3) Add sprinkle of sea salt to the pot and stir.

4) Immediately pour almonds onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and cool for a half hour.

5) Prepare salad buy combining arugula, beets, pear, and goat cheese in a large salad bowl

6) Make salad dressing by adding citrus juices, balsamic, dijon, and honey. Slowly whisk in olive oil and add salt/pepper to taste.

7) Pour dressing on salad, top with almonds and stir to combine.

8) Serve up and enjoy :)