I never would have guessed that tossing a few leftovers together would turn into such a beautiful meal...
![This bright, beautiful salad with salmon, walnuts, cranberries and oranges is the perfect easy healthy lunch or dinner!](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=597x10000:format=jpg/path/s4646b755a50b5caf/image/i8147f469ba144698/version/1452716048/this-bright-beautiful-salad-with-salmon-walnuts-cranberries-and-oranges-is-the-perfect-easy-healthy-lunch-or-dinner.jpg)
Sometimes I just don't feel like cooking. I absolutely love to cook, but even a kitchen-loving, food-blogging dietitian like me needs a break from the kitchen every once in a while! And on the day that this recipe was born, I was very much in a "let's scrounge around the kitchen and see what I can find" kind of mood. And the result was so beautiful (and tasty!) that I had to stop to photograph it and write up the recipe!
I know, some of you might be thinking, "that doesn't look like random stuff from the fridge.." but it really was! I had a little bit of cooked salmon from the night before that I hadn't finished. Then there were those orange slices that I used a couple days earlier when taking pics for my golden beet smoothie recipe. I had an apple and some spring mix that I got for my green smoothies during the week.
As for the addition of cranberries and walnuts....those were actually the result of me trying to clean my pantry. I usually buy nuts and dried fruit in the bulk bins at the grocery store, which means I have a collection of about 400 bulk-bin-baggies (okay, maybe not quite 400... ;) ) with little bits of various nuts and fruit. So I was able to finish off two of those little baggies by adding the nuts and cranberries.
I actually wasn't expecting to have this much awesome stuff in my kitchen when I went searching, but it got me thinking about just how much meal planning really does pay off...
![This bright, beautiful salad with salmon, walnuts, cranberries and oranges is the perfect easy healthy lunch or dinner!](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=597x10000:format=jpg/path/s4646b755a50b5caf/image/i209c44e79e3f9406/version/1452716060/this-bright-beautiful-salad-with-salmon-walnuts-cranberries-and-oranges-is-the-perfect-easy-healthy-lunch-or-dinner.jpg)
If I hadn't taken the time to plan out a few meals for the week and bought these ingredients for other meals, then I wouldn't have had all this great stuff on hand when I didn't feel like cooking. I probably would have had to go out and buy something, which would have cost more money and probably wouldn't have been as healthy.
So this gorgeous salad will now be a motivation for those weeks when I really don't feel like sitting down to make a meal plan and grocery list. Hopefully it will help me remember just how easy it is to eat healthy later on if I've spent those few extra minutes making a plan.
Do you like to plan meals ahead of time? Leave me your favorite meal planning tips in the comments; I'd love to hear some new ideas!! Happy meal planning! :)
![This bright, beautiful salad with salmon, walnuts, cranberries and oranges is the perfect easy healthy lunch or dinner!](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=597x10000:format=jpg/path/s4646b755a50b5caf/image/i9b9a56ea5e9ed322/version/1452716066/this-bright-beautiful-salad-with-salmon-walnuts-cranberries-and-oranges-is-the-perfect-easy-healthy-lunch-or-dinner.jpg)
Fresh Salmon Salad with Apple, Walnuts, and Cranberries
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
-
2 cups spring mix or greens of choice
- 2-3 ounces cooked salmon
- 1/2 apple, chopped
- 1/2 orange, sliced or chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- dressing of choice
Directions:
- Place all ingredients on a plate and serve!
Note: Top with the dressing of your choice, or squeeze some of the orange juice from the orange slices over the salad and add a drizzle of olive oil for a quick
homemade dressing!
Happy Eating!
~Amber
share this recipe!
Write a comment