Maple Balsamic Spinach Salad

As a continuation of yesterday’s post, there is one thing that influenced our decision to be Vegetarian-ish that I haven’t blogged about before.  Partly because I wasn’t sure how to incorporate some of this information in a “non-ranting”, “non-bossing”, “non-Peta” kind of way.  So take it or leave it, here it is.

Plain and simple–this info comes courtesy of Michael Pollen–one of my food heroes–check out any of his books, he will inspire you to think differently about our food system, what you eat, and all that.

In North America, we kill 10 BILLION (…yes, that is Billion with a “B”) land animals per year for food!  PER YEAR!  That is cows, chickens, turkeys, pigs–seriously 10 Billion!!??!!

I have 2 reactions to this:
1.  Are you serious?  I can’t even fathom how many animals that is…why is that remotely necessary to feed 530 million people??
2.  How much waste does this create (on so many levels…)?  How much of this excess in food is not being eaten?–because seriously, how can 530 million people possible eat 10 BILLION animals in 1 year?

Any thoughts?

I thought is was time to post a recipe for “typical” vegetarian food–this is what I used to think of as the “only thing they eat”…Boy has that changed!
I do love this salad though…

My Favourite Salad, with Maple Balsamic Dressing
(you can make as much or as little of this as you like..)

Mixed Greens or spinach or a combo (you can even use romaine if you are in a pinch)
1/2 red and yellow pepper chopped coarsely
handful grape tomatoes, halved
1 carrot, “shredded” with your vegetable peeler
1/2 cup or so of raspberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges or blackberries–any or all of them will work!
1/3 cup roasted Pecans*
1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan or crumbled Feta
Homemade Croutons if you like…


Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk all ingredients together and pour over salad and toss.  Keeps well for a few weeks in the fridge.

*Tip: Roasting Nuts is easy in the microwave…in an open dish cook on high for about 30 sec.  toss and continue to cook at 30 sec intervals until nuts are fragrant…


Enjoy!