TURNIP + ORANGE SALAD

Seasonal eating is truly the best way to do it! If you don’t yet know the benefits of seasonal eating, definitely check out the blog post where I talk all about it in detail.

Season's spotlights are some of my favorite posts to write because it really lets me get back to the basics of nutrition.  We can often get sidetracked with all that is constantly going on with nutrition and the trends of moment. So in my season's spotlight I am featuring the turnip!

Turnips are one of those veggies that always got a bum wrap with me! I think it was because my great-grandmother always over cooked them, they were mushy and reminded me of baby or “old -people” food and just, YUCK! But this is totally not true. I have actually gotten creative with my turnip-driven cuisine!  You can do quite a bit with this versatile root vegetable, which I share below with my current favorite fresh recipe!

Here are a few details about turnips!

NUTRITION: TURNIP

Based on a medium sized raw turnip (122g)

Water- 112.08 g

KCals- 34

Protein- 1.10 g

Carbohydrates- 7.84g

Fiber 2.2g

Sugars- 4.64g

Calcium 37mg

Potassium K 233MG

Sodium 82mg

Folate- 18 up

SELECTING It can give you a little anxiety to be in the grocery store trying to figure out how  to figure out if the vegetable you are purchasing is “good.” With turnips you should look for firm bulbs that are unblemished.  You want to steer clear of extremely large bulbs. If you happen upon a store that has the leaves still attached to the bulb, you should also make sure that the leaves are green and fresh.

STORING: You should store your purchased, or home grown, turnips without their leaves attached.  Place them in a storage bag and put the bag into the crisper section of your refrigerator.  Stored in this way your turnips will keep for 7 days.

If you are storing your leaves, think again. You should use your turnip leaves within one day.

COOKING With your preparation clean with fresh cold water.  You can peel the skin of the turnip depending on what your recipe calls for at the time.

Okay, here you can find and enjoy a new favorite salad in my meal  rotation! This is a treat as it is one of the featured recipes on my membership site designed to help the busy person get healthy simply and on their own time! You can check it out here!

TURNIP + ORANGE SALAD

INGREDIENTS // INGRÈDIENTS

Arugula + spinach mix

2 Navel oranges (one small- for juice of the orange + one medium- orange slices)

1 small lemon- (meyer lemon preferable)

1 baby turnip, sliced thinly lengthwise, greens trimmed

1 box wild brown rice

1 small red onion

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, julienned

Kosher sea salt- to taste

Fresh ground black pepper- to taste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or balsamic, apple cider vinegar, sherry, or white wine vinegar)

METHOD//DIRECTIONS

Cook rice as noted on the directions.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl place your greens (spinach, arugula and trimmed turnip greens) Add red bell pepper lightly combine ingredients together.  Season, to taste, the salad with salt and pepper.

Dressing: In a small mixing bowl combine olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, juice of half a lemon and juice of one small orange (adjust to taste), add half of the chopped shallot.  Whisk ingredients to combine thoroughly together.

Take slice of orange, and delicately add to the dressing.  Add dressing to your salad. Drizzling throughout the mixture. Toss lightly to make certain all the greens have been lightly (not heavily) coated with the dressing.

Plating: Once your rice is cooked, add ¼ to ½ cup of rice to your place, shaping it in an oblong shape. Place your salad atop the rice and enjoy! To make this even heartier you can add your choice of a lean protein.

Tell me in the comments, have you ever tried turnips in your salad? Or do you have any fun tips or recipes that include turnips?!

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