Pear, cherry and rice salad

This salad is filling enough to count as a full meal, yet simple enough to whip up last minute before heading out the door for some summertime fun. Feel free to adjust all seasonings and ingredients to your taste! This is, after all, a salad… mix it up! Cherries are in season at the moment and they are TAAAAAASTY! You'll find people selling them on the side of the road or at the market. They are a great source of vitamin C, fibre and is ranked among the top 20 foods with the highest concentration of antioxidants. In fact, the standard one-cup serving of cherries has the capacity to carry 4,873 antioxidants!

serves 4

Ingredients:

Salad Mix:

• 1 ripe peach, pit removed and diced (I used a pear)
• 1 ripe tomato, diced
• 1 cup chopped fresh (and pitted) cherries
• 1 1/2 cups cold cooked brown rice (I used red rice)
• 2 cups packed spinach, chopped (I used mixed greens from the organic store which included flower petals :))
• 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions (green onions)
• 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or less if you’re using a really great brand)
• 1 tbsp agave or gf brown rice syrup
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients for salad mix into a bowl and toss until well mixed.

Whisk all dressing ingredients together and pour over salad mix. Stir gently but thoroughly. Eat.

Modified from: http://www.allysonkramer.com/2011/06/fruity-spinach-salad-happy-news/

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