Sweet and Salty Cherry Tomato Salad

Sweet and Salty Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad

This recipe is inspired by a delicious Cherry Tomato Salad I discovered on  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking. I’ve been trying to force myself to eat more salad and greens but I’m pretty boring when it comes to what ingredients I like on my salad. Tomatoes. Thinly sliced red onion. Cucumbers. That’s it. Meanwhile my mother has really good and interesting salad recipes like her strawberry poppyseed salad or her broccoli salad; still, I’m timid when it comes to making interesting and fun salads. I’m always thinking does blue cheese really go well with bacon, shrimp and raspberry vinaigrette dressing…too fancy for me! I mean I’m adventurous but I don’t like to waste money on a bunch of ingredients that I’m just going to toss together and hope for the best; one does not simply disassemble a salad, especially after it’s drenched with dressing. You think you can’t jack up a simple salad? Oh but you can; I know from experience.

Anyways here’s my successful attempt at jazzing up my veggies for the week. It turned out wonderfully! This salad looks amazing and it is sooooo very appetizing. Eat your veggies! They’re good for you. This recipe can ultimately incorporate any veggie you can think of…so there’s no excuses for why you didn’t get your recommended servings of vegetables. I posted some fun and healthy facts about some of the ingredients used in this recipe below.

The best part about this recipe is you can make a portion of this and eat it by its lonesome (which I did!), you could toss in some pasta, or toss it with any grilled veggie (asparagus, zucchini, etc.) or atop some freshly grilled fish! It’s easy, delicious and simple enough for me! Try it, and tell me how it treats you!

 

***Tomatoes are low in calories (18 calories/100g) and contain good levels of potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and antioxidants***

***The antioxidants present in tomatoes are found to be protective of several cancers such as colon, prostate, breast, lung and pancreatic cancers***

***Red onions are also low in calories (11 calories/28 grams) and contain good levels of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Chromium***

***Red onions have a low glycemic index, which means they don't raise your blood sugar levels too quickly. The chromium in red onions also helps to control glucose levels***

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic
1 pint of red grape tomatoes
1 pint of yellow grape tomatoes
3 tablespoons Cilantro or Parsley
½ red onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon pesto (get a small jar (I used Presto's pesto) and save the rest for some yummy pasta later in the week)
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

¼ teaspoon sugar

Toss all of the ingredients together in a Ziploc bag or bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until dinner’s ready! Toss with chilled pasta, grilled asparagus, or regular lettuce for a healthy, yummy and unique salad.