Welcome to Week #2 of “A Tasty and Healthy New Year Resolution Challenge” hosted by California Olive Ranch and Bob’s Red Mill. Last week we kicked off things with a Lemon & Thyme Cookie topped with a Roasted RedPepper spread, plus 11 other delicious appetizers brought to the party by my Virtual Potluck friends! 

This week we’re all making Supportive Side Dishes with Bob’s Red Mill Grande Whole Grains Blend and California Olive Ranch’s Miller’s Blend extra virgin olive oil, so get ready for some great recipes and ideas that will not only be delicious, but will also be fantastic for your health!
My Cranberry Whole Grain & Dried Fruit Salad came from a day that I need a side dish for dinner; we had seared chicken breast and a salad of greens, but I wanted to add a heartiness to the meal and of all the places I looked, I looked in my baking cabinet. Dried fruits from the endless holiday baking jumped out at me and a light bulb turned on inside my baker mind. 
A lightly tossed salad, with bits and pieces of sweet, dried fruit surrounded by tart whole grains that were cooked in cranberry juice. As a side note, remember you don’t need to cook grains or pasta only in water. Use broth, fruit juices or even brewed tea! Anywhere you can add more flavor to your meal, do it!
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Cranberry Whole Grain & Dried Fruit Salad
with Citrus-Olive Oil dressing 
1 cup Grande Whole Grains Blend
2 1/2 cups cranberry juice (or blend 1 cup of fresh cranberries with 2 cups of water and strain)
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chopped dried dates
1/4 cup toasted pecans (or any other nut)
1/4 cup Miller’s Blend extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
Season with: salt, pepper 
  1. In a medium pot, simmer both the cranberry juice and Grande Whole Grains Blend for about an hour over medium low heat. The grains will absorb all the liquid and fluff up.
  2. In the meantime, chop all your dried fruit and make your dressing. Whisk the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Reserve.
  3. Remove whole grains from pot and spread on large plate to cool. When cool, toss with dried fruits and nuts. Add dressing just before serving and re-season if needed. 
  4. Serve alongside a grilled piece of fish as dinner or have as a snack to recharge energy.

California Olive Ranch and Bob’s Red Mill 
Week Two Giveaway!! 
Enter to win a perfect pairing of California Olive Ranch Miller’s Blend Oil 
and Grande Whole Grains Blend from Bob’s Red Mill.
  • Visit either Bob’s Red Mill or California Olive Ranch Facebook pages and retrieve this week’s Virtual Potluck code word. Then use that code word in a sentence in the comments section of this blog post.


Additional Entries:

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  • Tweet the following: “ Win with @Bobs_Red_Mill & @CA_EVOO via @nella22 #virtualpotluckhttp://bit.ly/w2hr84
    • More Blogs, More Ways to Win: Get additional entries in each week’s giveaways by visiting our host blog and finding other participating VP bloggers sites to comment on.

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    48 Comments

    2. The first time I tried a cold whole grain salad was at one of Bob’s red Mill’s events and was amazed at how absolutely delicious it can and ever since I am a fan of their products. Your salad looks amazing. Worth trying!

      Reply

    4. Love making these side dishes during the winter – they are so good with roasted meats!!

      Reply

    5. Your use of the Miller’s Blend and the Whole Grains Blend would also be great for breakfast on a cold winters morning. I love the tartness of cranberry juice and your blend of dried fruit is an added bonus. The crunch from the pecans is great for the texture. Good job!

      Reply