This beautiful Winter Icicle Radish Salad mixes Daikon radishes, red radishes, carrots, savoy cabbage, water chestnuts, and scallions in a light rice vinegar, ginger, and oil dressing.
Many of us turn to salads for a smarter way to eat healthier in the new year.
Salads by themselves are usually low in calories and high in nutrition. Sometimes it’s the dressing that is the culprit. Other times we can load salads with high fat items like bacon or fatty meats and cheeses. Lean meats and proteins from beans and seeds are a better choice.
Nowadays we can find standard vegetables like tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, and bell peppers all year round. That’s great, but even tossed salad can get boring. That’s why I’m a big believer in eating seasonally. You can’t beat the freshness of produce that is locally grown. Sometimes winter can be a challenge for a vegetable salad. That is when I need to think outside the box, or better yet, the salad bowl.
Vegetables pack a healthy dose of nutrients. You can create a variety of slaws from the cabbage family including shaved broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. Grilled vegetable salads are another great way to enjoy a variety of vegetables in a new way. Try grilling carrots, zucchini, onions, and eggplant, then toss with your favorite Italian dressing.
Switch your standard salad up by adding whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, or barley. You can even get rid of the bowl altogether. Serve your salad in a leaf of romaine, endive, collard greens, cabbage, and more.
One of my favorite salads this time of year is a simple Winter Icicle Radish Salad. This colorful salad is packed with nutrition and seasonal flavors.
This Winter Icicle Radish Salad is one healthy dish!
Winter white radishes have several popular names including Icicle Radishes which is derived from its long white shape. The most familiar name for these radishes is Daikon. The word Daikon actually comes from two Japanese words: dai (meaning large) and kon (meaning root). Daikon is a root vegetable that is very low in calories. A 3-ounce serving contains only 18 calories and provides 34% of the RDA for Vitamin C. This radish is also high in antioxidant properties, calcium, potassium, and fiber. Active enzymes in Daikon aid digestion; this radish especially helps digest starchy foods.
The water chestnuts in this salad bring Vitamin B6, potassium, copper, riboflavin, and manganese, along with a crunch to the table. Carrots add beta-carotene, fiber, Vitamin K, potassium, and antioxidants. Fresh ginger root contains essential oils such as gingerol, zingerone, shogaol, and farnesene that boost your immune system and have anti-inflammatory properties.
Enjoy this salad for lunch or serve it at dinner for a unique side to your entrée. Here’s to a new year and a new you.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Daikon radish, sliced
- 1/4 cup red radishes, sliced
- 1 cup savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
- 1/2 cup carrots, sliced
- 1 large green onion (scallion), finely sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together sesame oil, vegetable oil, vinegar, honey, and soy sauce. Mix in ginger. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Combine daikon, red radishes, cabbage, water chestnuts, and green onions. Stir.
- Add dressing stir and to coat. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours to allow flavors to blend.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Home Chef Tip: Feel free to customize this base salad by adding in any other vegetables you like. Adding broccoli or cauliflower to the mix gives it even more crunch and flavor!
We hope you love this Winter Icicle Radish Salad recipe from SoFabFood Contributor, Cindy from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings, as much as we do. If you enjoyed this delicious recipe, be sure to visit our Salad Section for more like it. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter so that you never miss a single recipe, and for daily recipe inspiration, like us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
Disclosure: The author of this article is not a trained medical professional, nor a dietician. All of the information in this post is based on research and personal experience.
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