By Mayo Clinic Staff

Dietitian's tip:

Blue cheese and balsamic vinegar both have distinct, strong flavors, so only small amounts of each are needed for this mushroom and blue cheese salad. This salad is a very good source of selenium, potassium, folate, and vitamins C and K.

Number of servings

Serves 2
  1. Diabetes meal plan
  2. Weight management
  3. Meatless
  4. Healthy-carb
  5. High-fiber

Ingredients

  1. 1 teaspoon olive oil
  2. 2 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed, wiped clean and cut into bite-size pieces
  3. 4 slices red onion
  4. 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  5. 1 tablespoon merlot wine
  6. 6 stalks asparagus, cut into 1-inch sections
  7. 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
  8. 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  9. 1 tablespoon water
  10. Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  11. 6 cups chopped bibb lettuce
  12. 2 roasted red peppers (from a can), sliced
  13. 1/2 cup whole-wheat croutons

Directions

In a small pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onions. Saute until the vegetables are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute — taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates completely, about 1 minute.

In a pot fitted with a steamer basket, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Add the asparagus. Cover and steam until tender-crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.

In a small bowl, add the blue cheese, balsamic vinegar, water and black pepper. Whisk to mix thoroughly. (Just before drizzling the dressing over the salad, whisk again.)

Add 3 cups of lettuce to each plate. Top each with 1/2 the mushroom mixture, 1/2 the asparagus, 1/2 the roasted red pepper, 1/2 the blue cheese dressing mixture and 1/4 cup croutons. Serve immediately.

Nutritional analysis per serving

Serving size: Half the salad

  • Calories 190
  • Total fat 6 g
  • Saturated fat 2 g
  • Trans fat Trace
  • Monounsaturated fat 3 g
  • Cholesterol 6 mg
  • Sodium 173 mg
  • Total carbohydrate 26 g
  • Dietary fiber 7 g
  • Total sugars 12 g
  • Added sugars 0 g
  • Protein 9 g
Nov. 19, 2016