Welcome to the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN SQUEEZE CHALLENGE! Over the next three weeks you’ll be the ones in the judge’s seat as you decide which of our two aspiring Citrus Chefs has done the best job with three fabulous recipes featuring Florida Citrus products. Your job is simple: check in each week and read both Kath’s and Carol’s recipe reviews, compare the pictures of their final product and then vote! When you comment below after you vote, you’ll earn a ballot for some amazing prizes!
This week, Roasted Sweet Potato and Grapefruit† Salad:
Although it may take a little longer to make than the everyday salad, it’s definitely worth the effort. While some may prefer to bypass the preparation of the sweet potato and the grapefruit segments, both these steps lend to a beautiful presentation and delicious taste. My daughters enjoyed components of the salad – the grapefruit (on its own) and the roasted sweet potato. The girls were not a fan of the uncooked spinach and did not like the mixture of textures. My husband and I on the other hand, found the mix of textures to be interesting, and this set the salad apart from the typical weeknight salad. The pairing of grapefruit and sweet potato was also an unexpected mix, and again proved to work well. The sweetness of the maple glazed potato, and tartness of the vinegar dressed spinach and grapefruit, balanced each other nicely. While I wouldn’t make this salad on just any old day of the week, it’s definitely one to keep for special nights. And it is comforting to know that this recipe has been reviewed by Heart and Stroke Foundation dietitians and meets the nutrient criteria based on Canada’s Food Guide. For more healthy recipe ideas, visit www.heartandstroke.ca.
Roasted Sweet Potato and Grapefruit† Salad:
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes (about 2 ½ lbs/1.25 kg), peeled and chopped
45 mL (3 tbsp) pure maple syrup
15 mL (1 tbsp) chopped fresh thyme
2 Florida Ruby Red Grapefruits* (about 1 1/2 lbs/750 g)
2 L (8 cups) baby spinach
25 mL (2 tbsp) white wine vinegar
15 mL (1 tbsp) canola oil
Pinch freshly ground pepper
Directions
1. In a large bowl, toss together sweet potatoes, maple syrup and thyme to coat evenly. Spread onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast in 220°C (425°F) oven for about 30 minutes or until tender and golden. Return to bowl.
2. Meanwhile, using a serrated knife, cut both ends off grapefruits. Using sawing motion, cut skin and white pith off and discard. Cut grapefruit between membranes into segments into sweet potato bowl. Stir to combine.
3. In another bowl, toss spinach with vinegar, oil and pepper. Divide among plates and top with roasted sweet potato and grapefruit mixture.
Nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 220
Protein: 4 g
Total fat: 3 g
Saturated fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Carbohydrates: 47 g
Fibre: 7 g
Sodium: 124 mg
Potassium: 892 mg
†Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can interact with certain medications. Speak to your healthcare provider if you have concerns.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation thanks the FDOC for its generous support of our recipes on-line. Acceptance of this support does not constitute an endorsement by the Foundation of the FDOC or its individual products.
This recipe has been reviewed by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and meets nutritional criteria for healthy eating based on Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide.
See full contest rules and regulations for details.
I chose Carol,
love your photo,
looks very appetizing.
I would not make this recipie because it sounds very unappealing to me! I vote for Carol’s because her’s looks better and I would actually try it if it was presented to me.
unusal ingredients but I like the chunkiness of Kath’s salad and I might give this a try.
I voted but to tell you the truth neither appeal to me. Sorry gals.
not a fan of sweet potato or maple… but, I think Carol’s looks better. Plus, it has more greens to quell the taste of the sweet potato!
Kath’s was too sweet, but Carole’s was excellent!
Carol’s appearance and presentation take it for me!
I chose Kath’s salad…it looks jucier and more satisfying. Carole’s looks good but to me it looks like she used frozen sweet potatoes and grapefruit that comes in the plastic container. sorry…
Carol’s photo makes it look appealing, very professional. Tho, I likely won’t make it as I’m the only one in the family that likes the ingredients :o(
Of the 2 Kath;s was more appealling although neither one would tempt me to try the recipes
Love your photo Carol.
I would vote for Carol’s as it is well balanced in presentation. The square plate together with the small pieces of fruit and potatoes does make the dish look yummier!
I liked Carol’s commentary of her experiences with this recipe. So, she got my vote this time.
I enjoy sweet potatoes but I’m sad to say I’m the only one in the household so this recipe wouldn’t fly around. here. By the way, I like Carol’s presentation better so I’m voting for her this week.
I chose Carol’s photo…very professional looking, could use a bump in exposure though. Kath I think, just needed to reduce the saturation in the photo and it’d be a much closer race.
This salad takes extra effort but looks like it is worth it. The colour are quite nice together. Carol’s salad looks very fresh and very appetizing.
I love grapefruit and think these salads looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it out myself. Both presentations look wonderful. I love golden carmelized sweet potatoes on Kath’s salad, but love the overall look of Carol’s.
I tried Kath’s and mine DID NOT look as pretty as hers. I did like the sweet potato and maple syrup pairing, but I think I cooked the sweet potato a little too long and it went mushy..overall good I took the leftovers to school and shared them with my staff…positive comments all round.!
Okay, so I haven’t tried the recipe but i LOVE sweet potato so i can’t help but think it’d be pretty good. I guess if I win the juicer I’ll have a chance to test it out – finger’s crossed, that juicer is intense!!
I think smaller pieces of sweet potato were more appealing as well as the picture looks more attractive 🙂
I liked Carols’ this time. It looked more appetizing with the smaller chunks and there appeared to be more spinach which led my taste buds to imagine that the grapefruit and sweet potato would not overpower the taste of the greens.
I liked Kath’s nice bright picture for this one. I also liked the spinach being underneath instead of it mixed in the salad.
I voted for Carol’s picture and review. It looks more appealing and I like how she described everything involved – the preparation, the textures and the taste. Despite the fact that this recipe didn’t get a glowing review from anyone, I’m looking forward to trying it myself!
I have to vote for Carol’s salad…the smaller chunks of sweet potatoe would go over so much better at our home.
Carols salad looks absolutly fantastic, the greens and grapefruit are perfectly displayed.
Carol’s picture looked great. I am not sold on the idea of sweet potato and grapefuit in a salad together. I think it may be a hard one to convince my family to try. We love both of the main ingredients on their own, but together…?
Carol gets my vote this week. It looks nice and appetizing on the plain white plate. Kath’s review was very honest and I think I would probably agree with her family. After seeing this I am in the mood for a grapefruit, but I will skip the sweet potato and spinach!
I thought both reviews were very honest and I liked them both. So it was just a matter of the photos and I really liked Carol’s photo much better. Looks beautiful!
Sweet potatoes and grapefruit…I’m not sure about that combination, so I will go with Kath’s presentation.
Looks yummy..id give kath’s a try!
I liked the look of Carol’s salad better. Her sweet potato pieces were cut more evenly and maybe a little smaller, it looked much more inviting to try than Kathy’s.
I think Kathy’s salad may look brighter because she has the brightness set a little higher on her camera or as she is taking the picture up closer it is giving more “flashback”
Carol’s it is. Looks great and the size of the potatoes are just right.
I went with Kath’s again – I just love the intensity of the colour. The food looks so vibrant and tasty. I did try the muffins from last week and they were awesome!
I prefer Kath’s recipe. I love sweet potatoes and I love grapefruit. I am going to try this recipe for sure.
I chose Carol’s – the picture looks so much more realistic. I have to admit, it’s not a recipe I would try – I don’t go for sweet potatoes (I know they are the IN THING, but I’m not a fan).
Carol’s salad looks more appetizing although the idea of sweet potatoes and grapefruit together is very unappetizing. I prefer my grapefruit salad with pears, apples and a light sour cream dressing.
i liked carol’s more , smaller pieces of sweet potato and just looked more balanced… (though i do like the rich colors in kath”s picture)… i love grapefruit but i think the rest of my family wouldn’t go for this recipe…. because of the mix of the potato and spinach
I liked Carol’s creation. It looks somewhat more appetizing with the smaller pieces. Seeing her picture may make me want to test this recipe out.
Carol’s photo seems really a professional photo with a nice composition on the plate and whole piece of grapfruit. It’s my choice for this week.
I liked Carol’s better, it looks very appetizing! Love the honest review ladies, thanks so much!
Carol’s presentation was just a little nicer, very professional. Nice job on the grapefruit sections.
I also chose Carol this week. Her presentation looks more appitezing. Kath’s looks too orange, maybe the lighting. I don’t know if I would try this recipe. My girls and I love sweet potatos and spinach but hmmmm, I don’t know about together. Something to think about. Could be served with a nice maple glazed ham or as mentioned above the orange sticky chicken. That sounds good.
I chose Carol’s this week, because simply it just looked more appetizing — but I am pretty sure I would not like to eat it — just seems like a weird combo. Ah well
Ooooh…Carol’s stepped up her game this week! Looks like a professional food stylist and photographer worked on this one. I’m enjoying reading two opinions on the same recipe. Fun concept!
I chose Carol’s picture for the balance of all the ingredients on the plate. It looked like something I would want to eat
I love Carole’s picture! Looks delicious!
Carol’s recipe took the win for me this week. Her descriptions of the ingredients were intruiging! I don’t think this recipe would go over very well in my household but Carol’s recipe makes me curious to try it maybe at a dinner party some time!
I thought Carol’s presentation was more appealing.
What an interesting paring…sweet potato and spinach. Looks delicious. It’s so interesting how the same recipe can look so different. I love both photos.
This time I went with Carol’s. I thought the smaller pieces of sweet potato were more appealing.