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Hawaiian Luau Spinach Salad Topped with Carrot Flowers

July 10, 2015 This post may contain affiliate links.

Add a bit of color to your summer salads by tossing in some yellow, orange and purple carrot flowers. This Hawaiian Luau Spinach Salad will make a wonderful lunch for a pool party or any summertime event. This is a sponsored post in partnership with Newman’s Own.

Add a bit of color to your summer salads by tossing in some yellow, orange and purple carrot flowers. This Hawaiian Luau Spinach Salad will make a wonderful lunch for a pool party or any summertime event.
Salads are a part of our daily diet around here, but I have to admit to being a bit lazy when it comes to the ingredients. I tend to toss the same vegetables together with the same dressing time and time again.

It gets boring.

When I was asked to bring a salad to a friend’s house for an afternoon spent by the pool, I decided it was time to get out of my rut and make something more exotic.

Add a bit of color to your summer salads by tossing in some yellow, orange and purple carrot flowers. This Hawaiian Luau Spinach Salad will make a wonderful lunch to serve poolside.
Being it’s been so gloomy around here lately and we were actually going to get to eat outside, I wanted something that was as bright and cheerful as the sunny day.

I thought back to a salad that I enjoyed years ago at a local restaurant. It was piled high with layers of spinach, pineapple, carrots, shrimp, and fried won ton strips all coated in ginger dressing. It was such an unusual flavor combination, but I loved how with each bite I’d get a burst of sweetness from the pineapple offset by the zesty ginger and savory shrimp.

Cut rainbow carrots into pretty flowers to toss into a Hawaiian Luau Spinach and Shrimp Salad.
When I recreate this salad at home, I use Newman’s Own Lowfat Sesame Ginger Dressing. It has just the right ginger flavor to compliment the salad.

Being I wanted to make my salads really special, I added some rainbow carrots cut into pretty little flowers. The pop of purple, yellow and orange took my salad from boring to beautiful.

Newman's Own Greens for Good Salad Recipe Contest.

I’m happy to be partnering with Newman’s Own to share this recipe with you today.

Did you know that by purchasing Newman’s Own dressings to put on your salads that you’re helping charitable causes?

Since 1982 founder, Paul Newman, and Newman’s Own Foundation have given more than $430 million to charities. That’s pretty astonishing.

Add a bit of color to your summer salads by tossing in some yellow, orange and purple carrot flowers. This Hawaiian Luau Spinach Salad will make a wonderful lunch for a pool party or any summertime event. This is a sponsored post in partnership with Newman's Own.

Hawaiian Luau Spinach Salad Topped with Carrot Flowers

Ingredients: (makes 4 salads)

Salad-
4 colorful carrots (purple, yellow, orange, light orange)
8 cups baby spinach leaves
30-40 sugar snap peas, cut in half*
1 1/3 cups diced pineapple
1/2 cup Newman’s Own Lighten Up Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing , divided
3/4 cup crunchy chow mein noodles, optional

Sauteed Shrimp-
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound raw large shrimp, peeled and cleaned
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon sugar

* If you don’t like the intense crunch of the sugar snap peas, you can blanch them to soften them slightly. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the sugar snap peas for 30 seconds. Remove and place in a bowl filled with ice water. Remove and pat dry before adding to the salad.

Supplies:
small flower cutters

Instructions:

Clean and peel your colored carrots. Cut them into thin slices.

Use small flower cutters to cut flower shapes out of the carrot slices. I used a plunger cutter, a metal cutter, and a plastic cutter. They all worked equally well and gave me a variety of sizes.

Don’t toss out all the scraps from your slices. You’ll want to chop them up and toss them in the salad.

How to make Rainbow Carrot Flowers for a Hawaiian Luau Spinach Salad

Toss together the spinach, pineapple, sugar snap peas and chopped up carrots along with 1/4 cup of the Newman’s Own Sesame Ginger Dressing. Reserve the flowers for on top of the salad.

I only made enough for 2 salads so I didn’t use all the chopped carrots. As with any salad you can adjust the amount of ingredients used to your liking.

How to make perfectly sauteed shrimp.

To sauté the shrimp:

Heat oil in a 12″ stainless steel skillet over high heat. Pat shrimp dry with paper towel. Toss shrimp with salt, pepper and sugar until evenly coated. Once oil just begins to smoke, place shrimp in skillet in one even layer. Cook until the edges turn pink, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.

Turn shrimp over. Cover skillet for 1-2 minutes until shrimp are cooked through.

I only cooked a small amount of shrimp at a time so that I could get nice pictures. You’ll be able to get 1/2 pound of shrimp in a single layer in your skillet, so you’ll need to make two batches to make enough for 4 salads.

Hawaiian Luau Salad Recipe

When you are ready to serve the salads, divide the salad among four plates. Arrange 1/4 of the shrimp, carrot flowers, and chow mein noodles on each salad.

Drizzle a tablespoon of Newman’s Own Sesame Ginger dressing over top and enjoy.

This post was sponsored by Newman’s Own. I received compensation and free product in exchange for creating this recipe post. All opinions expressed here are my own.

You can find items to make this recipe from Amazon.com. (commission earned for sales)

Embrace the beautiful weather that we are having and make some of these gorgeous and scrumptious Summer Fun Recipes.

This summer beat the heat by spending time in the kitchen creating cute food for a party or an afternoon snack. See over 100 Summer Fun Recipes that will make any pool party, summer picnic, or lazy afternoon more exciting. 

 

Filed Under: Earth Day Recipes, Everyday Meals, Summer Fun Recipes Tagged With: Dinner, Lunch, salad, Spring, Summer

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Fran

    July 27, 2015 at 4:27 am

    I love to toss slivered almond or roasted nuts in salads.

    Reply
  2. The Partiologist

    July 17, 2015 at 11:58 am

    I do believe this salad is just about as pretty as a salad can be! Right now I am adding walnuts to all my salads – you know what a nut I am! LOL I love Newman’s!

    Reply
  3. Catie

    July 17, 2015 at 12:04 am

    I love adding sunflower seeds to my salads!

    Reply
  4. colleen

    July 16, 2015 at 11:40 pm

    I love adding dried cranberries to salad..

    Reply
  5. Annie Smith

    July 16, 2015 at 8:06 pm

    I love to add goat cheese and figs to my salad. It is a perfect combination for a nice fall salad!

    Reply
  6. DJ

    July 16, 2015 at 7:42 pm

    I love my salads with sun-dried tomatoes.

    Reply
  7. Annette

    July 16, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    I like to add sundried tomatoes to my salads. Plus, the oil in the jar makes a great salad dressing with balsamic vinegar and spices.

    Reply
  8. LaTanya

    July 16, 2015 at 3:28 pm

    I love adding red onions to my salad s

    Reply
  9. Shelly P

    July 16, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    I love to add sunflower seeds to my salad..

    Reply
  10. Krystal

    July 16, 2015 at 2:15 pm

    I like to add raw sunflower or pumpkin seeds for a little extra crunch!

    Reply
  11. libby rouse

    July 16, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    I like to add cheese to my salads

    Reply
  12. Pamela

    July 16, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    I love to add green peppers and red onions.

    Reply
  13. lesley

    July 16, 2015 at 1:17 pm

    i love bacon and sunflower seeds!

    Reply
    • colleen

      July 16, 2015 at 11:41 pm

      That is my favorite too

      Reply
  14. Nancie

    July 16, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    Love to add Feta cheese to my salad.

    Reply
  15. Lauren

    July 11, 2015 at 1:34 pm

    I like to add mandarin oranges to my salad.

    Reply
  16. Kelli Davidson

    July 11, 2015 at 1:24 pm

    I love those little flower carrots! I'm going to try that in order to get my grandson to eat some –

    My favorite ingredient to add into a salad are spinach leaves instead of lettuce! I just love it!

    Reply
  17. Colleen

    July 11, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    I'm more for a fruit salad person, so a jello or pudding salad with mixed fruit or even a frozen Champagne salad

    Reply
  18. Mami2jcn

    July 11, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    I love to add black olives!

    mami2jcn at gmail dot com

    Reply
  19. Lisa Brown

    July 11, 2015 at 9:29 am

    I like to add cashew nuts to a salad. Thank you for the chance.
    jslbrown2009 at aol dot com

    Reply
  20. Anonymous

    July 11, 2015 at 1:11 pm

    I enjoy cheese on my salads!!
    cheshire_mist at yahoo.

    Reply
  21. Lindsay Lee

    July 11, 2015 at 5:19 am

    I love adding avocados to my salad!!!

    Reply
  22. Project Denneler

    July 11, 2015 at 2:41 am

    Those colorful carrot flowers are fabulous! I love this idea, Beth. Who knew salad could be so fun?

    Reply
  23. Sugartown Sweets

    July 11, 2015 at 2:33 am

    Oops..I forgot! Yes, your salad is definitely contest worthy and onions are an absolute must in my salads!

    Reply
  24. Sugartown Sweets

    July 11, 2015 at 2:29 am

    Newman's Own is a good name around our house! Just today I had their pepperoni pizza for lunch..it's our go-to. Your yummy and colorful pizza would pair perfectly..hubby could eat the shrimp! Love the pretty carrots. 🙂

    Reply
  25. Carlee Scharnhorst

    July 11, 2015 at 1:58 am

    I love salads with nuts and crumbly cheese, but after seeing this shrimp might be at the top of the list of favorite salad toppers!

    Reply

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