Thanks to Beemster Cheese for sponsoring this delicious recipe. Strawberry Poppyseed Salad in Gouda Cups will make your Mother’s Day table sparkle. Plus they are low carb and gluten-free. All opinions are my own.

Pin Strawberry Poppyseed Salad in Gouda Bowls here.

Hello my pretties! Today is all about one of my favorite topics, cheese. Cheese, glorious cheese has got to be the world’s most perfect food. When we throw a family party, the number one item on the menu is a cheese plate. While my Dad was working in Philadelphia, he would bring home different cheeses from Di Brunos. One of those cheeses was a Beemster Aged Gouda. It quickly became a favorite, and he had to stock up every time he went to Philadelphia. The Beemster was the perfect centerpiece of a cheese plate. Low and behold, Beemster Cheese contacted me about doing a recipe.  Would I like to?  I would love to.  My entire family adores Beemster cheese.  My little one was jumping up and down. She is quite the cheese connoisseur at the ripe old age of 9 years old.

Have you heard of Beemster Cheese? It is from Netherlands and has a really cool history since the companies inception in 1901. Over 400 years ago, the Dutch constructed a system of dykes and canals that drained the sea water and created “polders”. It is this polder with rich grass where the cows reside. The Beemster cooperative has grown around this area as well as towns and dairy-farming. Beester is produced in the Netherlands by a small co-op of family farmers and cheesemakers. What is really cool is that the design of the towns and roads was the inspiration for the street layout of Manhattan, NY. Somewhere in the depths of my brain, I seem to remember learning about that in school.

This polder is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. I want to take a trip right now to see it. Don’t  you? I love food history. Actually I love history in general. I think you can tell when a cheese is still made the traditional way. It just tastes better.  Each wheel of Beemster is handcrafted and aged on old wooden boards. The Beemster coes are naturally healthy, given no artificial growth hormones or antibiotics.

There is a huge variety of Beemster Gouda Cheese. Beester cheese ranges from firm and buttery to hard and “butterscotchy”. Some flavors even have mixes of flavors like wasabi and mustard. They even have a Lite one.  This one I was most interested in. On special occasions we splurge on good full-fat cheese, but day-to-day we try to use the 2% variety. They are usually not overly inspiring.  That changed with the Beemster cheese. Beemster Lite still has the proper “cheese texture”. It is not rubbery, but most importantly it tasted like cheese.

Next month I’ll share my Great Grandmother’s recipe for Macaroni & Cheese that I used Beemster in. It was amazing and you would never know I used Lite cheese. Today is all about these beautiful little salad cups though. I used the Beemster Classic which is aged 18 months to make the shells. Then simply filled them with a strawberry spinach salad with poppyseed dressing. These would be perfect for Mother’s Day or a Bridal shower. I love that they are mini sized.  Don’t you?

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Strawberry Poppyseed Salad in Gouda Bowls (Low Carb, Gluten Free)

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Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes

Total Time 18 minutes

Servings 24

Calories 91 kcal

Author Christie Daruwalla

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded Beemster Classic Gouda
• 1 1/4 cups shredded spinach
• 1 cup strawberries half finely diced, half thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup very thinly sliced red onion

Dressing:

• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3/4 tbsp honey
• 3/4 tbsp poppyseeds
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350•. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats.
2. Place 2 tsp. Beemster into a mound on the baking sheet. Slightly press out to make a circle. Do not make it to thin. Place a total of 12 on each baking sheet.
3. Bake for 3 minutes.
4. Take out of the oven and let sit for 1 minute.
5. Then mold into a mini muffin tin.
6. Let rest until they are very stiff.
7. Carefully remove to a work surface.
8. In a medium bowl, toss together spinach, strawberries and onion.
9. Add all the ingredients for the dressing into a jar. Close tightly and shake.
10. Pour on the dressing and toss. (You may not need all the dressing)
11. Carefully fill each cheese cup and serve immediately

Recipe Notes

I calculated 4 Weight Watcher smart points.

Nutrition Facts

Strawberry Poppyseed Salad in Gouda Bowls (Low Carb, Gluten Free)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 91 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 7g 11%

Saturated Fat 3g 15%

Total Carbohydrates 3g 1%

Sugars 2g

Protein 3g 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Happy Healthy Eating,

Christie

But wait, there is more. Check out these deliciously, healthy cheese recipes:

Pear Pancetta Goat Cheese Rounds

 Grilled Brie with Grilled Vegetables 

Caesar Salad Parmesan Tacos

Food Done Light is on a mission to keep passion for food but find ways to fit it into a healthy life and hopefully, along the way, change eating habits for good. Healthy living one bite at a time is our motto. You will find heart healthy recipes with Weight Watcher points, and most of all the recipes are delicious. Just ask the Food Done Light family which includes my husband, 9-year-old daughter, Lucy, our 7 yr old Golden Retriever, and Stella, our 12-year-old cat. Find Food Done Light on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.