Have you seen the beautiful citrus in the markets lately?
I know it’s harsh winter in many places, but where I am, there are trees everywhere absolutely bursting with oranges and lemons. In my excitement I bought a huge box of oranges. I need to eat them in everything!
Eating healthy is so easy when your food tastes amazing. That is this salad. I want to eat it over and over again. It’s healthy because the ingredients are fresh and simple: raw veggies, fruit, seeds, vinegar, and olive oil.
Has anyone noticed how obsessed I am with flavored olive oils? They make the simplest, healthiest, tastiest, and cleanest salad dressings. I can’t even buy bottled dressings anymore after topping salad after salad with delicious, light-tasting lemon and orange olive oils. Have you tried flavored olive oils, yet? You need to…right now!
The best way to find out your favorite oils? Go taste them! Sigona’s Farmers Market in Palo Alto is one of my favorite places to taste olive oils, but you can find them in many whole foods markets. You might be surprised, but citrus olive oils also make great marinades and even dipping oils for breads. Sourdough and lemon olive oil is a unique and tasty snack.
I need to get back to Jacuzzi Winery in Sonoma soon. They have one of the largest olive oil and vinegar tasting rooms I have ever seen. There are so many flavors and combinations, like lime olive oil and coconut balsamic.
I don’t miss dairy for a second in this salad. This is not a salad for dairy.
If you are thinking that salads aren’t as good anymore since you’ve had to cut dairy, then it’s time to think outside the box! Citrus is the way to go for a flavorful, healthy salad. The sweet orange flavor is so tangy and crisp. It goes perfectly with the citrusy flavor of heart of palm. This is delicious, clean eating.
- 2 cups raw spinach
- 1 navel orange, peeled and cut into 1 inch segments
- 2 hearts of palm, quartered lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange infused olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fruit infused balsamic vinegar
- Place spinach on a large salad plate. Drizzle orange juice on the spinach either by squeezing a piece of orange over the salad or by peeling orange pieces over the spinach. Little drops of juice will add flavor.
- Layer on orange segments, hearts of palm, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds.
- Drizzle orange olive oil* and vinegar over the salad and add more according to preference.
- *Don't have orange olive oil? Extra virgin olive oil tastes great with this salad as well.
