Recipe by Bailey Campbell

Forward by Smart Solutions

This festive, colourful salad brings together the best produce of the season. Fruity, fresh, and topped with a creamy dressing, this dish is sure to impress any guest!

The crunchy sliced almonds and crumbled feta cheese pair perfectly with the honey mustard dressing that’s both sweet and tangy.

We’ve got a few of our favourite fruits that are now in season:

Mandarin orange: the citrus fruit we most commonly associate with the holidays! In addition to being rich in vitamin C, they’re full of other macronutrients including potassium, folate, calcium, vitamin B6, phosphorus, magnesium, copper (and more!)¹

Pomegranate: this beautiful, round fruit is rich with plant compounds that pack impressive health benefits (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic effects). ^2,3Its shiny red seeds contain proteins, vitamins, minerals and more.^2,3They’ve also been shown to improve wound healing, and to be beneficial to the reproductive system.^2,3 

Enjoy the flavours of the holidays with this mouth-watering combination that takes only 15 minutes to prepare.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

FOR THE SALAD

• 5 large handfuls of spinach or mixed greens
• ½ cup feta cheese
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• 3 mandarin oranges
• ½ pomegranate, seeded

FOR THE HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, grated or minced
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mustard, honey, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper.
2. In a large bowl add the spinach, feta cheese, almonds, oranges, and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle honey mustard dressing over the salad and toss to coat the salad. Enjoy!

Instagram Handle: @basicswithbails

References:

1. Lv, X., Zhao, S., Ning, Z., Zeng, H., Shu, Y., Tao, O., Xiao, C., Lu, C., & Liu, Y. (2015). Citrus fruits as a treasure trove of active natural metabolites that potentially provide benefits for human health. Chemistry Central journal, 9, 68. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13065-015-0145-9
2. Zarfeshany, A., Asgary, S., & Javanmard, S. H. (2014). Potent health effects of pomegranate. Advanced biomedical research, 3, 100. https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9175.129371
3. Kandylis, P., & Kokkinomagoulos, E. (2020). Food Applications and Potential Health Benefits of Pomegranate and its Derivatives. Foods (Basel, Switzerland), 9(2), 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9020122