as you can imagine, i roast a lot of veggies throughout the cold winter months. but now that the sun is shining all day, the only vegetables i have been craving are fresh veggies in salad. i love including different berries in my salad & this combination of strawberries + avocado is my go to. the avocado is so creamy! instead of using store bought dressings, i make my own four ingredient maple dijon dressing. this dressing recipe also works well with honey too instead of the maple syrup! seriously, between the strong blue cheese, fresh spinach & sweet strawberries these flavours are just so good together. a million times better then any salad i have been served at a restaurant. top in with grilled chicken breast or roasted chickpeas for a little protien.
in this recipe i used organic baby spinach as the base from taylor farms, but the organic baby spring mix works well too! they grow the highest quality of salads + vegetables around. everything is always super fresh because lets be real, there is nothing worse then soggy salad mix. this month (just in time for mother's day) they are hosting a fun little contest on instagram! to celebrate national salad moth you can enter to win a month supply of chopped salad kits. they will be drawing a winner once a week! to enter simply follow @yourtaylorfarms on instagram, create an original instagram post with a photo featuring your best salad (a.k.a this one) & tag #sweetsaladskills + #taylorfarms. good luck!!!! now is the time to get back to healthy eating with all the fresh fruits & vegetables spring has to offer.
ingredients
for the spinach strawberry + avocado salad
- 5 oz taylor farms organic baby spinach
- 1 avocado, sliced or diced
- 1 cup strawberries, thinly sliced
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
- whole grain croutons (optional)
- maple dijon dressing (see recipe below)
for the maple dijon dressing
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- salt & pepper, to taste
directions
for the spinach strawberry + avocado salad
- in a large salad bowl add spinach, avocado, strawberries, cucumber & red onion. toss to combine.
- sprinkle over salad pecans, blue cheese & croutons.
- drizzle with desired amount of maple dijon dressing.
for the maple dijon dressing
- in a mixing bowl whisk oil, vinegar, mustard, syrup, salt & pepper until thick.
- set aside until ready to use.
