Strawberry & Spinach Salad

Yesterday morning was the most wonderful morning I had in a really long time. I woke up and was not still tired, I had NO abdominal pain, and I felt fantastic! My waist was 2 inches smaller than last week to boot! Boot camp wasn't so bad since I had the energy to get through it. I was tuckered out by 8:30 with several gluten-symptoms coming out, though, so I'm certainly not back to 100%.

I promised I would post recipes that I find really good and my first one is a doozy. I'm somewhat of a salad snob in that I only really like homemade dressing and I will only eat it fresh. Now that I'm cutting out gluten, homemade dressing is almost a necessity since gluten is in a lot of salad dressings. This picture does not do the salad justice - my taste buds were partying! It was so good that I had it for lunch today and I do not like leftover salad (I said I was a salad snob).


Strawberry & Spinach Salad
2 bunches spinach
4 cups sliced strawberries
Mandarin oranges (amount to suit your taste)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar		 1/8 to 1/4 cup sugar in the raw
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Sliced, toasted almonds
Feta cheese
  1. In a large bowl, toss together the spinach, strawberries, mandarin oranges, and toasted almonds.
  2. Crumble and sprinkle some feta cheese on salad.
  3. In a blender, mix the oil, vinegar, sugar, honey, paprika, and poppy seeds together.
  4. Pour over greens and fruit. 
  5. Toss to coat.

The blender is really key to good dressing. I find even a few pulses really makes the flavors meld together nicely. I have a magic bullet blender that allows for very easy small batches, which is perfect for dressings. Enjoy this sweetness!

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