Avocado & Poppy Seed Summer Salad

I have been dying to put this recipe on my blog! This is without a doubt my favorite salad in the whole world. My mom started making it a few years ago and almost every time we had a family function after that, there was this wonderful salad. I've made a few changes to suit my preferences and I think the result is fantastic.

 Here are all the ingredients you will need. Spring Mix, roasted almonds, mandarin oranges, avocado and of course poppy seed dressing. (Any salad green will do by the way. I've used spinach and it's just as tasty)

Now the most important part of this salad and the pièce de résistance, if you will, if Brianna's Home Style Poppy Seed Dressing. It is my favorite dressing. It's creamy and a little sweet but has a nice light flavor. (I actually made this salad for my sister's bridal shower a few weeks ago and almost everyone there asked me not only for this recipe but what dressing I used). 

After I stop drooling over the dressing, I assemble my salad: about 2-3 cups of salad (or half a bag), 1/2 cup of drained mandarin oranges (I like them cold so I put the can in the fridge for about an hour before making this salad), and 2 tablespoons of sliced almonds. I used Almond Accents because they are sliced nice and thin and oven roasted and have a no salt version.

Next I get my avocado ready. Now, I'm something of an expert on avocados. I love them. I seriously would put them on anything if people didn't think I was having some sort of pregnant craving. I got the avocado above today at the market. The thing you want to look for in avocados is firmness. Color of the skin has nothing to do with a ripe avocado. If I'm going to use the avocado today, I go for an avocado that has just the slightest give when I squeeze it. If it's too soft, it's usually over-ripe or possibly even gone bad. If you're not going to use the avocado right away, you can get a firm avocado. Just let it sit a day or two until you're ready to use it or until you feel the slight give when you squeeze it. Then it will be perfect.

I use a whole half avocado on this salad because, like I said, I seriously love avocado. If you're not as big of a fan, use whatever amount suits you. The trick I use is to leave the avocado in the skin and slice it right in there. I slice it long-ways and then across, leaving me with nice little squares.

Then, all you have to do is get a spoon and run it along the back of the avocado, near the skin and the perfect little squares will fall right into your salad bowl.

 Yum!!

 So now I'm ready to add the amazing dressing.

2 tablespoons are really enough of this dressing. It coats the salad well so no need to lather on the dressing. Trust me, in this case, less is more. I give it a good toss with a fork or tongs to coat all of the salad and voila! A super yummy, light, tasty, and filling summer salad is at your fingertips! The mandarin oranges pair really well with the creamy poppy seed dressing and the almonds give the salad a nice crunch. The avocado adds this great creamy, buttery texture to the salad. This can definitely be served on the side of a meal or eaten all by itself. That's what I'm doing tonight :) This salad is also great for large crowds. It's easy to double and triple. Enjoy!!


Ingredients:

2-3 cups of spring mix
1/2 cup of mandarin oranges (in sections)
2 TBSP of sliced almonds
1/2 ripe avocado, cut into cubes
2 TBSP of Poppy Seed dressing

Toss everything into a bowl and mix well.

Calories: 444, Fat: 31 grams, Carbs: 38 grams, 7 grams of protein

**To make a lighter version of this recipe, substitute Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing for a fat-free version. Maple Grove Farms makes an excellent fat free poppy seed dressing that works well with this salad. Another substitution I've used is sections of grapefruit instead of mandarin oranges. It gives the salad a more tangy flavor.