It’s no secret, I love a good salad — especially, this refreshing orange avocado salad recipe. There’s barely a day that goes by where I don’t eat a salad of some sort. With the right prep work, salads literally take only minutes to prepare and you can be so creative with them. I like experimenting with different flavours and textures and this salad is a perfect example that. The sweet bright orange segments go wonderfully with the creamy and subtle flavours of the avocado and the crunchy toasted almonds. Adding grapefruit to the dressing amps it all up with that signature pungent freshness.
A neat trick to take the bite and aftertaste out of raw onions when you’re using them on salads is this: after you slice, just submerge the onions in cold water for at least 10 minutes; makes a big difference. I can’t promise you won’t have onion breath afterwards, but it might take the edge off. Typically, I don’t love raw onions, even though I know they are healthiest in this state, so this little trick has been a welcome addition to my kitchen repertoire.
I’m a big fan of arugula and spinach, so I’ve made this on a bed of mixed delicate greens, but you can make this salad with any greens you like. You also don’t have to toast the almonds in the oven, but this will bring out the sweet taste and give them a bit more of a crunch.
- 1 bag of mixed greens
- ¼ c thinly sliced red onion (soaked in water 10 minutes)
- 2 sliced ripe avocados
- 2 peeled and sliced oranges
- ⅓ c toasted almonds
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds (for topping)
- DRESSING:
- ¼ c freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ grapefruit juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp raw honey
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- In
small bowl, or mason jar, mix together all dressing ingredients. Whisk or shake well. - Toss all salad ingredients together in a large bowl, top with almonds and sesame seeds.
Spotlight Ingredient: Avocados
I can’t really ever get enough avocado. These “alligator pears” are a super nutritious fruit chock-full of healthy fats that instantly transform any dish they’re in into wonderfully creamy meal. Avocados are also a great source of potassium. In fact, they contain more than bananas! We need potassium to maintain good cardiovascular function and nervous system health. And although many people shy away from the fat content of avocados after years of health trends that demonized fats, I can assure you there’s not need to fear the kind of fat in avocados. It’s the monounsaturated heart-healthy kind of fat like the fat in olive oil, which lowers cholesterol, blood pressure and inflammation. Sure, you’re not going to knock back 3 or 4 avocados in a day because they are high in calories, but I have no problem suggesting that eating ½ – a whole avocado per day is good for your health.
Obviously, there are about 101 different ways you could customize this orange avocado salad recipe and I encourage that. Adding some quinoa, for example, would instantly up the protein and taste amazing. The only way I ever learned anything in the kitchen was through experimentation. I’d love to hear if you make this salad and how you experiment with it, so tell me about it in the comment section or tag me in your social media posts @kimdeoncom or you can use the tag #EatSomeGood so I know where to find your tasty creations.
