Need a side dish to bring to this weekend’s cookout?  This quick and easy recipe combines some of summer’s freshest ingredients for a refreshing salad packed with nutrients. Just top it with some grilled chicken for a fast, tasty summertime meal!

Salad:

1 pound fresh spinach, washed and dried 
1 pint strawberries, sliced, stems trimmed 
½ cup sliced almonds 
1 tbsp poppy seeds 
2 tbsp sesame seeds 

Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil
1/3 cup sugar
¼ tsp paprika
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup red wine vinegar

Lightly brown almonds in a small frying pan on the stovetop on medium heat until golden: about 3 minutes; let almonds cool. In the meantime, combine spinach and strawberries in a large salad bowl; whisk dressing ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add poppy and sesame seeds to cooled almonds and sprinkle mixture over spinach and strawberries. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!

Yield: About 7 servings

(2 cups salad mixture and 2 Tbsp dressing per serving)

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING:

CALORIES: 195
PROTEIN: 4 g
SODIUM: 52 mg
CARBOHYDRATE: 18 g
FIBER: 4 g
FAT: 13 g
Sat Fat: 2 g 

(Recipe adapted by Ashley Reynolds, Dietetic Intern. Photo Credit: Levi Szekeres)