If you're looking for a quick and healthy lunch option, you've found it. This Spinach Salad with Avocado and Pomegranate is simple to make and full of healthy ingredients. The sunflower seeds and spinach in this salad are top-notch sources of magnesium, which enables your body to create dopamine. The avocado's vitamin B6 produces serotonin, a calming neurotransmitter.
The zesty dressing can be whipped together in seconds using lemon juice, dijon mustard, olive oil and salt & pepper.
Spinach Salad with Avocado and Pomegranate recipe found on Whole Living.
Avocado
The avocado (Persea americana) is a tree native to Mexico and Central America, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. Avocado or alligator pear also refers to the fruit, botanically a large berry that contains a single seed.
Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Commercially, they ripen after harvesting. Avocado trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.
Pomegranate
The pomegranate (/ˈpɒmɨɡrænɨt/), botanical name Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between 5 and 8 m (16 and 26 ft) tall.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February, and in the Southern Hemisphere from March to May. As intact arils or juice, pomegranates are used in cooking, baking, meal garnishes, juice blends, smoothies, and alcoholic beverages, such as cocktails and wine.
The pomegranate originated in the region of modern-day Iran and has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region and northern India. It was introduced into America (Spanish America) in the late 16th century and California by Spanishsettlers in 1769.
Spinach Salad with Avocado and Pomegranate
Ingredients
- 1 pomegranate
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- coarse salt and ground pepper
- 2 bunches flat leaf spinach stems trimmed, well washed and dried
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds roasted, hulled
- 1 organic avocado
Instructions
- Halve pomegranate lengthwise and seed. Working in a bowl of cold water, use your hands to separate seeds from membrane. Membrane will float to the top; discard. Scoop out pomegranate seeds and pat dry.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons lemon juice, mustard, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss spinach, sunflower seeds, and pomegranate seeds with dressing in bowl. Transfer to a serving platter.
- Halve avocado and remove pit. Scoop out flesh and thinly slice lengthwise; drizzle with remaining lemon juice. Transfer to plate and arrange salad on top. Serve immediately.
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