It’s that time of the year when I make a big salad almost everyday. Mixing up fresh ingredients from a farmers market and tossing it with a simple homemade vinaigrette is my favorite. This recipe pairs spinach with sweet strawberries, raspberries, peaches, ripe avocado, with a homemade lemon vinaigrette. Within minutes you have a beautiful, light and fresh summer salad ready to enjoy! Isn’t it almost too pretty to eat?!
The salad comes together very quickly. The base of this Colorful Summer Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette is fresh baby spinach. I highly recommend using baby spinach instead of mature spinach in salads, since it has much more delicate leaves. Dense in vitamins and minerals, spinach has amazing benefits including skin care, improved eyesight, regulated blood pressure and stronger muscles.
Next step will be adding all the fresh summer fruit and veggies. I picked all my favorites, but the fun thing is that you can add anything you’d like. Just get creative! I promise that this amazing flavor and texture combo will leave your tastebuds crave more! If you want to make it vegan, skip on feta cheese and substitute it with toasted nuts or seeds for example.
To brighten the whole salad even more, toss it with a simple homemade lemon vinaigrette. Remember not to add the dressing to the salad until serving time, otherwise the spinach will wilt quickly. I love serving it as a light lunch or a side salad. However, feel free to top it off with any protein you like!
If you decide to make this recipe yourself, don’t forget to use hashtag #natteats and tag @natteats so I can see your creations!
Ingredients
- 5 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced or cubed
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1 cup strawberries, sliced
- 1 ripe peach, sliced or cubed
- 1 medium cucumber, sliced
- 2 roma tomatoes, sliced
- 1/3 cup feta cheese (optional)
- 2 tbsp Protein World's super seeds blend (optional)
- 6 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp mustard
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a jar, combine all the dressing ingredients. Shake well and place in the fridge.
- In a large bowl place spinach, top with sliced avocado, strawberries, peach, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and raspberries.
- Right before serving, add the dressing and toss. Sprinkle with feta cheese and super seeds blend.
2 comments
This looks so amazing! Definitely going to try it. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad you like it Rebekah!