March 7, 2013

Cara Cara Goat Cheese & Spinach Salad

Cara Cara Spinach & Goat Cheese Salad

This week marks my first week back in the gym since my son was born in late January. Hooray for exercise! Hooray for touching my toes! Hooray for skinny jeans this summer! And, most importantly, hooray for Advil! It is time for me to tackle the baby weight once and for all and it starts here. First, I’ll be working out regularly. Second, I’ll be doing my best to eat exceptionally well. I am the first to admit I am not a dietitian. But I know it is time to cut out the sweets and stick to the lean and healthy. It won’t be easy but it will be worth. I have so many clothes I can’t wait to wear again! Plus, since we are done having babies, this is the last time I’ll have to embark on any kind of weight loss endeavor.

To kick things off I made this hearty spinach salad to serve alongside some baked chicken. I filled it to the brim with healthy dark spinach, a nice touch of slivered onions and pretty jewel-like wedges of Cara Cara oranges. It was rich and filling and full of nutrients to replenish my body after my first gym work-out in a very, very long time. The not too sweet dressing was the perfect finishing touch. It was even sweet enough to help me pass up dessert!

Recipe

Cara Cara Goat Cheese & Spinach Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Cara Cara orange, peeled and slivered so no pith remains on the orange slices
2 packed cups of baby spinach that has been washed and dried
¼ red onion, slivered
1 tablespoon favorite vinaigrette (I used Champagne Pear Vinaigrette from Trader Joe’s)
2 ounces crumbled plain goat cheese
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts

Instructions

1. In a large bowl toss the spinach, and slivers of red onion. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and use tongs to toss it well so that the dressing evenly coats the spinach.

2. Place the orange slivers evenly on top of the salad  and top with the crumbled goat cheese and toasted pine nuts

Naptime Notes

Naptime Recipe Serving ideas

Toasted walnuts or almonds would taste excellent in lieu of the pine nuts.

 

Naptime Stopwatch

10 minutes prep time

Naptime Reviews

This bright salad brought with it the promise of spring!

More Naptime Recipes

4 Responses to “Cara Cara Goat Cheese & Spinach Salad”

  1. Congratulations! Way to get going on your goals! This salad would be inspiration enough for a workout, it looks delicious! Keep up the yummy work đŸ™‚

  2. Marvleen says:

    Made this salad Friday evening- love the citrus with the spinach.