Pomegranate, Pear, & Avocado Salad

Thank you, Pinterest, for finding me a wonderful salad recipe! I think I'm the worse at finding a salad recipe that delivers on flavor and crunch. I've come across a couple salad dressing recipes that I really enjoy, but I'm still the worse at putting a salad together. Have no fear; Pinterest is here to save the day! This recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven, and I have been making it over and over and over. I love the crunch factor of the pomegranates and the pistachios. I love the juiciness that the pears give the salad. And, how can you go wrong with avocados and goat cheese? Plus, this salad dressing is so good!! Seriously, if you're looking for a healthy recipe give this one a try! You'll love it!!

Salad Ingredients:

1 head Romaine lettuce, washed and roughly-chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 ripe pear, cored and diced
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
2/3 cup shelled pistachios
2/3 cup crumbled goat cheese (or blue cheese, or feta cheese)
1/2 cup diced red onion (about half of a small red onion)
seeds from 1 pomegranate
citrus vinaigrette (see below)

Citrus Vinaigrette Ingredients:

1/3 cup orange juice (freshly-squeezed, if possible)
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon honey, if needed to sweeten
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

To make the salad; take out a large bowl and toss in the lettuce, diced pear, diced avocados, diced onions, and the pomegranate seeds. Sprinkle the goat cheese and pistachios on top. Pour the salad dressing on top, and toss gently. Enjoy!

To make the dressing; pour all the ingredients into a mason jar. Place the lid on the jar and shake vigorously. 

Giada's California Lettuce Cups

Recently, I watched an episode of Giada at Home, and it was all about California cuisine. I believe this episode was called California Dream. Sometimes, I dream about how much I would enjoy living in California...especially southern Cali. But, I remind myself how expensive it is, the earthquakes, the fires, the population, and I immediately come back down to earth. Sigh. I will just have to admire it from afar. And, enjoy recipes like this one that Giada invented. I have to say as soon as I saw her make this I knew I wanted to try it. It fits in perfectly with the sugar detox that I'm trying (4 more days people)! I saw one review posted where they gave this recipe 1 star, because they thought it was too sour. I don't know. Maybe this person got a sour grapefruit, and if so I can see how that would be true. But, I thought it tasted delicious. I love the heat the pepper gives as well as the crunch from the almonds. For me, this was fabulous. Plus, my pink grapefruit was on the sweeter side so it worked great. I will say this is a messy dish. The juice from the dressing easily seeps out from the lettuce cup, so be sure you have plenty of napkins handy. But, overall this was a hit, and I've made it two other times since! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup lime juice (from about 4 small or 2 large limes)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 red grapefruits
2 avocados
1/2 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
1 serrano chile, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 head Boston or butter lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried

First, take out your grapefruits and make sure you segment them and place in your bowl. I watched this video to learn how to do it, but I'm still not great at it. Anyway, just go with it and be sure to squeeze out the juice from the segmented grapefruit into your bowl before tossing in the trash (or compost). Next, add your diced avocados to the bowl. Then, add the almonds, chile pepper, and cilantro. Take out a small bowl and combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour this into the bowl with the grapefruit. Toss gently. Spoon the mixture into the separated lettuce leaves, and enjoy!

Citrus Salad with Avocado and Beans

I really have no idea what this recipe is called. I kind of made it up since I don't have the actual recipe. My mom found this particular gem in a magazine several years ago, and it has wonderful flavor with the citrus fruit and avocados. I love pairing this side dish with grilled chicken. They complement each other nicely. My favorite time to make this is during the summer months, because I love how the citrus salad is so cooling. If you don't like beans then feel free to omit them. I think it still tastes great without the beans. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 jar Delmonte Citrus Salad, drained (or leave some of the juice if you are not using the vinaigrette)
1 14 oz can Black Beans (Drained and Rinsed)
1 Avocado, sliced
1 small Red Onion, diced
Handful of chopped Cilantro
Small Vinegar/Olive Oil Vinaigrette, store-bought (I actually omitted this step and it still came out yummy)

Combine all the above ingredients into a serving bowl and give it a nice stir. It stores well in an air-tight container for a day or two in the fridge.