Salads are an easy way to get more vegetables, especially leafy greens, into your diet. Unfortunately, salads can get boring fast. Adding fruits, nuts and other tasty ingredients to your usual tossed salad adds interest, flavor and nutrition. Include a tossed salad with mandarin oranges and sunflower seeds into your diet as a starter or a light lunch.
Greens
A delicious tossed salad begins with the right mix of greens. Skip the iceberg lettuce, as it's weak in both flavor and nutrition. Instead, choose a mixture of leaf or romaine lettuces, accented with more flavorful choices like arugula, frisee, baby beet leaves or radicchio. A well stocked market should carry a variety of greens or you can purchase bagged mixes featuring baby greens of all sorts, including radicchio, European-style greens or spring mixes. Spinach is a delicious and nutritious alternative if your selection is poor. Choose your favorite as the basis for a simple salad.
Mandarin Oranges
Mandarins are a group of smallish oranges with thin, easily removed skin. Tangerines, clementines and satsumas all belong to the mandarin family. While many of us think of mandarin oranges in their canned form, you can use canned or fresh mandarins in salads. Drain canned mandarin oranges, or section fresh ones, cutting the soft juicy flesh away from the inner segments to use them in salads.
Seeds and Other Salad Toppers
Seeds and nuts add protein and essential fatty acids to your salad. While mandarin oranges and leafy greens will pair nicely with slivered almonds or pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds are an affordable, easy choice. You can also add finely chopped fresh broccoli or red onion to your mandarin orange salad for additional flavor and nutrition.
Dressing
Your salad isn't complete without dressing. Whisk together red wine vinegar, orange marmalade, olive oil and salt and pepper if you're not fond of sweet dressings, or try a purchased poppy-seed dressing with a twist of lemon if you prefer something sweeter. A light white wine vinaigrette will also pair well with greens, mandarin oranges and sunflower seeds.
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