The joy of eating salad!

By: Jodie Shield, RD

Spring is in the air!  Warm weather always puts me in the mood for something light to eat like a crisp and refreshing fresh salad.  Here’s one of my favorite recipes for spinach salad that uses hard-boiled eggs as a garnish.  (Just in case you still have a few leftover from Easter!) It’s another classic recipe from the Joy of Cooking.  If you want to trim extra fat, just skip the bacon – - it tastes terrific either way.  And go ahead and serve it hot or cold.  This leafy green salad is such a crowd pleaser, don’t be surprised if the Easter bunny comes  comes back for a nibble!  Hope your family enjoys eating this healthy spinach salad as much as mine does.  Let me know: which version did they like best hot or cold?

Spinach Salad

(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

4 slices regular or turkey bacon (optional)

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed (optional)

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon grated onion

1 teaspoon sugar

1 large bunch young spinach, trimmed, washed and dried ( Short cut: use a bagged spinach salad)

2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced into rounds

Directions:

• Cook bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp.  Drain on paper towel and crumble.  Combine all of the salad dressing ingredients and mix well.  Add the spinach to a large bowl.  Pour dressing over spinach and toss.  Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and eggs.  Serve immediately.
• To make a warm spinach salad, simple heat the dressing ingredients until just before it begins to boil.  Go ahead and pour it over the spinach and add the eggs,  Serve it immediately.

Nutrition Information:

160 calories

8 grams protein

5 grams carbohydrate

12 grams fat

2.5 grams saturated fat

113 milligrams cholesterol

2 grams dietary fiber

246 milligrams sodium