This spinach mandarin salad is a simple spring salad with a twist. Dressed in a delicious citrus dressing, this superfood Spinach Salad with Mandarin Oranges An entree salad or a side salad that goes with everything!
My favorite way to welcome spring is to visit the farmer’s market and shop for local produce. So, today’s spring salad is a superfood spinach salad with mandarin oranges, a plethora of farmers market vegetables, mandarin oranges, white beans and tofu feta dressed in a refreshing citrus dressing. I plan on eating this spinach mandarin salad all week long.
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What is nutrient-dense?
What does nutrient density mean? Foods that are high in nutrients but relatively low in calories. Nutrient-dense foods contain vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Whenever I make a superfood salad, I include many fruits, vegetables, and beans from Dr. Fuhrman’s nutrient-dense Andy’s Chart.
Andy-Score
For example, the ANDI assigns nutritional values to many common foods based on how many nutrients they provide to your body for each calorie consumed.
Unlike food labels that list only a few nutrients, ANDI scores are based on thirty-four important nutrient parameters.
Foods are ranked on a scale of 1-1000, with the most nutrient-dense cruciferous green vegetables scoring 1000.
Spinach mandarin salad ingredients
- Baby Spinach (707): Spinach has high antioxidant value. It contains antioxidants such as lutein, beta-carotene, coumaric acid and ferulic acid. These antioxidants help prevent chronic illness and oxidative damage to DNA. Lutein and zeaxanthin – two antioxidants loaded in spinach juice are known to protect your eye health
- Mandarin Orange (105): Mandarin oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C, another key nutrient for immune system function, and maintain healthy skin and wound healing. The body absorbs vitamin C better in food than you do with a mega-dose of vitamin C from a supplement.
- White Beans (64): White beans are a nutritional powerhouse rich in fiber and protein and a good source of numerous micronutrients including folate, magnesium and vitamin B6. Calories in a 1-cup (170-gram) serving of cooked white beans: 242—Protein: 17 g.
- Bit (97): A superfood is a nutrient-dense food that contains a higher than average amount of vitamins and minerals per gram. Beetroot fits into that category.
- Tofu Feta (37): Tofu derived from soy is considered a superfood that our body needs many nutrients and is effective in preventing heart problems. In an era where a healthy lifestyle is becoming increasingly important, so-called ‘superfoods’ play a fundamental role.
- Grape tomatoes (164): Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C. In addition to vitamin C’s ability to help our immune system function effectively, it helps develop strong bones, healthy skin, and healthy gums! Tomatoes are a good source of vitamin A.
- Cucumber (50): Cucumber stuffed with them. Just one cup of cucumber slices will provide you with 14% to 19% of your daily requirement of vitamin K. You’ll also get B vitamins and C, along with minerals like copper, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium.
- Red Onion (50): Red onions are a great source of antioxidants, which boost immunity. They contain vitamins A and C and quercetin and sulfur compounds. These nutrients work together to improve the body’s ability to fight infection.
Spinach replaces mandarin salad ingredients
- Choose any green. Kale is an excellent substitute for spinach and is high on the nutrient-dense scale (1000).
- If you can’t find fresh mandarin oranges, try clementines or any orange, or buy a can of mandarin oranges in natural juice, not syrup.
- Replace white beans with chickpeas or any type of bean.
- Chickpea tofu is the new craze and its soy-free. Or skip the tofu.
- Cherry tomatoes are similar in taste and size to grape tomatoes.
- Persian cucumbers are similar to English cucumbers in that they contain fewer seeds and are less watery than regular cucumbers.
- Green onions or spring onions work well with this spinach salad recipe.
How to Make Spinach Salad with Mandarin Oranges
Apart from chopping a few vegetables, this salad is easy to prepare! As a time saver, I buy cooked and peeled fresh beets from Trader Joe’s.
However, feel free to roast the beets and add beet greens for more nutrition for your buck!
One of my favorite kitchen hacks is slicing beets, mushrooms, or whatever, before going plant-based with an old egg slicer from my days.
Start with baby spinach as a base in a large dish. Then, evenly distribute the vegetables and mandarin oranges over the spinach base. Serve with or without tofu feta cheese.
Citrus salad dressing ingredients
- Orange: I used freshly squeezed Valencia oranges. I prefer fresh squeezed juice to bottled juice.
- Lemon: I love fresh lemons.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar adds a tanginess and works with citrus fruit acids.
- Water: Water thins and emulsifies the dressing in place of oil.
- Whole Grain Mustard: Whole grain mustard tastes very close to Dijon The main difference with mustard is in texture, as mustard seeds are not ground and are whole, resulting in a thick mustard paste.
- Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is a natural sweetener. When added to a citrus salad dressing, it adds the perfect sweetness.
Substitute citrus salad dressing ingredients
- Use bottled orange and lemon juice instead of fresh orange juice.
- White wine vinegar is an excellent alternative to apple cider vinegar.
- Yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, tarragon mustard and brown mustard seeds are excellent substitutes for whole grain mustard.
- Date syrup or agave substitute maple syrup in the recipe.
Recipe FAQs
Spinach also contains several vitamins and minerals, including potassium, magnesium, and vitamins B6, B9, and E. Spinach is a very nutritious vegetable. It packs high amounts of carotenoids, vitamins C and K, folic acid, iron and calcium.
Eating a bowl of spinach a day will help you meet your daily requirements,” says the expert, adding that the antioxidants in vitamin C “heal the skin and prevent premature aging”. Vitamin A ensures strong immunity and its anti-inflammatory action can reduce inflammation and improve eye health.
A food (such as broccoli, or blueberries) that is rich in compounds (such as antioxidants, fiber or fatty acids) is thought to be beneficial to a person’s health.
advice
- Buy organic spinach. Spinach has spongy, porous leaves that, unfortunately, are excellent at soaking up pesticides. The EWG found that 97 percent of conventional spinach samples contained some.
- Don’t dress the salad until you plan to eat it. Unlike leafy greens like kale, spinach is soft and will make the salad soggy if worn prematurely.
- Be sure to drain and rinse the beans. Aquafaba beans are sticky and can dry out the salad if the beans are not washed properly.
- If using canned mandarin oranges, opt for natural juice instead of syrup. Also, drain the oranges and place them on paper towels to remove excess liquid before adding to the salad.
- For extra flavor, try pickled red onions instead of raw red onions.
Welcome spring with this spinach salad with mandarin oranges. Try it as an entree or side salad that goes perfectly with any entree.
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📖 Recipe
Spinach Salad with Mandarin Oranges
This spinach mandarin salad is a simple spring salad with a twist. Dressed in a delicious citrus dressing, this superfood Spinach Salad with Mandarin Oranges An entree salad or a side salad that goes with everything!
instructions
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Place the spinach on a plate.
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Add other salad ingredients.
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Top with tofu feta (if using).
nutrition
Worship: 6g
Oh! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher and vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is completely plant-based vegan. I truly believe that what we eat and how we live determines our health and the preservation of our planet! 🙂