Eating healthy does not have to be difficult.  Today for lunch as I opened up my fridge my first thought was, “There’s nothing to eat.”  Then I looked again and found a plethora of options.  I want to do a mini series called “Quick and Easy Lunches.”  The key words here are “quick” and “EASY.”  That’s a must!  They also need to be healthy and ideally lower in fat.  Today’s showcase is a Strawberry Blueberry Spinach Salad topped with walnuts, crumbled feta cheese, and drizzled with a Raspberry Merlot Vinaigrette.  When planning quick and easy lunches, it really helps to have lots of fresh ingredients on hand. 

The Strawberry Spinach Salad is a perfect quick and easy lunch!

This amazing salad literally took me less than five minutes to make.  To make a Strawberry Spinach Salad, start by placing a bed of fresh baby spinach on your plate.  The one tricky thing about fresh spinach is that it can go bad quickly.  When  buying fresh baby spinach, try to use it within a couple of days or else freeze it for green smoothies later in the week. You can also try substituting baby salad greens for the spinach if you prefer the flavor.

After placing some spinach on your plate, wash some fresh blueberries and strawberries.  (You can use any kind of berry you like.  Be creative!)  After washing them, slice the strawberries and add generous portions of berries on top of your spinach.  Berries are super healthy and so yummy!  To add some flavor and texture, you can add a few walnuts (I like to keep mine in my freezer to keep them from going bad).  Break them into large pieces and sprinkle on top of your salad.

Adding feta cheese really makes this salad shine!

For a rich and more complex flavor, sprinkle some crumbled feta cheese on top.  This gives a nice color and the taste is amazing!

Finally, after layering your strawberry spinach salad with all of these delicious toppings, drizzle 2 T of Bolthouse Raspberry Merlot Vinaigrette dressing over the top.  I recently discovered Bolthouse dressings near the vegetable refrigerated section of my grocery store.  They are made with Greek yogurt and/or olive oils and are much lower in fat than their counterparts.  I must say, this dressing did NOT disappoint.  It will be the perfect addition to your Strawberry Spinach Salad!

That’s it!  See how easy that was?  The hardest part was cutting and washing the berries.  Still hungry?  Add a slice of toast or some grilled chicken.  Bon appetit!