Fruit and Spinach Salad

So talking about adding fruit to salads in a previous post had me craving it, so I made one of my favorite salads last night. Spinach salad with cranberries, apricots, kidney beans, roasted veggies, and balsamic vinaigrette. Sometimes goat cheese or cheddar cheese is a good addition as well, but last night's didn't have any. If you haven't already figured it out by the content on this blog I have a serious sweet tooth. I like sweet desserts, as well as sweet meals. This salad can definitely be classified as sweet! The balsamic and fruit give it the sweetness while the spinach and other veggies give it a nice freshness.

Thoughts on this Dish:

• This is a really great way to get fruit (cranberries & apricots), veggies (spinach, peppers, zucchini), and protein (kidney beans) into a delicious and easy to make meal. Because I was using veggies from my roasted vegetable supply I didn't even need to chop anything. Truly a 2 minute meal!
• I used dried fruit in this salad, but I also like salads with fresh strawberries or nectarines. 
• Balsamic is a good basic dressing to use with a fruit salad because it compliments the sweetness of the fruit. Poppyseed dressing or raspberry vinaigrette are also good choices. 
• Nuts such as almonds or pecans are really great in fruit salads and also a good source of protein!

If you eat a lot of salads I've found adding fruit is an awesome way to switch it up, and keep salad from becoming a boring meal. I find cooking with fruit brings out creativity in me :)