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This Mandarin Orange Salad recipe comes from page 85 in my book, The Leaky Gut Meal Plan.

Almost all of my recipes have a story behind them. Here is the story for the Mandarin Orange Salad.

Mandarin Orange Salad Inspiration

I created many brand new recipes for the book that was published this past year, The Leaky Gut Meal Plan. 

In doing so, I pulled inspiration from umpteen sources. 

But do you want to know the secret behind most of the inspiration?

Old, small-town, church cookbooks. Seriously.

From the time I got married until present day, I am gifted them from time-to-time.

When I got married, though, they were never opened for years after because remember, I had zero desire to cook and bake back then. 

But today, I am constantly using them.

Here are 4 reasons why:

1. The recipes are simple. Seriously, almost nothing is complicated.
2. There are minimal ingredients. Today it’s trendy to have 3 to 5-ingredient only recipes. But the church cookbooks are naturally filled with them.
3. Swapping is easy. Because the recipes are basic and with minimal ingredients, it’s easy to change them up conducive for healing. 
4. Nostalgia. I just love it! 

And it was in one of these cookbooks where the inspiration for the Mandarin Orange Salad was born. 

Mandarin Orange Salad

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This salad is: Gluten-free, dairy-free, Vegan, under 30 minutes, one-pot, and a super simple summer salad.

Ingredients: Dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients: Salad

• 1 (5-ounce) bag baby spinach
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup slivered raw almonds

Mandarin Orange Salad Recipe

Orange Salad Dressing

There are no oranges in the dressing, but this Mandarin Orange Salad Dressing uses a combination of sweeter ingredients to help make the salad itself pull through the orange flavor.

This dressing is so good, though, that it could go on many different salads.

Instructions: Dressing

In a blender, combine the oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.

Ingredients: Salad

1. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, scallions, oranges, celery, parsley, and almonds.
2. Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss to coat.

Substitution tip

You can swap out the 2 tablespoons coconut sugar in the dressing for 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons stevia or monk fruit, if desired.

Add a Protein for a Fuller Meal

This sweet citrus salad is likely to pique your taste buds’ interest.

The crunchiness of celery and raw almonds creates a texture you’ll love. Like all members of the citrus family, mandarin oranges provide a boost of vitamins and minerals that help support the immune system during your leaky-gut healing.

If you want to turn this into a full meal vs. simply a salad, add a heartier protein to it. Grilled chicken or salmon would be lovely.

Enjoy!

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Low-FODMAP Homemade Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
2. Summer Pad Thai Noodle Salad
3. Leaky Gut Diet Recipes

Xox,
SKH