47 comments

Mango-Spinach Salad with Mint-Grapefruit Vinaigrette

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In general, I try not to inundate Como Water with a lot of salads, despite eating one just about everyday. When many people think of veggie-friendly food, they immediately think of salad and I hope to broaden folks horizons on what delicious vegetarian and vegan food can be. BUT, every now and again, I make a salad … or a vinaigrette that I just can’t resist putting on the blog. This is one of them. The sweet softness of the mango is offset by the acidic grapefruit and the crunchy carrots, spinach, and shallots. And the mint adds freshness that just screams spring and summer. And this salad is simple. Plate your veggies, whisk your vinaigrette and eat!

On a different note… I want to thank Elin and Pola for the recent awards they passed on to me and Kate for the shout out that she recently gave me on her blog. She described me as cheery! TOTALLY made my day :D. Happy Monday everyone!

Mango-Spinach Salad with Mint-Grapefruit Vinaigrette (Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

Spinach

Mango–diced

Carrots–sliced

Mint–chopped

Shallot–sliced

Avocado–diced

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon agave

juice from 1/2 grapefruit

salt, pepper

1 teaspoon mint–chopped

Method:

*Wash and prep veggies. Arrange on plate. Whisk oil, agave, grapefruit juice, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon mint. Drizzle salad with vinaigrette. Simple!

Written by

Tiffany M. Griffin is the woman behind Como Water, Washington DC’s premiere veg-centric cuisine consulting company. Through cooking classes, demonstrations, catering, and consultations, Como Water gives people the opportunity to learn how to prepare veg-centric cuisine that boasts maximum flavor, with minimal effort. Tiffany is quickly becoming a go-to expert on the future of veg-centric cuisine, and is a regular contributor to Como Water, the blog, as well as to vegetarian and vegan sites across the Internet. For over a decade, this self-taught, entrepreneurial expert has developed a set of tried and true techniques for making simple, delicious, and sometimes decadent veg-centric dishes. Featured on the Steve Harvey Show and other leading media outlets, Tiffany was born and raised in Springfield, MA. She then earned Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Communications from Boston College and a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan. She now resides in Washington DC, where she has worked in the US Senate and at a federal agency on issues around health, food, nutrition, and international food aid/development, and of course, as the owner of Como Water. Tiffany gets culinary inspiration from the food she grew up eating, and from her travels throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa. She is dedicated to sharing her wealth of knowledge on veg-centric cuisine with others and to help others live by her mantra—love life, live long, and eat veg-centric cuisine!

Comments

  1. Lisa Fine

    I love salads, and getting new ideas for foods and flavors to blend my salads.

    I never would have thought to put mango on a spinach salad. It sounds delicious. Have a great week, Tiff!

    May 16, 2011
  2. Nami @ Just One Cookbook

    What a yummy salad! I have mangoes at home but missing grapefruit and mint. And I need to find out what Agave is. But I need to try this salad. I think my kids who aren’t into salad too much will LOVE THIS!! Your dish is always so unique and I love the surprise by coming here. 😉 Have a good Monday! Mine is already hectic….

    May 16, 2011
  3. Caroline Taylor

    I wish I ate more salads, this looks lovely. So colourful.

    May 16, 2011
  4. Nancy/SpicieFoodie

    Congrats on all of your awards! I am a salad lover so I ‘ll alway enjoy any salad recipe you share. This one looks mouth watering. I love trying out new vinaigrettes and this is one I must soon. Have a great week Tiffany 🙂

    May 16, 2011
  5. Magic of Spice

    What a delicious vinaigrette…I made a salad last night from Farmers Market goodies and this dressing would have been perfect 🙂 Wonderful salad!

    May 16, 2011
  6. Katie

    I believe I’m in love. But I’d eat anything with avocado in it!

    May 16, 2011
  7. Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking

    Oh this looks so good I want to fix it for lunch tomorrow!! Thanks for the recipe!!

    May 16, 2011
  8. Terris@Freeeatsfood

    What a gorgeous looking salad. Love the combination of ingredients and flavors. I can’t wait to try the vinaigrette. Wonderful.

    May 17, 2011
  9. sarah

    Lovely flavors, I just bought several bunches of fresh mint this weekend and I know exactly what I’m going to do!!

    May 17, 2011
  10. Angie@Angiesrecipes

    This is such a refreshing, and delish salad! Mint and grapefruit vinaigrette sounds really interesting.

    May 17, 2011
  11. kankana

    This salad has everything I love and the dressing with the mint …. mmmm mmm mmm! You can imagine how much I am going to love this salad.

    May 17, 2011
  12. Meagan @ Scarletta Bakes

    Love this! Sometimes the simplest salads are absolutely the best. Thanks for sharing this recipe – I can’t wait to try it!

    May 17, 2011
  13. Natalie

    I love the colours, it’s beautiful! I bet it tastes amazing too, mango & mint, yum! 😀

    May 17, 2011
  14. the constant hunger

    I am always looking for new salad recipes and dressings. This is gorgeous and the flavors are really well-balanced.

    May 17, 2011
  15. Manu

    Tiffany, this is one of those salads that I’d find impossible to resist to… I am looking forward to mango season to be able to try it. Bookmarked!!! There is also another award waiting for you here: http://www.manusmenu.com/pumpkin-and-barley-soup Come pick it up! 🙂

    May 17, 2011
  16. Kate from Scratch

    Perfection. Absolute perfection. I love a great salad on a late spring or summer day. This one fits the bill perfectly.

    May 17, 2011
  17. Tes

    What a refreshing dish! The vinaigrette sounds so interesting, too 🙂

    May 17, 2011
  18. Purabi Naha

    Hi, this is your foodie friend from foodbuzz. Wow, lovely blog! I love the photography too!

    May 17, 2011
  19. Liz

    Oh, what a gorgeous, delicious and refreshing salad! This sounds perfect to accompany a grilled summer dinner 🙂

    May 17, 2011
  20. PolaM

    Hi Tiffany, my award from last week is back on! Please come and check it out: http://cookingitalianinthemidwest.blogspot.com/2011/05/roasted-tomato-pasta.html

    Hopefully blogger won’t crash this time!

    May 17, 2011
  21. Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table

    Mangoes are so good right now – I can’t get enough! Love the idea to use carrots with them in this salad. The colors are gorgeous!

    May 17, 2011
  22. visda

    I love salads and this one is really mouth watering. Thanks for sharing such a great idea.

    May 17, 2011
  23. RavieNomNoms

    That looks great! I love a salad that has a lot of flavor going on like this one! Looks really refreshing and I just love that vinaigrette.

    May 17, 2011
  24. briarrose

    What a tasty dressing. I usually have a salad every day and this would be a great addition to it.

    May 17, 2011
  25. Lauren

    Sounds soooo good. Love all the different flavor combos….

    May 17, 2011
  26. Christine

    Salad looks great. I love a good salad. Will have to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing!

    May 17, 2011
  27. Belinda @zomppa

    Simple, light, and lovely!

    May 17, 2011
  28. Kate@Diethood.com

    I would drink that vinaigrette…it sounds sooo freakin’ good!

    May 17, 2011
  29. Lindsey@Lindselicious

    This sounds crazy delish! I wanna try the mint grapefruit vinaigrette like ASAP! Awesome job Tiff!

    May 17, 2011
  30. Erin

    How colorful and beautiful! If that doesn’t make you want to eat a salad, I don’t know what will!

    May 17, 2011
  31. The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time

    well you ARE cheery so yes, you should be called that! Congratulations on the well-deserved awards.

    I’m glad you post salads once in a while (as often as you like) because it’s a reminder that I need to feed them to my family more often. When I do serve them, I tend to stick in the rut of what we know so it’s wonderful to see what you’ve done. I love the idea of mint, grapefruit and mango in a salad. Many thanks for passing along the recipe.

    May 17, 2011
  32. Dan

    You had me at Mint Grapefruit vinaigrette! How fitting for spring! I’m having a friend over for supper tonight, so I think I’ll try this out. 🙂

    May 17, 2011
  33. Anne

    Those colors are so vibrant! Just beautiful. I have 4 ripe mangos just waiting to be devoured here! This looks so good! : )

    May 17, 2011
  34. torviewtoronto

    salad looks flavourful

    May 17, 2011
  35. Kelly

    This looks so healthy and delicious! Would love to try this myself! 🙂

    May 17, 2011
  36. Kristen

    Mango and avocado and spinach and all of that deliciousness!! What a wonderful salad that must be. It would be like taking a bit of summer.

    May 17, 2011
  37. PolaM

    Great looking salad! I never tried a salad with mango and this one looks great!

    May 17, 2011
  38. Beth Michelle

    Wow, This salad looks amazing. We love mangos here and its almost the season for them. Yay! I really love the mint grapefruit dressing, so interesting. I am bookmarking this for sure.

    May 18, 2011
  39. Charlie

    I love everything in this salad! Mango is one of my favorite fruits, spinach my favorite greens, mint and avocado are AMAZING in salads and grapefruit is my favorite citrus fruit. Put all of this together & all I have to say is YUM.

    May 18, 2011
  40. Lin Ann

    Wow, I so love your salad. Wonderful flavors!!!

    May 18, 2011
  41. Celia

    I’m a sucker for anything with avocado…but that vinaigrette sounds truly fabulous. Yum!

    May 18, 2011
  42. Hester Casey - Alchemy

    Great salad, Tiffany. You always make interesting salads which totally appeal to my tastebuds. Love the sound of that mint and grapefruit dressing. Happening in my house very soon!

    May 18, 2011
  43. Carolyn

    I can get stuck in such a salad rut, and am always looking for fresh ideas. The flavours in this sound just wonderful!

    May 18, 2011
  44. Terra

    I love thinking about ways to make salad dressing more fun, I hate buying dressing! Mint Grapefruit is such a beautiful combo! The salad sounds lovely! Hugs:-)

    May 18, 2011
  45. Tiffany

    Thanks for all of your comments! 😀

    May 18, 2011
  46. Sandra

    You can give me a new salad recipe anytime! This is so simple but is packed with flavor and nutrients. Thank You Ms. Tiff and keep being cheery.

    May 23, 2011
  47. Marsha Hallet

    I was looking for a carrot salad and came across yours. It was so easy to prepare the grapefruit/mint vinaigrette received rave reviews. Thank you!

    July 3, 2011