One of the results of Christmas and New Year indulgences, is the inevitable tightening of the clothes. I used to seriously dream of having a drawer compartment in my stomach so I could keep on eating, and then when full, slide out the drawer and empty it and keep eating again. Since I am positive that won’t be happening in my lifetime, the next best thing and the rest of many a NY resolution is to eat more healthily. I debated about whether to put this salad up, after all it was just one of my every day lunches and didn’t seem fancy enough or blog worthy enough but the taste was so good, a sentiment repeated by my husband who also had some that I thought that I should.
I love anything that pops in my mouth: from the fattest caviar pearls to the humble corn kernel and Pomegranate seeds satisfy this pop lust of mine. One of the best things is that this salad is packed with antioxidants and good fats (from nuts and grapeseed oil) but it also looks beautiful with the rubied pomegranate seeds scattered throughout. You could of course use avocado and I toyed with the idea of adding some gorgeous Persian Feta but I thought that might tip it into the less healthy category (the feta, not the avocado although some may argue about that).
I’ll end off with an embarrassing story about myself. Just this morning, I put on some underwear, a novelty pair that I hadn’t worn in a while but I felt were appropriate for today. I found myself struggling to get them on. My heart was racing and I panicked – had I gained so much weight over Christmas and the New Year that even my underwear was refusing to go past my hips? After much groaning and struggling and hopping on the spot, I finally got them on but they were tight and didn’t fit so well. I pottered around the house for a good hour before realising that I had foolishly tried to squeeze my hips through one of the leg holes.
Antioxidant salad
An original recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Serves 2 as a lunch
- 120 baby spinach leaves, washed and patted or spun dry
- 1/2 pomegrante’s seeds
- 1/2 Mango cut into cubes
- small handful of almonds, cut into slivers, skin on and untoasted
For dressing
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoon POM Wonderful juice
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to combine.
2. Place all salad ingredients in a bowl and pour dressing over and toss to combine. You may not need all of the dressing depending on how heavily you like your salad dressed.
3. Eat heartly knowing that you’re engaging in the Virtue after Vice ritual in a pleasurable way.
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26 Comments | Add your own
It always makes me happy when someone posts a recipe that looks fantastic, sounds like it would taste great, and then has the added bonus of being healthy. It’s like winning a contest you forgot you entered!
Embarassingly, I have also done the same, though I have never admitted it in public until now ;P
That salad looks lovely. Very light, fresh and colourful. I’d eat it even if I weren’t on a health kick!
You have the most excellent self-control to leave out the fetta. This looks divine though and beautifully seasonal.
Beautiful salad Lorraine – and all food is good enough to be on a blog. Might I mention Spam?!
This looks like a salad I’d enjoy. Am bookmarking it for warmer times.
I too love pomegranate seeds as they ‘pop’ in your mouth..
mmmm…definitely looks tempting
lol! at least that was the case and you hadn’t gained that much weight! =P
i LOVE things that pop in my mouth too. like the orange “fish eggs” on sushi (i don’t know if that would be called caviar) and pomegranates!!!
Yum this I must try (especially the mango and spinach)! Sigh…the tightening of clothes…I have a pair of skinny shorts from 2 years ago that I’m still aiming to fit back into comfortably…ugh.
But lol at your undie moment! I nearly spit out my lunch when I read it
My love I think most of us has had a Knickers situation like that before
I know I have done it.
Salad looks beautiful.
Ha ha funny incident
well I have to say that a couple of times I went out with underwear upside down 
This salad lookk so colourful and nice. And even though I don’t eat salads much (which I should) I m tempted by this salad. Balsamic vinegar adds so much taste yum yum
Ah, pop lust. I have it too. Cherry tomatoes are high on the list!
This salad combination is gorgeous… I’m glad you don’t ‘have’ to eat it all the time since your underwear would actually fit if you put them on correctly!
That salad looks wonderful and refreshing – fruit in a salad always cheers me up – especially pomegranate arils/seeds which are so gorgeous to look at!
Lorraine, what a beautiful looking salad! I love spinach based salads and yours looks super yummy!I also need to loose weight, sigh!
What a delicious salad – mangos and pomegranates are favourites of mine, and baby spinach is a nicer salad green than lettuce.
I do a similiar salad to this but have never added pomegranate, which I love. I’m going to give this a try. Our local fruit&veg store has pomegranates at the moment imported from the USA… don;t think I’ve ever seen the little US flag for place of origin in the fruit section before!
And by the way, I’m somewhat concerned by the description of “novelty underwear” – makes me think of those hens night edible undies!! haha
LOL at your drawer comment. When my brother and I were kids we used to joke that the stomach had an entirely separate compartment for desserts. No matter how much dinner you ate, the dessert compartment always stayed empty!
i love things that burst in my mouth too, especially perfectly-cooked peas. i think your salad sounds refreshing and completely guilt-free.
Your story made me laugh and laugh gloriously… I think all us girls have done that at least once…
I love love love your inclusion of mango in this beautiful salad!
Hi CourtJ-Thankyou! I agree, healthiness is such a lovely bonus
Hi Y-Haha my friends couldn’t believe I told the story but there you go, it happens to the best of us!
Hi Arwen-I know, I desperately wanted to but resisted. All in the name of undoing the “damage” from Christmas.
Hi Annie-Yes I thought it was too simple, after all I eat this sort of stuff for lunch every day but I thought why not!
Hi Su-yin-Oh yes definitely good for when your weather warms up. I prefer healthy soups for Winter time. Yes the pop lust can’t be beaten
Hi carolyn-Cool, thankyou so much!
Hi Madison-Haha I was so relieved! I was seriously wonderin why I couldn’t see it in the mirror and it really freaked me out a bit
Oh yes fish roe is fantastic, I love it for the same reason! 
Hi Karen-Hehe are the shorts “the” item to aspire to? It’s so annoying when things are too tight
Haha!
Hi Jorden-I am so relieved to know I am not the only one
Thankyou so much!
Hi snookydoodle-Hehe that’s a new one for me but I’m sure definitely something that I might do. I go crazy for salads in Summer, I think I have at least one every day!
Hi Christie-Yes those too although they’re a bit bigger and more lethal should they pop on clothes
Hi Johanna-I agree, they look like little jewels in a salad and always brighten it up beautifully!
Hi yaelian-Yes, spinach salads are so lovely -and so good for you too! Don’t worry you’re in good company, I think we all put on a kilo or 2 over Christmas
Hi Cakelaw-Yes I think that’s why this salad was so nice, it’s no hardship eating things like pomegranates, mangoes, almonds and spinach
Hi Paula-Oh I’d love to know what you think of it with Pomegranate. Yes you don’t often see US f&V, except for perhaps Californian dates (which I love). Haha don’t worry it was just a pair of Betty Boop underpants, nothing Hen’s nighty at all!
Hi maris-Oh wow, you know that’s so correct! My friend M has a son who constantly refers to his “dessert tank”. His dessert tank however comprises of roughly 3/4 of his whole stomach and he can only have a bit of savoury before he pines for a sweet
Kids are so universal aren’t they!
Hi grace-Ooh yes lovely, sweet and juicy peas are in my top 5 too! I don’t understand why people hate peas, they’re so sweet and pop in the mouth! Thankyou!
Hi Astra Libris-Hehe thankyou! I think we all have for sure
Mango in salad is so lovely isn’t it!
It looks so sunny and bright… lovely! I wonder what I could use in place of the fresh pomegranate? (I loathe pomegranate seeds because of the crunch, but love the juice. I’d certainly use my neglected bottle of pomegranate vinegar here, though.)
Hi Angela-Oh right! Hmm I wonder if blueberries would be too sweet?
Haha. It could be embarrassing, but for us ladies, we do understand. I would like to have this salad anytime. Mangoes just burst into your mouth and those lovely pomegranates, although we don’t have it just brings everything to life. I’m glad you included this in your blog.
fantastic,,,a healthy way to be eating sweetness for dinner!
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[...] juice after a lot of us received free bottles of it. There’s been granita, tagine, cake, salad dressing and others. Do you think we can fit one more in? Oh OK [...]
[...] juice after a lot of us received free bottles of it. There’s been granita, tagine, cake, salad dressing and others. Do you think we can fit one more in? Oh OK [...]
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