Yummy Salad

I was at a church activity on Tuesday night and had this tasty salad. Seriously, I couldn't get enough. When everyone else was going for dessert, I headed back for more salad (highly unusual for me). My friend Mindi who made it was nice enough to share the recipe with me so I'll share it with you.

Dressing
1/4 cup sugar
2T apple cider vinegar
2T honey
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp grated onion
1/4 tsp celery seed
dash of salt -
warm all of these until the sugar dissolves and then add 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used canola).
Note: Make sure the dressing is cooled before you add it to the salad or the leaves will wilt.

Salad
8 cups torn mixed greens
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup Mandarin oranges
1 medium sweet onion
1/3 cup slivered almonds
4 slices bacon crumbled (Obviously, this is the least healthy part. Even if you omit bacon, the salad will taste amazing!)

Today I read an article in Woman's Day written by Joy Bauer which said that having a little bit of fat with your salad "helps your body absorb the beta-carotene, vitamin E and other fat-soluble nutrients from the veggies." With that being said, light dressings like the one above are okay but still use it in moderation (esp since there's also sugar). Personally, I prefer to add my own rather than toss it all together. I find that I use less that way. Thanks again Mindi for the yummy recipe!!!