Winter Citrus Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

This recipe is the brainchild of my friend Kate and I.  We love to get together to cook and bake, and this time was no exception.  Not only do we get to have an awesome visit, we get to create great food together too!   I really love New Year's Resolutions, because in a way they feel like new beginnings.  I'm the kind of girl that always has to start diets lifestyle changes on a Monday, and every single week feels like a fresh start.  I successfully quit smoking thanks to a New Year's Resolution,  and I even lost 40 lbs thanks to better eating habits I adopted back in 2009.  I'm incredibly happy to be leaving 2015 behind me, and in it's place, a shiny new year to start fresh.   I have some pretty important events coming up 2016  that need me to be more focused on health.  For one, I signed up to hike the Berg Lake Trail this summer. This will be my first overnight backpacking trip, and it will span the course of a few days.  A few short weeks after that I get to watch two of my best friend's get married, and for the first time in my life, be a part of a wedding party.

Photo credit to my friend Sarah Burns over at Stop Nothing But Time. She hiked this trail last year and is organizing a group of friends to go again this summer.  You can find more pictures of her adventures on her Instagram page. 

Needless to say, this year decided to focus on myself.  Instead of one specific resolution for 2016, my resolution is just to be better.  Be better with my health, pay more attention to the food I put into my body, and improve my overall eating and fitness habits in general.  As with anything life changing the first few weeks are always the hardest.  Incorporating fun and interesting ideas and flavours into meals are essential for staying on track.  This salad is bursting with so much flavour you'll almost forget you ever liked Big Macs.

Recipe makes 4 salads + 1 cup of dressing
Ingredients
Salad:  - 1 clamshell of baby greens - 1 grapefruit - 1 cara cara orange - 1 blood orange - 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced - 1/2 english cucumber, sliced - 1 cup cooked quinoa
Dressing:  - 3 tbsp citrus juice (see directions below) - 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar - 2 tbsp honey - 2 tsp dijon mustard - 1/2 cup olive oil  - 1 tbsp poppyseeds

Directions

Start by slicing and segmenting the citrus fruit. Squeeze the citrus juice (from the remaining pulp) into a separate bowl (this will be used for the salad dressing).   Combine the ingredients for the salad dressing, mixing well.    Divide lettuce between 4 plates, then top with remaining ingredients and drizzle lightly with dressing.
Enjoy!