Shoutin’ from the Rooftop

I had heard great comments all summer about a salad at Panera Bread. Every one has been talking about this awesome salad & its unbelievable nutritional information. Usually I am not one to follow the hype. But last week, I found myself at Panera at lunch. I saw their Strawberry Poppy Seed salad on their menu. It has a sign that said “Last Week”. I was hesitant to try something that wasn’t going to be available for some time. But curiosity got the cat. It was divine. It had a tangy “glaze”, tons of fresh fruit & some tasty nuts. I was at Panera just a few days later and it was already gone. I was so disappointed. I was craving that salad! I wanted it now.

Well, I was desperate so I got inventive. I was able to find fresh strawberries & blueberries at the grocery so I set out to make own version. You have to remember that I have only had the salad that was my inspiration once. So, if you are a huge fan of the original salad, I cannot promise that it is an exact duplicate. I did my best after trying it once. I think it is pretty close on. You let me know!

Summer Fruit Poppy Seed Salad

2 cups Romaine lettuce

1/4 cup sliced fresh strawberries

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons mandarin orange segments in light syrup

1/4 cup pineapple tidbits in juice

8 pecan halves (0.3 ounces)

Dressing

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 tablespoons skim milk

1 tablespoon reduced fat (light) mayonnaise

1 1/2 tablespoon Splenda

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Mix all ingredients for salad dressing. I found that it was good to put it in a small bowl with a lid and shaking it well. Add Romaine lettuce to bowl and shake until lettuce is completely covered with dressing. Add fruit & pecan halves. Enjoy!

This salad is best when it is super cold. Next time I will make sure that my pineapple & mandarin oranges are nice & cold. The rest of my fruit was already cold.

Nutritional information for the 187 calories, 9.7 grams fat, 2.9 grams fiber.

Note: I am not calling out Panera but I somewhat question their nutritional information for their salad. The thing that makes me doubt their information is that there were quite a few nuts on the salad that I had. Now, it might not have been made exactly according to specifications. But the majority of the fat in this recipe comes directly from the nuts.  My creation has more fat and less fiber than the original salad.  You could use fat free mayonnaise but I didn’t have any on hand and wasn’t in the mood to go buy some just for this salad. There is only a one point difference between Panera’s salad & my creation. Not too shabby!

I will be anxiously waiting next summer for the new strawberry & blueberry crop.

Tags: blueberry, orange, pineapple, quick, Salads, strawberry

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