“I was inspired to make this salad because a couple weeks ago my dad made a spinach salad that was really good,” says Emilie. “I decided that I wanted to make my own spinach salad with homemade dressing. I chose spinach because it is a high source of iron, fiber, and vitamin C. I also think kids would like to eat this salad because of its fun colors.” - Emilie Monnig, Age 12, Delaware

Makes 4 Servings 

Ingredients:

For the Dressing:

• Juice from 1 snack-size cup of mandarin oranges in natural juice (reserve the oranges)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup pure cane sugar
• ½ small onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

For the Salad:

• 8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 5 ounces baby spinach
• 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
• 24 red seedless grapes
• Reserved mandarin oranges (from above)
• 1 ½ ounces shelled walnuts, chopped coarsely
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. To make the Dressing: In a blender, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Pour into a decorative bottle with a lid.
2. Preheat the grill to medium-high. Grill the chicken, flipping once, for about 10 minutes total, or until cooked through. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
3. To make the Salad: Divide the spinach among 4 bowls. Top each bowl with shredded carrots, grapes, chicken, mandarin oranges, and walnuts. Season with salt and pepper. Shake the dressing to ensure it’s mixed well and drizzle desired amount on top of salad. 

362 calories; 22g fat; 27g carbohydrates; 16g protein

Learn more:

• Check out highlights from the each Kids’ “State Dinner”
• View the 2015 Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids’ “State Dinner” Cookbook