Orange chicken salad with cranberries

I recently participated in a Clean Eating challenge with some friends on Facebook.  For one week, we tried to eat only "clean" foods, which don't involve anything processed, no added sugar, etc.  Naturally, I turned to Pinterest and sought some clean eating recipes.

This one comes from The Gracious Pantry, a blog which is focused on Clean Eating recipes.  It was great, and my 6 year old asked for it in his lunchbox the next day.  My husband made the meal, and was kind of mad that I didn't just BUY OJ but rather bought a bunch of "the least juicy navel oranges ever grown."  I think, perhaps, the purchase of a citrus reamer may be in order.  I also planned to use the spring mix in the fridge, but my husband found the package had gone bad, so instead used spinach, which was a great and delicious choice!

If you've never tried it, you need to check out how to make shredded chicken in the crockpot.  It's so easy, and I use this method every time I have defrosted then forgotten to use chicken breasts; I cook them up and then freeze the shredded chicken.  Here's just one great way we've used shredded chicken lately. The crockpot method I use most frequently is here.

This salad was delicious and a nice burst of springtime flavor on the exceptionally cold days and nights we've been having here.  The citrus flavors reminded me how long and yet soon our trip to sunny Florida in April is from now!  Next time I make this, I will add some sliced almonds for crunch and a little more flavor!

Orange chicken salad with cranberries, slightly adapted from The Gracious Pantry

Salad Ingredients:

• 4 handfuls fresh spinach
• 1 handful shredded chicken
• 3 clementines, peeled and segmented
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, fruit juice sweetened

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or any light flavored oil)
• 1 smidgeon garlic powder (if you don’t have a smidgeon measuring spoon, just a pinch with your fingers will do)
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional if orange juice is not very sweet)
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Mix the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
3. Pour some dressing over your salad and serve.  (Keep separate from salad if serving in a lunchbox)