Calypso Salad at Cheeseburger in Paradise

I was on one of the biggest salad kicks during our December stay at our vacation home (Nov. 29 to Dec. 20).  It really was the one dish I could not get enough of.  I love my salads, enjoying one at least once a day but in this case it was a bit different because I was listening to what my body was telling me.  I had been sick the week before we flew out, to the point I was concerned about having to cancel our flight.  Then while we were there I was again sick for four days.  Salads are high in nutrition, low in fat especially with no creamy dressing, easy to pick at when not feeling well AND they provide the body with much needed hydration.  It's best to decrease salad consumption if the illness is gastrointestinal until it subsides but as soon as it does subside, boost the consumption.

I really increased my salad consumption as soon as I felt well about four days before flying out.  I had a large salad at the airport while waiting for the flight then extra salads while we were there except when sick.

We arrived at the airport homeside about 10:30 AM and had planned to do a bit of Christmas shopping.  After a couple of stops, we found a Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant for lunch.  I ordered a Calypso salad ($8.99).  The salad consisted of  field greens, strawberries, grilled pineapples, mandarin oranges, apples, honey roasted almonds and red onions tossed with a citrus vinaigrette dressing.  Grilled salmon or blackened chicken could be added at an additional charge but I just wanted the salad.  This was a rather large salad, definitely more than most folks would eat even as a dinner salad.

This really was a delicious salad combining a lot of flavours in a unique way, well worth tweaking for a refreshing summer salad at home.  Overall, I really enjoyed it but when I make Calypso salad at home I will make a few changes.  I think the citrus vinaigrette flavour could have been a bit stronger and I found the honey roasted almonds too sweet which have been because I hadn't been feeling well, but I would replace them with plain toasted almond slivers.  A dash of lemon zest would really add a lot of flavour without the extra calories.  I also not a huge fan of iceberg lettuce.  It provides a lot of crunch and water but not nutrition.  I think a mesclun or spring mix would be a nice substitute for the iceberg lettuce.

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