Swollen Feet? Try Pink Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

My recent trip to Florida reminded me that grapefruits are in season - and are perfectly amazing - right now. Tart and juicy, water-rich grapefruits are great for pregnant and breastfeeding women, who have to increase their fluid intake. Plus, the bioflavonoids and Vitamin C in grapefruits help to reduce water retention and swelling that can make pregnancy so uncomfortable. Of course, I've already blogged about the many benefits of avocado.

Not only is this pairing good for you and tasty, it is gorgeous; I couldn't stop taking pictures!

Salad:

• 1 pink grapefuit, sectioned
• 3 cups romaine lettuce, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 avocado, sliced
• a couple of paper-thin slices of red onion

Squeeze the juice from the grapefruit, after you've removed the sections, and reserve for the salad dressing:

Lightly toss the avocado slices in the fresh juice, to prevent browning. Put the lettuce on a large plate and arrange the grapefruit and avocado slices on top; sprinkle the red onion around the plate.

I make a very light dressing for this salad; the avocado already provides plenty of fat and richness. Feel free to adjust the ratio of ingredients to your taste.

Dressing:

• 2 Tbs reserved grapefruit juice
• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp honey (optional)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk together and drizzle over plated salad.

I ate this as lunch, but it could also be divided into two side salads. 

If you prefer a sweeter citrus salad, you can substitute a Cara Cara orange for the pink grapefruit. And if you're not in the mood for lettuce, or simply don't have any in the fridge, just leave it out. The avocado-grapefruit-onion combo is lovely on its own.