WW Recipe of the Day: Avocado & Grapefruit Salad Made Lighter
I can't seem to get enough of this deliciously easy avocado and grapefruit salad lately. Full Disclosure: It's actually Ina Garten's Avocado & Grapefruit Salad Recipe from her Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home - made lighter and healthier.
Lighter Healthier Avocado Grapefruit Salad
I love Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks. Everything I make from them turns out perfectly.
While her dishes are delicious, most of them are anything but light. That's where I have fun lightening them up to make them more Weight Watchers friendly.
This avocado and grapefruit salad is a great example. In her headnote she explains that she first had this salad at a very elegant restaurant in Paris and that she "loved both it's simplicity and the synergy between the avocados and the grapefruit."
Avocado & Grapefruit Salad Recipe Notes
I totally agree, now that I've tasted it. Before that, I was suspicious. While I love both avocados and grapefruits, I wasn't at all sure I would like them together. It turns out I LOVE them together!
When I ran the recipe through my nutrition software and the Weight Watchers recipe builder, I was shocked to discover that the recipe as written has 493 calories, 47.2 g fat, 20.5 g carbs, 10.1 g fiber, 3.4 g protein and *14 Weight Watchers PointsPlus value. (That's almost half my daily allotment of PointsPlus values and I'm on maintenance)
Granted it's all healthy stuff: avocados, grapefruit, and olive oil. But too much healthy food will pack on the pounds too.
The excessive fat and calories are mostly due to:
- the amount of avocado used, and
- an excessive amount of dressing used to dip the avocado halves so they don't get brown
I created a lighter healthier version by changing the ratios of grapefruit and avocado, and skipping the step of dipping each avocado half in dressing.
If you are concerned that your avocado slices will turn brown on you, simply dip them in lemon juice instead.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Avocado & Grapefruit Salad?
These little changes resulted in a salad with 237 calories and:
7 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
7 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Now it's a Grapefruit and Avocado salad I can indulge in regularly without guilt. Enjoy!
If you like this Avocado Grapefruit Salad, be sure to check out my other WW Friendly Recipes including Mixed Greens & Strawberry Salad with Chicken, Goat Cheese & Avocado, Pear & Blue Cheese Salad, Simple Cucumber Melon Salad, WW Carrot Salad with Raisins and Skinny Broccoli Salad
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Ina Garten's Avocado and Grapefruit Salad Makeover
Ingredients
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 large ruby red grapefruits
- 2 firm but ripe Hass avocados
Instructions
- In a small bowl (affiliate link), whisk together the dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified.
- Slice the peel and white pith off the grapefruits and then cut between the membranes to release the grapefruit segments.
- Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits and peel off the skin. Cut the halves into slices.
- Arrange the grapefruit segments on a large platter or 4 small plates. Arrange the avocado slices with the grapefruit.
- Drizzle with vinaigrette and sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
Watch this video and see how to make your own Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Spicy Cilantro Vinaigrette:Links to More Avocado and Grapefruit Recipes from other Blogs & Websites:
- Avocado Grapefruit Salsa (Gooseberry Mooseberry)
- Grilled Shrimp, Pink Grapefruit & Avocado Salad (Country Living)
- Summer Salad with Grapefruit, Avocado & Bacon (Food52)
- Shrimp, Avocado & Grapefruit Salad (Cooking Light/MyRecipes)
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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angie
Mmm, this is unique and a flavor combo I would have have thought of! Thank you for linking up at Successful Saturdays!
Pedro
This salad recipe really caught me on and I knew I wanted to try it, even though I wasn't sure if I would like it. I made it for dinner tonight and we were rather pleased, but I think I still need to work at it to perfect it. I didn't measure the ingredients out too carefully - just tried to eyeball it - and think I may have used too much dijon. And, the grapefruit I had was a much more pale than your picture (but it tasted good) and so there wasn't quite as much contrast as I was hoping for.
Regardless, it was a really good recipe and I'm glad I found it. My plan is to keep working with it until I perfect it for me.
I think it would be easy to plan a whole dinner party just from the amazing recipes I am finding on your site. Keep 'em coming!!
Many thanks,
Pedro
Martha
Hi Pedro,
Glad you liked the salad and thanks for your kind words. I used a ruby red grapefruit that tends to be darker than the standard pink kind. And you are right about the mustard.Try using 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon next time.
Warmly,
Martha
Minnie@thelady8home
Refreshing salad!! So lovely!!!
Martha McKinnon
Thanks, Minnie. It really is refreshing and delicious.
Mireya @myhealthyeatinghabits
I've seen orange and avocado together and it never tempted me, but that ruby red grapefruit is really calling out to me. I see my future and it has a plate of avocado and grapefruit.
Martha McKinnon
Yes, Mireya, I love ruby red grapefruit more than oranges too.
Beth Dacchille
I love this for breakfast or lunch! Thanks for adapting the recipe for WW. It is the peak of the citrus season in Florida. I'm so glad I found this. Your work is much appreciated.