Lighter Healthier Avocado Grapefruit Salad
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
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.”
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 1) the amount of avocado used and 2) 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.
These little changes resulted in a salad with 237 calories and 7 fewer PointsPlus values. Now it’s a Grapefruit and Avocado salad I can indulge in regularly without guilt.
Enjoy!
- 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
- In a small bowl, 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.
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)
Related Posts:
Mixed Greens & Strawberry Salad with Chicken, Goat Cheese & Avocado
Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
Guacamole Recipes
Mmm, this is unique and a flavor combo I would have have thought of! Thank you for linking up at Successful Saturdays!
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
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
Refreshing salad!! So lovely!!!
Thanks, Minnie. It really is refreshing and delicious.
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.
Yes, Mireya, I love ruby red grapefruit more than oranges too.