So, I'm getting braces this week (gasp!), and all I can think about is how hard and awkward it will be to eat crunchy, fresh foods (in addition to looking like a 13 year old of course). It's my first time at the braces rodeo, so I'm a tad on the nervous side. In response to these feelings, I've been eating raw carrots and salads like a boss. This particular spinach salad was a standout, and I ate a huge bowl of it every single day for at least 4 days. It's the perfect way to enjoy the delicious in-season apples, and with the addition of toasted nuts and goat cheese, it's darn near salad perfection. You could make it a meal with the addition of cooked chicken or even some crumbled bacon. Live it up, friends.

Apple Spinach Salad

-slightly adapted from gimmesomeoven.com

To make your salad(s), you will need--

baby spinach or other green--baby kale would also be great here, as would spring mix
chopped or sliced apples--I used honeycrisp
crumbled goat cheese
toasted pecan halves (or walnuts as she calls for in the original recipe)
dried cherries (my preference) or craisins
thinly sliced red onion. Don't leave this out, you really need the bite of the onion to balance out the sweetness of the other ingredients.

*Note--I'm not giving you exact proportions of the above ingredients because I don't know how many people you want to serve, or how much you like each of the ingredients. I'm not the boss of your salad. Your salad, your choice.

Dressing--I doubled this so I'd have extra, and am giving you the doubled proportions. This is a good all-purpose dressing, so extra is nice and would be great on roasted veggies as well.

The lunch of a girl who is trying to live it up before a mouth full of braces. Sigh.

1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 T. Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T honey or maple syrup if desired (I used it, and I used honey)
salt/pepper