This mandarin oranges green salad post is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cuties. All opinions are entirely my own and I’d have it no other way.

Cuties mandarin oranges, avocado, spring greens, bacon, and more… Delicious green salad combining all the favorites then topped with poppyseed dressing.

Cuties Mandarin Oranges Green Salad

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Welcome to the sweetest time of year: Cuties season! Cuties mandarin oranges are back in-store, ripe and ready to eat. To celebrate the return of this delicious little citrus fruit, today I am sharing my absolute favoritest (is that a real word?) salad ever of all time!

Sweet, seedless and perfectly kid-sized, Cuties are always a crowd-pleaser. But when you fill a bowl with these easy-to-peel Cuties mandarin oranges, then add bacon and avocado and all things good… your crowd will be more than pleased; They’ll be walking on sunshine!

Nostalgia

Is there a food that for you means home?

About ten years ago there was a movie about a rat that could cook. I’ve talked about this movie many times here on the blog because for me that movie was a turning point in my culinary life.

Anyway, there is a part of the movie that is really the crux of the entire story; it the part where the critic eats the ratatouille made by the rat; his eyes widen, the camera drastically zooms in and out of the critic’s head all at the same time as he flashes back to his boyhood, sitting at the kitchen table where his Mama has made him that same dish of comfort. The camera then zooms back out to the present-day restaurant. The man is shocked. He drops his pen in dramatic slow motion, and then devours the rat’s ratatouille with childlike happiness.

This, this is what good food can do: pull you back to your true self.

Each person alive probably has about half a dozen foods that are their ratatouille food. That food that takes you home again.

For me, one of my half dozen is Cuties mandarin oranges.

Cuties 100 days of Sunshine

I firmly believe the key to happiness in life lies in serving others. I’ve found that when I focus on others that is usually when I find myself.

Giving back to your family and community is the Cuties way! February 16th is “Random Acts of Kindness” day. To coincide with that, Cuties has initiated their 100 days of Sunshine campaign, and I would like to invite you do random acts of kindness in your local community to spread sunshine wherever you go.

I decided to take this challenge and because Cuties mandarin oranges hold a special place in my childhood heart then I wanted to include my children in the Cuties challenge too.

You have to be a good influence in your children’s lives today, to be in their good actions and memories tomorrow.

For our Random Act of Kindness, we went to the local park…

Cocoa and Cuties from some Cuties

It’s been chilly here lately. Not cold enough to keep kids indoors but definitely cold enough to give them runny noses as they play outdoors.

The kids and I decided a good way to brighten someone’s day and share the sweetness of the season was to bring a treat filled with love and sunshine…

Enter, Cuties mandarin oranges; the healthy snack kids ask for by name; and home-made hot cocoa to warm up those cold fingers and toes.

At our local playground we set up a little stand and my kids and their friend passed out cups of hot cocoa and Cuties to each person that came by.

It was such a fun afternoon! And if I’m being perfectly honest I’ll admit that I totally felt like a better mom after that time at the park.

I can give my children so much, but if I never teach them to love and serve others, to give back to their community, family, friends, and culture; have I really given them anything at all?

Crisp Tangy Sunshine

I wish I could describe the gloriousness that is the first bite into a Cuties wedge. I love the crisp taste of the juice bursting onto my tastebuds then releasing their sweet, tangy, sunshiny flavors.

In fact, sometimes, in order to extend the joy of eating a perfect mandarin orange, I will attempt to eat the little tear-drop juice filled vesicles from within each mandarin orange segment one at a time.

However, patience is not a virtue I possess in large amounts, so to be perfectly honest, the eat-one-little-drop at a time thing never lasts long. I only eat about ten individual juice vesicles and then I pop the rest of the Cuties segment into my mouth and quickly enjoy the crisp burst of flavor each bite brings.

My ratatouille Cutie

Each person alive probably has about half a dozen foods that are their ratatouille food. That food that takes you home again.

For me, one of my half dozen is a Cuties mandarin orange.

I take a bite; my eyes widen, then the camera drastically zooms in and out of my head all at the same time and we flash back to my youth, Christmas morning and before opening even a single gift I always always always open a Cuties mandarin orange from my stocking, close my eyes, lift a segment to my mouth and… joy. The camera then zooms back out to present-day Juli whom can still be found devouring Cuties mandarin oranges with childlike glee on Christmas morning, and Wednesday mornings, and every other morning, afternoon or evening when I need a little sunshine in my life.

This, this is what good food can do: pull you back to your true self.

The Salad

I usually serve this salad as a side to a main dish or at parties. However, if you add a little grilled chicken; then it is the perfect main dish! During the warm spring and summer months, this recipe is a weekly staple in our house and I hope it will be in yours as well.

Note: The dressing is packed with flavor, so go light at first and add more to taste.

Enough talk, let’s eat!

Recipe for Green Salad with Mandarin Oranges and Poppyseed Dressing:

Cuties Green Salad with Bacon and Poppyseed Dressing

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Ingredients

For the Salad

5-10 Cuties Mandarin Oranges, peeled and broken into segments
8 oz Spring Greens
1 head Romaine Lettuce, chopped, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 Large Avocado, cut into chunks
1 package bacon, cooked drained and cut into chunks
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
*1 grilled Chicken breast sliced into strips (optional!)

For the Dressing

1c water
3/4 cup Sugar
1/3 Lemon Juice
2 tsp onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Salt
2/3 c Vegetable Oil
1 TBS Poppy Seeds

Instructions