Red, Orange and Green for Go!

This spinach, orange and roasted red pepper salad ‘zings’ with flavour and is packed full of vitamins, minerals and fibre. It is fabulous served with a steak. The vitamin C in the oranges will help you to absorb the iron in the meat and spinach.

The serving below is low-FODMAP, but be aware that the fructans in baby spinach can become a problem if you have more than 75g. Don’t be tempted to eat more than your share.

Similarly, Monash recently retested red peppers (capsicum) and found them to have significant fructose. A safe serving is 43g.

This recipe was inspired by Leith’s Vegetarian Bible.

Ingredients: (serves 4 as a side-dish)

• 225g of baby spinach leaves

• 1 and 1/3 red peppers (172g)

• 2 oranges

• handful of fesh mint leaves

• handful of pine nuts (2 tbsp)

• spring onion tops

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Chop the spring onion tops,

Toss the pinenuts in a hot pan to brown, then allow to cool.

Cut the pepper into flat quarters or thirds, remove seeds and stalk, and toast on a griddle or under a grill until charred. Cover wth a tea towel and leave to cool. Remove skin and then slice.

Using a sharp knife peel the oranges and then cut out segments. If you find this too messy, cut slices or just add the segment and celebrate the extra fibre.

Make a dressing with the oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Mix all in a large bowl.

Sprinke pine nuts on the top.

Enjoy!