IT'S IN THE BAG New products make salad a snap It's Salad Night menu

Los Angeles Times Syndicate

I grow weary of food snobs who say they won't eat salad from aplastic bag. It does not have as much flavor, they protest, as hand-torn lettuce from the head. While this may be an arguable point, inthe grand scheme of things what is more important? Eating more saladsper week or shunning salad because it comes from a bag?

At our house we are eating more salads, no doubt about it, sincethis whole salad bag technology took off. We might eat spinach onenight, arugula the next, then field greens, then coleslaw. It's justso easy. You snip open the bag and pour.

The only downfall I find is that the bags have a two- to three-day shelf life so you need to plan pretty well and use the bag ofgreens within a couple days of purchase.

What makes salad bags nice is they are pre-washed and drained andthey are a blank canvas for you to create something magnificent. Inthe spinach salad recipe that follows, you have a deliciouscombination of sweet, salty and tangy. The salad goes well with abowl of mushroom soup or gazpacho. Add crusty bread and you'vecreated an easy and healthy supper.

Anne Byrn is the author of the popular Doctor series cookbooks,including The Cake Mix Doctor and The Dinner Doctor, both by WorkmanPublishing, and is a former newspaper food editor. Share yourfavorite cooking tips, ask questions and access her free onlinenewsletter at www.dinnerdoc.com.

*Spinach and orange salad with sesame vinaigrette

Your favorite mushroom soup or gazpacho

Crusty bread

Brownies

* Recipe included here

Spinach and orange salad

with sesame vinaigrette

MAKES 3 TO 4 SERVING

1 (6-ounce) bag spinach, leaves torn into pieces

1 (8-ounce) package pre-sliced mushrooms

1 (11-ounce) can mandarin orange sections, drained

1/4 cup pre-crumbled feta or blue cheese

2 tablespoons pre-chopped pecans

Sesame vinaigrette:

1/4 cup bottled Italian salad dressing

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon Asian (dark) sesame oil

Place spinach leaves in a large serving bowl. Scatter themushrooms, orange sections, cheese and pecans on top.

For the vinaigrette, pour the salad dressing into a small mixingbowl and whisk in the honey, soy sauce and sesame oil. Pour thevinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat the ingredients well.Serve immediately.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Nutrition facts per serving: 286 calories, 20 g fat, 5 g saturatedfat, 15 mg cholesterol, 23 g carbohydrates, 8 g protein, 625 mgsodium, 6 g fiber