Perfect Summer Salad with Creamy Yogurt Dressing

I wanted to make cookies tonight.  I stopped at the store on the way home from work to buy things to make cookies.  Somehow between stepping out of my car and walking into the grocery store, my thoughts changed.  I am going to blame the 90 degree temperatures.  Yes – extreme heat is one of the few things that will keep me from baking.  Hence my theory on moving to Florida – I would weigh less.   Anyway, this is what I ended up making: 

This salad was inspired by one of the best salads (if not the best salad) I’ve ever had.  The Strawberry Poppyseed Salad from Panera, filled with strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, oranges, pecans, and Panera’s amazing chicken, all on top of a big bed of romaine.   I could have completely recreated Panera’s salad, but I’m a strong believer that nothing is ever as good as ‘the real thing’.  (Hence why I think it’s silly my dad orders the same omelette everywhere we eat breakfast – they’ll never live up to the ones at his favorite diner!)  So I changed it up a little.   

For my version, I kept the strawberries, blueberries, pecans, and romaine.  But I subbed out the pineapple and oranges for kiwi and cucumber.  And since I didn’t feel like cooking chicken, I added some granola.  Tip: adding granola to your salads is a nice way to get ‘croutons’ with a bit more nutrition.  Now if I could just figure out how to bake my own whole grain french baguette, Panera would have nothin’ on me.

What’s a salad without dressing?  Enter: greek yogurt.  And watermelon!  I blended greek yogurt, watermelon, kiwi, lime juice, and poppyseeds to make a creamy yet light dressing.  The perfect topping to my fruit-packed salad!  This salad was so fun to make, and it was really refreshing. 

1 kiwi, chopped

1/2 cup watermelon, chopped

1 tsp. lime juice

1 tsp. poppyseeds

6 oz. plain greek yogurt 

Blend all ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth.  That’s it!