Red Grapefruit Chicken Salad

Red Grapefruit Chicken Salad

Ingredients

2 large red grapefruit
200 gms mixed leaves
2 cups shredded BBQ chicken
1/2 cup olives
200 gms fetta cheese, crumbled
Salt and cracked black pepper to season
Dressing
3 tablespoons red grapefruit juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and cracked black pepper to season
Method
1. Peel the red grapefruit, slice across the fruit into 1/2 cm rounds.
2. Divide the mixed leaf between four plates. Arrange the red grapefruit slices over the leaf and top with equal amounts of the other ingredients.
3. To make dressing, shake all ingredients in a screw top jar until well combined. Drizzle over salad. If desired before serving, season salad with salt and cracked black pepper.

Serves 4
Prep Time 10 minutes

Health Benefits
This salad increases absorption of a powerful antioxidant, called Lycopene. Lycopene has been shown to lower the risk of prostate cancer in men and is also converted into Vitamin A in the body.

Essential to its absorption is fat, thus red grapefruit is ideally served in a salad with an oil-based dressing.


The sweetest tasting fruit of the grapefruit family, red grapefruits are an incredibly rich source of antioxidants. With a characteristically bright red flesh, red grapefruits are often confused with ruby red - they are in fact different.

Proven to be successful in lowering bad cholesterol, the red grapefruit is more effective than white grapefruit varieties. In addition, the fibre found in red grapefruit and high levels of Vitamin C can reduce risk of free radical damage implicated in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

Closely rivalling the orange, it is rare to get so much Vitamin C in just one piece of fruit, with just half of a red grapefruit containing an amazing 70% of the recommended daily intake. "A unique fruit with greater benefits than those just from antioxidants, the red grapefruit helps to maintain a healthy weight and is an excellent fruit for those treating the early stages of high cholesterol with diet related changes," says Joanna McMillan Price, Certified Nutritionist and Dietitian.

The powerful red grapefruit offers an array of health and nutritional benefits. A potent fruit indeed, red grapefruit juice has the second highest antioxidant activity of all of the fruit juices. Freshly squeezed red grapefruit juice offers a strong antioxidant boost to lower the risk of cancer, heart disease and age-related disease.

Compared to white grapefruit, red grapefruit is unique with a nutrient, lycopene, that converts to Vitamin A in the body. "Crucial for healthy eyes, bones, hair, teeth and skin as well as general immunity, absorption of lycopene can be maximised by incorporating red grapefruit into a salad with an oil-based dressing," added McMillan Price.

Great on their own, juiced or combined in salads, it has never been so easy to reap the health benefits of red grapefruits and incorporate them into your daily diet.

Harvested at peak and when sweetest, red grapefruits are in season from March until November and are available nationwide at supermarkets and green grocers.

Tips:
Selection

Look for red grapefruits that are bright, smooth and have reasonably unblemished skin

For a greater amount of juice choose red grapefruits that are heavy for their size and have a thin skin

Harvested in peak season, once picked red grapefruits are fully ripe and ready to eat

Storage

Keep red grapefruit at room temperature, in a cool dark place, removed from plastic bags, they will last for approximately one week

To prolong life, store in the crisper compartment of the fridge