Spring vegetables are still in full swing for another couple of months, so naturally I'm taking full advantage of that. One of my favorite spring vegetables has to be asparagus. I love it's simple flavor and complete versatility to be the part of just about any meal. So, this week for lunch I decided to dive back into salads and thought that adding some cool asparagus to the mix would be perfect.

This salad is a great lunch, and would also make for a great side dish or used as part of a dinner time meal as well. Along the way I happened to come across some watercress this week, which is another fun spring green and also one that I've never had the pleasure of working with.

I snatched one of the last bunches up and am so happy that I did! It's got a soft peppery taste that's a little lighter than arugula. It's very low in calories and still full of good nutrients like Vitamin K and antioxidants.

Among the many other good things that it does, I've even seen some researching saying that eating watercress everyday can help reduce DNA damage to blood cells. As if that wasn't enough, more than 15 essential vitamins and minerals are contained in this one herb. It has more calcium than milk, and more vitamin C than oranges!

To keep the vinaigrette light and clean, I kept the amount of ingredients to a minimal. The whole grain mustard and lemon juice give it a burst of bright flavors without weighting it down. And of course, lemon and asparagus go together like peas and carrots.

I also tossed in some low sodium center cut bacon because it too is a best friend to asparagus and it gives a lot of flavor and texture to an already amazing salad. The hard boiled egg is a boost of protein and again gives more textural diversity.

Spring Asparagus Salad & Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 4 • Size: 1 Prepared Salad • Calories: 289.6 • Fat: 22.2 g • Carb: 12 g • Fiber: 4 g • Protein: 13.3 g • Sugar: 3.8 g • Sodium: 282.4 mg

Ingredients:
Salad:
1 Bunch Asparagus, Ends Trimmed
4 C. Baby Spinach
2 C. Watercress
4 Hard Boiled Eggs, Sliced
4 Slices Reduced Sodium Center Cut Bacon, Cooked & Chopped

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette:
1/4 C. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/4 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Whole Grain Mustard
2 Tsp. Honey or Agave
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:

Heat a pot of water to boil and add in the asparagus; cook for 2 minutes and then remove to transfer to an ice bath.

While the asparagus is chilling, combine all of the ingredients together for the vinaigrette and whisk until well blended.

Chop the asparagus into smaller bite-diced pieces.

Prepare each salad with 1 C. spinach, 1/2 C. watercress, and evenly divided asparagus pieces.

Top each salad with one sliced egg and one piece of roughly chopped bacon.

Drizzle about 2 Tbsp. of the vinaigrette over each salad.

Enjoy right away!