Avacado / Grapefruit Salad

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

With summer upon us I suddenly remembered a special salad my Grandmother used to make many years ago. It blew my socks off!!! The taste is just amazing and I am sure anyone willing to give it a try will not be disappointed:

2 Avacados Skinned and cut horizontlyinto 1/4 slices
2 Grapefruit peeled and sectioned, pith removed
1 bottle Catalina style salad dressing


Arrange avacado slices and grapefruit segments onto platter alternately into a complete circle. Drizzle with Catalina Dressing and serve.

This is about as good as a summer salad gets!!!

[Mama Mangia]

Sounds great and it couldn't be easier!!!

[Mama Mangia]

Have you also tried adding pineapple, grapes and orage slices to this? It's really good and served on leaf lettuce makes a great presentation.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

No I Haven't But Thanks For Letting Me Know.

[KYHeirloomer]

Sounds really great. Unfortunately, Friend Wife is diabetic, and isn't allowed to eat grapefruit.

I keep trying to find out why (no other citrus is banned) but haven't gotten a straight answer yet.

I've gotten into the habit, with citrus, of cutting the supremes. It's a time-consuming task, but really makes a nicer presentation and better mouth feel.

While you're on your Morrocan kick, Cathy, you might like:

Slatit bordgane
(Orange and Mint Salad)

6 blood oranges, peeled, pith removed*
2-3 tsp orange blossom water
2 tbls orange peel, cut into fine matchsticks
3 tbls super fine sugar
About 3/4 cup water
Leaves from a bunch of fresh mint, finely shredded
3 1/2 oz blanced almods, slcied, to decorate

*Blood oranges are getting more common in markets, but the season is October to May. I usually substitute tangerines when making this salad. Although the color is different, the flavor is very similar

Slice the peeled oranges thinly, removing an seeds. Arrange in a glass bowl and sprinkle with the orange blossom water. (note: instead of slicing, I cut the supremes, as noted above)

In a small suacepan mix together the remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the aroanges and decorate with the almonds.

Although this is often served as a dessert, I like it as a side dish when making something on the spicy side, as it helps cool the heat.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

M-m-m-m sounds delicious!!! And you are correct about cleaning all the "pith" off the grapefruit or orange segements, my dear Nanny could do this like it was "NO Thing" meanwhile I fight, fuss, and fume to get them nice and pretty hopeful that they will remain intact for plating!

I would push the issue more with the Doc re: your wife not eating grapefruit; demand an explanation! I love grapefruit but could live without it, although I think it a shame for someone to never even have a chance to try it.

[Mama Mangia]

Grapefruit & grapefruit juice contains a high level of acid that could breakdown the medication quicker than its supposed to. Most meds are meant to work over a period of time. Grapefruit would shorten that amount of time dramatically.


It is thought that one or more of the chemicals (most likely flavonoids) in grapefruit juice alter the activity of specific enzymes (such as CYP3A4 and CYP1A2) in the intestinal tract. These enzymes decrease the amount of certain drugs which enter the systemic circulation. This could allow a larger amount of these drugs to reach the bloodstream, resulting in increased activity and possibly toxicity.

Some of the drugs which interact with grapefruit have a narrow therapeutic index. This means that the amount needed for the desired effects are not much lower than the amount that can cause toxicity. In this type of medication even a moderate increase in blood levels could cause harm.

The reason why grapefruit juice is a problem for people taking certain drugs - including many psychotropic meds - is that grapefruit juice (unlike any other citrus juice) inhibits two enzymes that are important in metabolizing, or breaking down, these medications. When the enzymes aren't doing their job, much more of the drug in question remains available to enter the patient's bloodstream, and in some cases, this can have dangerous, even toxic, effects.

For example, as much as 99% of BuSpar (Buspirone) is normally metabolized before the drug ever enters the bloodstream. When taken in the presence of grapefruit juice (not even at the same time), the amount of BuSpar in the system could increase as much as 400% - a hazardous situation.

... investigators have found that the effect is measurable for at least 24 hours and may linger up to two days." This could mean that if a person drank grapefruit juice every day, there would be an extra-strength "grapefruit effect" in his system all the time, as the effect of yesterday's glass might still be lingering when today's glass was drunk.
Besides the ones listed above, psychotropic medications that can be affected to a greater or lesser degree by grapefruit juice include:

Anafranil
Clozaril
Elavil
Halcion
Haldol
Luvoxx
Seroquel
Serzone
Trazodone
Valium
Versed
Zoloft


There are a large number of other types of medications affected by grapefruit juice as well, including all the cholesterol-lowering statins and even some antibiotics and birth control pills.