I’ve talked about my love of salads many a time here on the blog. They certainly don’t need to be boring ‘rabbit food’, quite to the contrary, I think they can be some of the tasty meals going! That is certainly the case with this Winter Superfood Salad. I’ve been making variations of this salad since September to be honest, and this can just as easily be a summer or autumn superfood salad by using seasonal ingredients.
With Christmas approaching, it can be hard to get your veggies in between all that less healthy foods – what I love about this salad is that it is so delicious I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything by having it. It’s also festive enough to make me feel like I’m getting in the Christmas spirit! I know I’ll be eating a lot of these salads between now and New Year – in fact this is healthy enough to be included as a ‘back on track’ meal in January!
The ‘super foods’ in this come from the spinach, squash, nuts and seeds, coconut oil and pomegranate, all packed with antioxidants and healthy fats to keep illnesses at bay.
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 bag of mixed green salad leaves (I used cos lettuce and spinach)
- 100g of goats cheese (I used soft organic goats cheese)
- 1 pomegranate
- balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup pecans
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/8 tsp salt
- Begin by peeling and chopping the butternut squash into bite size pieces. Place in an oven tray with the coconut oil and roast at 200c until tender.
- Make the sweet and salty nuts by mixing them whole with the maple syrup, melted coconut oil and salt. Spread onto a foil lined baking sheet and pop in the oven with the squash for the last 5-10 minutes until they are lightly toasted.
- Divide the greens between two plates and top with the squash. Next crumble the goats cheese equally between the plates followed by a handful of the sweet and salty nuts.
- Slice the pomegranate in half, and holding a half over each plate, whack the back of it with a wooden spoon so that the seeds fall out.
- Finally, add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and serve.
As I said this can easily be tweaked with a variety of different ingredients. In place of the squash you could try grilled pears, apples, persimmon or roasted beetroot. Instead of the pomegranate seeds try dried cranberries or cherries, raisins, chopped dried dates or apricots. Use whichever nuts or seeds you like too! To make this vegan replace the goats cheese with cashew or another nut cheese, it would also be amazing with a tahini or almond butter dressing instead of the balsamic. Feel free to chuck on some slices of avocado as well!
The sweet and salty nuts can be enjoyed on all kinds of dishes, as well as the salad, once you’ve made up a batch. I have a jar of them in the fridge to just nibble on!
As you can serve this warm or cold, it really is a handy meal idea. To make it transportable just keep the balsamic in a little jar to pour over before serving. It will keep in the fridge in a lunch box for a good 2-3 days as long as your greens are fresh.
Are you a fan of salads at this time of year? How do you get your veggies in over Christmas?
Yum that sounds lovely and it looks beautiful x
Thanks Tam!
*love* this!! i find it difficult to eat salads over the winter months but it is totally a mind block (salad=summer) as opposed to being impossible!! this is such a simple recipe but I know just from the list of ingredients that it is going to be delicious! plus loving the camera skills lady ! xxx
I absolutely agree, I started to think that way as well until I started to remember the more wintery and warm alternatives!
I LOVE pomegranate on salads. With feta too. Yum!
I’ve got some pom seeds stashed in the freezer now so I can whack a few on whenever I fancy them!
This is gorgeous, Laura — I’m loving all the colours! I have to admit that I’m still eating salads around this time of the year, except that tossing roasted squash into them has become a MUST. Love the idea of adding something like pears, apples, or beets.
Thanks Amanda, I know I’ve eaten salads all year round for the last couple of years but for some reason this year I needed to remind myself how lovely they are!
Looks delicious! I still try and eat one salad daily. Adding roasted vegetables warms it up a bit. Otherwise I’ll get my veggies in smoothies and big soups and stews!
You know I used to try and eat a salad daily, such a good way to get raw greens in – I think I need to aspire to that again too!
droooool… a salad just the way I like it (sub the cheese for nutcheese of course). I’m a salad lover every time of year, but you probably already knew that :)
Oh yes I thought you might like the look of that in a veganised version of course!
Such a pretty salad! Love the colours. I love adding squash to salads, it really livens things up.
It does give them a different twist doesn’t it!
Laura, this salad looks absolutely GORGEOUS!! I love the combination of sweet & savory, brilliant! :)
-Ashley
Thanks Ashley!
Loving pomegranate right now! The nuts sound really good, great to have a bit of crunch in a salad. I had one in Brighton which had wasabi cashews in it, it was delicious, just added another texture to the dish.
It makes you think about adding all the different kinds of flavoured nuts you gan get now, I bet you could create some interesting flavour combos!
Oooh that does look so delicious. I’m looking forward to getting back into cooking lots of nice things come January! At the moment I’m just trying to use up what I’ve got in the cupboard.
I was thinking last night that I’m looking forward to all these foods and some recipe ideas I have for January, but then why can’t I make them now? So I am – although I do have fairly well stocked cupboards to get through! I think I need a de clutter!
sounds divine.
Thanks Lara!
I was just talking about how I love salads all year round on my blog yesterday! Love the look of this, especially with the sweet and salty nuts.
Your salad you posted sounds amazing! I bought some sweet white miso paste the other day and I can’t wait to make a big jar of tahini miso dressing – definitely makes salads a little more special!
That looks nice Laura, i’m sure it doesn’t take too long to prepare. I don’t eat enough salad in my diet due to busy work schedule abut after reading this I need to stop making excuses :)
It doesn’t once you’ve made the nuts and roasted the squash – I plan on keeping a stash of them in my fridge over the festive period!
Those nuts sound delicious! I love making spiced nuts like that at this time of year but have not got around to it yet. That salad sounds lovely- packed with my favourite things.