We’re smack in the middle of it.
The season of abundant indulgence.
So I say, enjoy every moment…
moderation does not have to mean deprivation
and when you’re looking for something to balance out those heavier hitting
sweets & treats
or prop up the symptoms of a cold/flu
consider this antioxidant rich, cleansing winter salad
full of flavour & good for you nutrients
~ vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, enzymes and fibre ~
and ready to go in just 15 minutes!
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Winter Salad with a Maple-Ginger Vinaigrette
For the Salad:
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About 4 cups shredded* cabbage, I used a mix of green and red
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1 cup arugula (rocket)
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2 Golden Delicious apples, skin on and roughly cubed
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1 cup broccoli florets, roughly chopped
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1 persimmon, skin on roughly cubed
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1 cup dried cranberries
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1 avocado, peeled and sliced
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1/2 cup natural sliced almonds
For the Maple-Ginger Vinaigrette
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6 Tbsp olive oil
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3 or 4 Tbsp red wine vinegar
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2 tsp ground ginger
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2 garlic cloves, minced
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1 heaping tsp grainy Dijon mustard
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1 tsp pure maple syrup
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Sea salt & cracked black pepper to taste
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Notes:
Serves 4-6
You can make your vinaigrette ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep well for up to two days.
I do not use a food processor or blender to shred* cabbage. I simply use a large chopping knife – I find it works very well. It’s easy, time efficient and not as much clean-up.
Persimmon, a native Chinese fruit known for its many medicinal uses, is best between October through December (when it is most likely to be found in grocery stores in North America). The brilliant orange fruit has a soft, juicy interior and is rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C and fibre. If you can’t find it, clementine slices would be a nice substitute here.
You can turn this salad into a main dish by adding animal or vegetable protein – smoked salmon, sliced chicken, grilled steak, beans, cubed tofu/tempeh…
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Directions:
Assemble all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl.
Assemble all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl.
In a small container with fitted lid, place vinaigrette ingredients. Cover lid and shake vigorously before pouring vinaigrette over salad. Mix salad ingredients with vinaigrette to combine.
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Now, one more matter of business before I leave you today….
Our GIVEAWAY WINNER!!
Drum roll please…
This Year’s Winner of the beautiful Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook according to a Random Number Generator is….
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| Random Number: | |
Lucky Number 41 which corresponds to MJ over at MJ’s Kitchen!
Thanks to all who participated and Congratulations MJ! ~ I will be in touch shortly with the details.
The maple ginger dressing sounds very good Kelly! I know we’ll need at least a few good salad nights coming up here. I’ve been indulging for a bit too many weeks already! :)
what a gorgeous salad, with the addition of brocoli and persimmon. just wish maple syrup is not so pricey here.. congrats to MJ for winning the cookbook!
Congratulations to MJ, and thanks again for the kind giveaway Kelly :)! I know it’s winter and people always seem to want to eat hot, comforting things, but boy, I had such a craving for a fresh salad tonight. I wanted herbs, lemon juice, crunchiness, crisp vegetables. It was tasty – I wish I’d seen this earlier though because I’d love to have given it a try. How do you think granny smith apples would fare here? I always find golden delicious so… I dunno, bland. I really appreciate an apple which “punches your tastebuds in the face” so to speak :).
Fantastic mix of ingredients Kelly! Talk about a hearty and tasty winter salad plus that vinaigrette sounds divine. I’ll be bookmarking this to keep in my repertoire; it looks like a great dinner and side option.
I’ll be making more salads daily if I keep eating Christmas cookies! This one is gorgeous!
Oh yes, need some salads and nutrient-dense ingredients to bring balance to this time of year!
CONGRATULATIONS, MJ!
A wonderful salad! I want some too!
Congratulations, MJ!
Yummy! I can taste it now, can’t wait to try it.
Congratulations to your winner!
Healthy, crunchy and flavoursome – the perfect salad.
WooHoo!!!! And I was going to wait until the morning to check my email! Thanks Kelly! What a great win! Thanks so much for providing the opportunity to win such a great cookbook! An early Christmas present. :) I love this salad! Lots and lots of textures and flavors and SO colorful! Great vinaigrette as well. After eating heavy comfort food tonight, I think it’s time for a nice winter salad!
I LOVE winter salads!!! This looks perfect to balance out all the sugar I’ve been… *experimenting with ;)
You got me at “maple ginger vinaigrette” – love the concept!
Congrats to the winner of your giveaway! And, on a side note, I will be using your idea of the random number generator, which will make my life a lot easier to come up with the winner over at my blog
I hope you are taking it easy and having fun this time of the year, in which so many people go overboard trying to do too much and please too many ;-)
What a sweet and tasty salad :)
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
My eyes are happy :))) Xxx How are you Kelly?
What a beautiful winter salad! And so full of different ingredients! I cannot believe that you have managed to find such a variety among all the seasonal fruits and vegetables. I always tend to complain that winter offers such a poor choice of produce (especially to be eaten raw) but you have just proved the opposite. And in such a gorgeous, colourful way!
Congratulations to MJ!
A feast for the eyes as well as the appetite, simple yet beautiful. And I can bet that every single bite has a different melody of flavours. I just finished lunch but your salad is making me salivate!
And I won’t even start on the dressing, Kelly, so inventive! Particularly this time of year, maple is such a nice addition but in the quantity wouldn’t be over powering, which I find some maple recipes are. I rather like the ginger addition…and there I said don’t get me started and I went on and on and on about it. This would make a perfect lunch.
How appropriate that while reading this I was chasing my salad lunch with a packet of M&Ms ;) Love the sweet bites in your salad- additions like that make it so delicious!
I want to eat this right now, Kelly! It really does feel exactly like what you need during this crazy month of indulgence. The ingredients in this salad are amazing, and the vinaigrette sounds sooo good- maple and ginger, mmmmmmm!
What a nutrient-rich delight! Love the mix of fruits and vegetables you used here.