Roasted Vegetable Fall Salad

I have another great guest post lined up for you!  This one is from Rama of Freshly Grown.   I have known Rama since way back from the beginning of my blogging days.  She has a pretty amazing story and is an all around awesome person!  Today she is sharing this Roasted Vegetable Fall Salad.  I am a huge fan of squash and beets, so I cannot wait to try this one!

I was thrilled when Melissa asked me to do a guest post for you guys. I love her blog. Her

recipes are awesome, easy and best of all use whole food ingredients. I will first tell you a little

bit about me and then get right to the recipe I chose for you all. My name is Rama (rayma)

and I am a mom to an inquisitive five-year-old (although he would correct me and tell you he is

five-and-a-half!) and a spunky nine-month-old baby girl, along with being a wife to a man who

loves adventures and keeps me light-hearted (thankfully). I recently graduated as a Holistic

Nutritionist from a local school here in the Pacific NW and I am looking forward to helping

others along their whole foods journey, as well as continuing to blog over at Freshly Grown.

What started me on the road to health and whole foods was a grapefruit sized tumor found in

my chest cavity at the age of 19. It was shocking to say the least, but it was also a huge gift in

opening my eyes to our food industry and a new way of eating and living. You can read more

about my story here. I think Melissa would agree with me when I say, there is no going back

once you’ve made the switch to eating more whole, unprocessed foods!

The recipe I chose for you today is a roasted Fall veg salad with a maple dijon lime dressing.

I went back and forth for awhile trying to decide the right thing to pick and when I finally did, I

felt especially brave throwing beets into the mix (Yes, beets! I know. But, they’re completely

optional if you don’t like them). Trust me, it took my taste buds a long while to get used to them

and now I love them. I particularly love them because of their incredible health benefits and

flavor. I don’t know about you, but I don’t eat as much salad in the Fall and Winter months as

I probably should, mostly because I feel uninspired in that direction and really enjoy all of the

warm roasts, and soups and stews and roasted veggies that come with the colder months.

Today’s recipe is a mix of both, a little roasted veggie goodness mixed in with some fresh, crisp

greens. Let’s do this!

Roasted Vegetable Fall Salad

Roasted Vegetable Fall Salad

print shopping list

Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 30 min Serves 4 servings     adjust servings

Roasted Vegetable Fall Salad

Ingredients

For the salad

• 2-3 cups spinach
• 2 cups arugula
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
• 1 golden beetroot, peeled and chopped small (optional)
• 2 T avocado oil
• 1 T maple syrup
• Raw pumpkin seeds

For the dressing

• 1/3 cup avocado oil
• 3 T fresh lime juice
• 1 T dijon mustard
• 1-2 T maple syrup (depending on your level of sweetness)
• 1 garlic clove pressed
• sea salt
• Cracked pepper
• 1/3 cup pecans chopped
• 1 apple, chopped small

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Peel, de-seed and cut your butternut squash into half-inch chunks and set aside in a mixing bowl. Then, peel and cut your golden beetroot into small
3. pieces and add it to the bowl as well.
4. Combine 2 T of avocado oil, 1 T real maple syrup, sea salt and cracked pepper to the mixing bowl and toss, making sure the veggies are coated.
5. Pour squash and beets onto a flat baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes or until they are soft all
6. the way through and the edges turn a bit brown.
7. While you are waiting for your veggies to roast, begin making your dressing.
8. In a blender , combine all of the dressing ingredients and blend until well mixed. Do a quick taste test and adjust accordingly. Place in the refrigerator until time to serve, this allows the dressing flavors to set.
9. Next, chop your pecans and apple. Once your veggies are done roasting, take them out and let them cool.
10. Assemble your salad: spinach, arugula, roasted butternut squash and beets, chopped pecans and apple, sprinkle raw pumpkin seeds on top, drizzle with dressing and voila! Your salad is complete! Time to serve and enjoy.

by Melissa King

This salad is versatile, so don’t feel you have to stick with the ingredients I gave. Feel free to

change it up and use whatever suits your fancy: roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, or parsnips,

pear, dried cranberries, hemp seeds, walnuts, if you eat cheese add some goat cheese, and on

it goes! That is the beauty of cooking, you get to play with flavor combinations and find out what

works and what doesn’t. I hope you enjoy this little Fall salad. Below is a list of health benefits

just some of the ingredients I picked out have. I hope you all have a great Fall this year and

thanks for having me!

Health Benefits

Butternut Squash = its rich color contains carotenoids, especially beta-carotene, (which

converts to Vit. A) and protects against heart disease, breast cancer and degenerative diseases

and is good for the eyes and skin, 1 cup is half the needed daily dose of the antioxidant Vit. C,

supports and nourishes the spleen, helps regulate blood sugar, contains five of the B vitamins:

B1, B3, B6, pantothenic acid and folate, and even contains electrolytes: potassium, magnesium

and calcium.

For more delicious recipes, you can find Rama at www.freshly-grown.com

Follow Freshly Grown on Facebook

Follow Freshly Grown on Twitter

Follow Freshly Grown on Pinterest