Warm Butternut Squash and Kale Salad

This hearty butternut squash and kale salad is the perfect lunch or side on a cold day. Making homemade salad dressing is an easy way to reduce your consumption of processed foods. What’s more, homemade dressing can be easily adjusted to your taste preferences. This recipe is a great source of beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is an immune booster and may help prevent the common cold.

Grocery Shopping List

• Butternut squash
• Kale
• Walnuts
• Pomegranates
• Pear
• Pantry ingredients: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper

Ingredients

• 3 cups butternut squash, cubed
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bunch of kale, sliced thin
• ½ cup walnuts
• ½ cup pomegranates (or ¼ cup dried cranberries)

For the dressing:

• 1 large pear
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat the butternut squash in olive oil, and roast for 20-25 minutes, flipping them half-way through
2. As the squash roasts, make the salad dressing. Add the pear, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and mustard to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste
3. In a large bowl, add the kale then the butternut squash cubes right out of the oven (this will wilt the kale). Add the walnuts, pomegranates and dressing. Mix well and enjoy!

Notes

For quicker prep time, you can find pre-cubed squash or sweet potato in stores. You can also substitute other greens, like Swiss chard or collard greens, for kale instead.

Yield

• 6 servings

Nutrition Information Per Serving

• Calories: 166 calories
• Protein: 4 g
• Sodium: 41 mg
• Carbohydrate: 20 g
• Fiber: 5 g
• Fat: 9 g
• Sat Fat: 1 g

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Recipe by Alyssa Tisdale, Dietetic Intern