We eat a lot of frozen veggies at my house, it’s just quicker and easier. And it prevents me from letting things go bad in the back of the fridge… But these days I’ve really been craving fresh veggies, which is terrible timing considering we can’t exactly go pick out our own produce. And honestly, I haven’t been doing anything impressive with these veggies, just cutting them into sticks or dipping them in hummus. But I have tried to do a few creative vegnuqes with salads. Which is where their Apple Superfood Salad came from.
I think technically apples are a fall food, but I love apples all year round; I eat one every day. Such a great source of fiber, vitamin C, antioxidants, and a ton of other vitamins. And with so many varieties of apples, it’s like getting a whole other kind of fruit each time I try a different variety. Sine we always have apples in the house, I love trying new things with them.
The salad
This Apple Superfood Salad is chock full of nutritious goodies. We’re talking:
- Spinach
- Goji berries
- Hemp seeds
- Apples
- Apple cider vinegar
- All the goodies from Wildway Apple Cinnamon Grain Free Granola (this includes pumpkin seeds, walnuts, dates, sunflower seeds)
And while it may sounds strange to put granola on a salad, it’s not. It just works. It’s the apples, the texture, the nuts and seeds… all of it works so perfectly in this salad! Ya’ll probably know by now that I love me some Wildway granola and snack mixes, and I love the people behind it. There are SO many great options for grain free, vegan, and paleo products with this company, you really can’t go wrong. Check out their website and get you some goodies, and use HOPE10 to get 10% off your order 🙂
The dressing
Back to the salad. It’s the dressing that ties it all together. The apple cider vinegar brings some more apple-ness to the salad and the little bitty touch of maple syrup sets it just right. I’ve talked about apple cider vinegar before , in my vegan feta recipe , but I will reiterate here. Don’t buy the cheap stuff. This is something where you want to buy the REAL thing, and yes, it might be a tad more expensive, but it really isn’t by much and it is worth it. You want organic apple cider vinegar with “the Mother”. This means it contains the mother culture that the batch was made with, and this is where the good probiotics are. It’s great for salad dressings, making “buttermilk” in vegan recipes, for teas or tonics, and has a ton of health benefits like stabilizing blood sugar, lowering blood pressure and relieving things like dandruff and acne. Get this 2 pack and stock up, just keep it in your pantry for your homemade dressings and teas.
A salad is like a template right? You can always change it and add to it. Next time I make it, I’m going to through some blueberries in it. You could toss walnuts, golden raisins, avocado, pecans, almonds, orange segments, pistachios… really, the list is endless! And I think arugula would be another great choice for greens in here. Try it ALL, and tag me in your creations!