I believe in eating local, keeping things simple, and honoring oneself by eating real food. And whenever possible, I love shopping at our local farmers market and building meals around what’s growing right now. This beautiful fall salad celebrates some of the best ingredients of the season—crisp local apples, hearty baby kale, fresh microgreens, and roasted pumpkin seeds. Even better, it takes only about 15 minutes to make!
This salad is packed with nutrients. Why do I love microgreens? Research has found that certain microgreens can contain higher concentrations of vitamins and carotenoids than their mature counterparts.
Baby kale brings fiber and vitamins A, C, and K, while pumpkin seeds provide plant-based protein, iron, magnesium, zinc, and healthy fats. I roast the pumpkin seeds with turmeric and black pepper for a warming fall flavor and an extra boost of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory plant compounds. Then I add crisp apples for natural sweetness, crunch, fiber, and vitamin C.
I paired it all with one of my staple homemade dressings: an apple cider vinaigrette. The combination of the slightly bitter greens, sweet apples, savory pumpkin seeds, and tangy vinaigrette is so good.
Enjoy it as a beautiful fall side dish or add your favorite protein to make it a complete meal.
Christine Beal Dunst is CEO of Embody Wellness Company and creator of The Embody Wellness Method online course for women over 40, a 12-step nutrition and lifestyle roadmap to support hormones and metabolism, at EmbodyWellnessMethod.com. Follow @ EmbodyWellnessCompany for healthy recipes and practical wellness tools.
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