I am, admittedly, one of those oh-let’s-just-get-started-with-the-Christmas-music-already-it-is-October kind of people. I am crazy about Christmas! It needs SO much more than one month’s worth of celebration. It is so, so fun. BUT, let it be known!! I am in no way rushing through Fall in my mind!! In fact, the anticipation of Christmas is a very real part of “Fall-ness” in my head.
And I do also love Thanksgiving. It deserves it’s place, too, and part of that place is to say “Hey! Guess what? It’s almost Christmas!!”
Thanksgiving is great. It’s cozy and family-centered, and the food is fun and comforting. However, sometimes the food is a bit, shall we say, heavy? And sometimes it leaves us feeling not-so-great if we are of the gluten and dairy resistant type. (Pumpkin bread will be the death of me.) So, if you’re looking for a lightened up way to use up a few Thanksgiving leftovers (what do we do with all.that.turkey?!?!), please welcome, this salad. It is a meal in a bowl. It will fill you up without weighing you down.
Of course, this can also be an anytime sort of salad dinner. I make this salad all through the fall! You can easily sub in some leftover chicken for the turkey (or grocery story rotisserie chicken), and you can skip the sweet potatoes if you don’t have them. (Try my easy peasy sautéed sweet potatoes right here.) Pears sub in for apples delightfully as well.
If you can handle a bit of dairy, I do recommend a bit of gruyere on this salad, too. Delish.
Of course, you can use any salad dressing that you wish, but I really like making salad dressing to avoid chemicals and things like soybean oil. Plus, it takes, like, five minutes if you’re moving slowly. This one is tangy and sweet, helps you get some of that good ol’ apple cider vinegar into your diet, and is sweetened only with maple syrup.
- 4 c. raw spinach or mixed salad greens
- 1 c. cooked and shredded turkey or chicken
- 1 c. sautéed diced sweet potatoes
- 1 large apple (or pear)
- ½ c. dried cherries
- ½ c. raw pecans, roughly chopped
- ¼ c. red onions, thinly sliced
- Divide spinach and place onto two plates.
- Top spinach with half of all remaining ingredients.
- Serve with Sweet & Tangy Vinaigrette (recipe below).
Sweet & Tangy Vinaigrette:
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
3 T. apple cider vinegar
2 T. maple syrup
1 T. dijon mustard
Salt & Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a tall cup and whisk to combine. (I like to use my immersion blender with the whisk attachment.)
(Vinaigrette recipe adapted from It’s All Good by Gweneth Paltrow.)
Did you try it? Lemme know in the comments!
This looks delicious! 😋