Warm Winter Salad Bowl

January is a lovely relief from the heaviness of December, if you know what I mean… Not just food wise – although the eating and drinking can all get a bit much too. There seems to be such a rush in the month leading up to Christmas as businesses try to wrap things up, and the general craziness and mayhem of Christmas, once it’s gone, definitely feels like a big relief. January has been an exciting month at Beets Pulse and Thyme headquarters with the launch of my 28-Day Mind&Body Reset programme, and I am so enjoying getting back to eating positively for my health.

I wanted to share this warm winter salad bowl recipe from the 28-Day Mind&Body Reset with you because it really is the best salad bowl ever! I’ve been making spicy chickpeas and adding them to salads for a while now, but this whole combination of flavours is soooo awesome!!!

It’s a common misconception that salad is something boring, or cold or not something you might fancy in the winter. And yes, I agree, we do need warming foods at this time of the year, soups, stews and broths. But getting a whole bunch of nutrients from an awesome warm salad is not something you’ll want to ignore. Keeping our immune system in tip-top condition is so important for fighting off all sort of bugs but also for our health in general.

This warm winter salad bowl will rock your socks off. Full of amazing nutrients, beta carotenes from the butternut squash for our skin health and immune system, healthy fats from the avocado, a boost of magnesium from the kale, protein and fibre from the chickpeas and wonderful antioxidants from the pomegranate kernels. Then of course the pièce de résistance, the quick pickled onions. Ah they are amazing, sweet, crunchy and tangy, yum! Raw onions are a source of numerous vitamins and minerals, high in polyphenols and sulphur, which assist the liver in neutralising toxins.

A ray of sunshine in a bowl!

Warm Winter Salad Bowl Recipe

Quick pickled onions:

1 red onion, sliced 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 tsp sea salt 1 tsp maple syrup

Spicy chickpeas:

1 jar chickpeas, drained 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp cayanne pepper salt and pepper 1 tsp coconut oil

4 Kale leaves, hard stalk removed and sliced Pomegranate kernels from 1/4 pomegranate 1/2 Butternut Squash 1 avocado

Tahini dressing:

2 tsp light tahini juice 1/2 lemon 1 tbsp hemp seeds 1tbsp olive oil 1 clove garlic 2-3 tbsp water salt and pepper

Begin by adding the onion, apple cidre vinegar, salt and maple syrup to a jar. Close the lid and shake well. Let stand for 1-2 hours, or make the night before.

Slice the butternut squash, add to a baking tray with 1 tbsp of coconut oil. Place in a preheated oven and roast on medium heat for 20-30 minutes until soft.

Add all the Tahini dressing ingredients to a food processor and blitz until smooth and well combined.

In a skillet, heat up 1 tsp coconut oil, add the chickpeas and cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the spices, salt and pepper and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.

Lightly steam the kale.

To serve, add kale, roasted butternut squash, slices of avocado, pickled onions, spicy chickpeas, pomegranate kernels and drizzle with tahini dressing. You can also sprinkle some seeds on top. I used nigella seeds and flaxseeds.