Wilted Winter Salad

Wilted Winter Salad – Eating veggies in the winter can be quick, easy and delicious!

We are really feeling the winter theme when it comes to veggies! We’ve talked a little in the last week about how difficult it can be to find fresh produce in the winter. Since eating veggies always gives a good energy boost and adds so much needed nutrition we like to eat as many as possible even in the winter. With recipes like a Winter Panini and Cabbage Quinoa Winter Salad it’s so much easier to fit them in! Today we have one more delicious and quick cold weather wonder: Wilted Winter Salad!

Where we live it’s almost impossible to find good lettuce in the winter. We can, however, find cold weather greens such as spinach, kale and spring mixes. Adding them to a salad brings tons of good nutrition and a rich flavor. Add that to a deep balsamic dressing and some strawberries and you have a masterpiece on your hands.

One of the best parts about this salad is that it is a complete meal! The greens are your veggie, strawberries are the fruit, chickpeas, bacon and grains are the protein and fiber. Pumpkin seeds are a great source of healthy fat and mushrooms can have cancer fighting properties. On top of all this nutrition, this salad is very quick to put together.

A few quick notes before the recipe: Since we are all about Easy Peasy around here, one of our bacon frying tips is to cook it in a deep sauce pan. This way it doesn’t splash as much and the cleanup is much easier. Also, the recipe calls for strawberries but you can use raspberries instead if you prefer. Both taste great!

Wilted Winter Salad

6-8 slices bacon, chopped
4-5 mushrooms,chopped (optional)
¼ red onion, diced
¾ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup honey
1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
6 cups greens (spinach, kale, spring mix, etc.)
1 ½ cups cooked grains (quinoa, millet, wheat berries, etc.)
1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 cups strawberries, sliced
strong cheese (optional)

Fry bacon pieces until almost done. Add onions and sauté until they sweat. Add mushrooms and continue to sauté until mushrooms are tender. By this time your bacon should be completely cooked. Stir in balsamic vinegar and honey. Stir until the pan is completely deglazed. Keep warm. In a large bowl combine chickpeas, greens, grains and pumpkin seeds. Pour warm vinegar mixture over the greens etc. and toss to coat all ingredients. Top with strawberries and cheese.