This Autumn Salad is delicious and full of healthy ingredients. And, like previous recipes I’ve made, the sweetness in this meal comes from maple syrup. It compliments the other ingredients so well! For some reason, I feel less guilty about using maple syrup compared to using granulated sugar. Besides, there’s only 1 tablespoon of syrup used in this recipe; we all deserve to live a little bit, don’t we?
Now that we are in the middle of October, I am truly in full-force “Autumn mode”. My tummy is usually happy about this time of year, too. From the delicious Thanksgiving feasts made by family to buying apple pie and cider (guilt-free), it’s hard to complain!
It can be a bit difficult to not gain weight between the months of October and March, though!
With so many holidays and get-togethers, I have my work cut out for me when it comes to trying to shed some pounds! Luckily, I love salads. This is why I find it a bit silly that I’ve never made a more Autumn-themed salad before now. There’s no time like the present, right?
This recipe inspired by Recipe Runner was exactly what I was craving. What I like the most, is if you want to make this even healthier, you can omit the bacon and replace it with another ingredient of your choosing.
For example, I left the bacon out and replaced it with a cubed baked sweet potato. I drizzled the sweet potato with the maple syrup as it baked, and omitted the syrup from the dressing. I also had some pork loin that I didn’t want going to waste, so I chopped some of that up, too! By adjusting the ingredients to fit your diet and health goals, it can also become a vegetarian-friendly salad. All this to say, it is an extremely flexible recipe!
Autumn Fruit Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
7 ounces mixed greens
1 each pear and apple, thinly sliced or diced
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese or other cheese, optional
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped (or another ingredient of your choosing. I chose sweet potato and pork tenderloin)
Balsamic Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon each of Dijon mustard, minced shallot, maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the spring mix to a serving bowl. Top it with the sliced apple and pear, crumbled feta, bacon or alternative ingredient, dried cranberries, and almonds.
- Combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Whisk until they are well combined.
- Serve the vinaigrette on the side of the salad. I always leave it to the ones I’m serving to add their own dressing- you never know how much (or how little) they may want. This also ensures the salad won’t get soggy ahead of serving.