Swiss Chard, Apple and Pear salad
Swiss Chard, Apple and Pear Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pear, chopped
- 1 apple, chopped
- A few large leaves of swiss chard
- 1 tablespoon of whole linseeds/flaxseeds
- 5 dates, chopped into tiny pieces
- Dressing:
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp red vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 lemons, squeezed
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 shallots Or 1/2 red onion, very finely chopped
Instructions
- Chop chard into thin strips and place in a large bowl and rub salt into it.
- Add the dressing ingredients, i.e. the oil, lemons, onions, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic, and add the linseeds seeds, and chopped dates.
- Press chard with hands or fork to help it wilt and soak up the juices.
- Let it marinate for 20 minutes.
- Add chopped apple and pear. Mix well and serve.
- Gluten free, wheat free, sugar free, dairy free
Keeping Warm this Autumn with Pear Salad
How do we support our bodies as we enter autumn and the cold weather? We can assist our bodies through the transition of the seasons by the choices we make with regard to food and exercise. Yoga can strengthen the body, food can support the immune and digestive systems and you can make sure you get the maximum nutrition for this time of year. The key points around health, thermal and seasonal aspects of our food:
- Our cooking methods: As we move into winter, we choose slower cooking times, lower heat and tend to cook over longer periods.
- Switching to warming foods. We tend to cook more with warming spices (ginger cloves, cinnamon, turmeric) and use warmer coloured foods (think of the reds, yellow and oranges of all those lovely root vegetables).
- Counteracting the dryness. We can also start getting dry skin, hacking coughs and feeling of thirst as the cold sets in. We can counteract this with mucous forming foods such as dairy eggs, banana and figs, as well as oil rich nuts and seeds and soothing grains and autumn fruit.
- Boost our immune system. Its a time to boost ourselves for the months ahead with antioxidant and zinc rich foods, garlic and mushrooms.
I designed this pear salad recipe to show how easy it is to mix autumn fruit and vegetables and how adaptable salads can be in winter by adding warming ingredients.