Let’s talk about the potential of healthy winter salad recipes like my Apple Fennel Salad! Winter is often a time for cosy warm dishes. I’m talking about soups, stews, casseroles, crock pots, pasta, and the like. But what if I told you that you could break away from your traditional winter menu and embrace something fresher and more vibrant? 

I love eating salads in the winter, it’s great to get some fresh produce into the mix! Fresh produce is hydrating, light, and filled with in-tact vitamins and minerals. Eating fresh fruits and veggies in the winter is so important because we often lose nutrients during cooking that we would benefit from if foods were in their fresh form!

Adding a few salads to your weekly rotation will help boost your digestion and your nutrient intake too! Keep scrolling for this healthy winter salad recipe and for the health benefits of its highlighted ingredients!

Apple Fennel Salad Recipe

Gluten-free & vegan

Prep time: 15 minutes | Serves 1 main or 4 sides

Apple Cider Vinaigrette Ingredients

• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• ¼ tsp salt and pepper

Apple Fennel Salad Ingredients

• 8 cups mixed salad greens
• 1/2 fennel bulb, 1 cup finely sliced
• 2 apples, sliced
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped fennel fronds

Directions

1. Make the dressing by whisking together apple cider vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper in the bottom of the salad bowl.
2. Add salad greens and toss with the dressing. Top with fennel, apples and pumpkin seeds and fennel fronds.

Health Benefits of Apples

Apples are filled with so many nutritional qualities! They’ve got water, fibre, and pectin to support digestion and feed good gut bacteria. They contain 1 gram of protein per serving (who knew!), and they’re loaded with health-promoting vitamins and minerals.

Apples contain vitamin C which helps support our immune system, skin, connective tissue, and more. They also contain tons of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory flavonoids to prevent diseases and keep you feeling your best. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” isn’t just a saying, it’s science! 

Health Benefits of Fennel

Fennel isn’t a vegetable that’s usually in my regular rotation. I sometimes forget how awesome it can be. If you’ve never tried it, fennel has this really fresh, distinct, almost liquorice-like flavour. It pairs beautifully with citrus fruits or any veggies. I love adding fennel to salads because it adds an exciting flavour pop when you happen to get a bite! But fennel isn’t only special because of its delicious unique flavour profile, it’s also super healthy!

• Fennel protects the lining of the digestive tract.
• It reduces cell death and protects against oxidative damage because fennel contains significant amounts of antioxidants.
• Fennel is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral, meaning it can support the immune system during both chronic and acute outbreaks (hello cold and flu season).
• Fennel can also increase breast milk supply, and soothe colic in babies when mum takes it during breastfeeding.

Corporate Wellness

This healthy winter salad recipe fits right in with this month’s corporate wellness offerings! This month we’re all about healthy, fresh, COLOURFUL foods – especially salads!

Join me for my Eat And Drink Your Greens Virtual Cooking Class where together we’ll boost our energy. In this cooking class, we’ll make a Winter Kale Salad and a Spiced Pear Green Smoothie. These dishes give you a double dose of greens to get you through the day. Have the smoothie at breakfast and salad for dinner to guarantee you get the most out of these hearty, healthy greens.

Or try, my UnBEETable Detox Virtual Cooking Class instead! During this cooking class, we embrace the amazing liver detox properties of beets! Together we’ll make a Roasted Beet Hummus and a Kale Beet Salad. Yum!

Looking for something less hands-on? In my informative Easy Daily Detox Tips Lunch & Learn, I’ll teach you and your team all about the body’s natural ability to detoxify. I’ll also share 10 simple tips that you can do each day to help your body detox. No matter what your health goals are, everyone can benefit from these healthy detox tips

I’m so excited to bring your team into my kitchen for these healthy corporate classes. These classes are an awesome way to engage your team and boost morale! Let’s start the year off on a healthy, delicious note, together!

Email info@jesselanewellness.com for additional information and pricing.

In Need Of Some Winter Salad Inspiration?

If you’re looking for more delicious healthy winter salad recipes, my Healthy Fresh Salads Cookbook is here to help you! This cookbook is the ultimate guide to all things salad and will ensure you’re getting tons of variety and health benefits!

My Healthy Fresh Salads Cookbook Contains:

• Over 30 gluten-free, unique, and fresh salad recipes created by Holistic Nutritionists
• A delicious cookbook with full-colour vibrant pictures
• Guide to creating the ultimate salad
• Instructions on how to clean fruits and veggies
• Information about GMO foods and how to avoid them
• Importance of eating the rainbow
• Guide to buying fresh produce on a budget

Healthy Fresh Salads contains recipes for everyone. Gluten can cause digestive issues and other health-related issues for a lot of people, so I made sure that every recipe in this cookbook is gluten-free. Many of them are also sugar-free, no soy, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, and paleo. All of the recipes can easily be made vegan, vegetarian, or dairy-free by either leaving out the animal protein/cheese or using maple syrup in place of honey.

Grab your paperback or digital copy for more healthy winter salad recipes like my apple fennel salad!

Healthy Winter Salad Recipe Roundup

Creamy Sesame Kale Salad

Creamy Sesame Kale Salad is quick, easy and oh-so-delicious. I massage the kale in a velvety, creamy tahini dressing that has just a hint of caramel sweetness from the dates. This 15-minute salad serves as four sides or one big entree salad if you’re looking for something light and healthful to eat! It’s chalked full of protein, healthy fats, alkalizing vinegar, and of course – the star of the show – kale!

Pickled Beet and Quinoa Salad

Pickled Beet and Quinoa Salad is a beautiful and filling salad. The pickled beets are my favourite part because they add an earthy sweet and sour flavour. The caramelized onions add a delicious sweetness. They take some time but they are totally worth it. I added quinoa, walnuts and sesame seeds to this salad for a protein boost and to make it more filling. It makes an excellent side dish or you can make it the main event.

Egg and Tuna Protein-Packed Salad

If you love tuna salad and egg salad you will love this combo of the two in this protein-packed salad. It is really quick to make, and very filling. I used Greek yoghurt in place of mayo in the dressing to boost the protein content and add creaminess. This is the perfect salad to take to work for lunch because it will keep you feeling light and energized all afternoon!

Warm Potato and Asparagus Salad

We all love a good cosy, creamy salad(especially when it’s potato salad). But instead of loading up on mayonnaise-slathered potato salad, why not try this vibrant, tangy and fresh Warm Potato and Asparagus Salad? The warm soothing potatoes along with crispy asparagus, lemony fresh vinaigrette, and cheesy nutritional yeast pack a super flavorful punch. The bonus is if it’s a chilly night, you don’t have to give up on your dreams of salad. This warm salad will keep you cosy all winter long!