We eat a big salad as our dinner at least a couple nights a week.   You might think that is pretty boring, but there are so many ingredients you can add to a salad to keep it flavor packed and filling.    Pomegranates are so colorful and flavor packed and add a nice texture to salads.  They are one of the healthiest things to eat, in their natural form.   I am not talking about pomegranate flavored jelly beans that are marketed to us as healthy, but the actual fruit.  This super fruit is packed with anti-oxidants and is high in vitamin C and potassium.

The first time I saw a pomegranate, I didn’t really know how I was going to get those seeds out, but it’s actually pretty easy.   I cut the fruit in half and then in half again and then I bend the skin back a little bit and pop the seeds into a bowl.

The sauted  mushrooms add a really nice flavor to the salad.   Mushrooms are another super food, even the button mushrooms.  Like pomegranites, that are high in anti-oxidants, but also high in vitamin B and they enhance the immune system.  If you feel a cold coming on,  add lots of mushrooms into your diet!

Ingredients:

1 head of greens, washed and dried

1/2 pomogranite

1 carrot, shaved with a carrot peeler

1/8 cup raw pumpkin seeds (or any nut or seed you have)

3/4 cup of mushrooms

1/4 cup white wine

shaved parmigiano-reggiano

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

Saute mushrooms with a tbsp or two of olive oil for a few minutes.  Add the white wine and cook for about 10 minutes, until wine is reduced.  Let cool for a few minutes.

Put salad in a medium sized bowl and add the carrots, pomegranates and pumpkin seeds.   Add the mushrooms and shave some parmigiano on top.   Mix the salad.

For the dressing, I add 2 parts olive oil to 1 part balsamic and mix.