My New Favorite Salad

I'm always looking for a new way to get more fruits and veggies into my diet, and I have been experimenting for the last few weeks with salad. I have been buying a bagged mixture of veggies from Trader Joe's called Cruciferous Blend. It's a mixture of kale, brussel sprouts, and two kinds of cabbage (all raw). I've been mixing it with different fruits and veggies, and have come up with the following salad that I hope you will like as much as I do

.Cruciferous Veggies With Pomegranate and Apple

1 bag cruciferous blend (Trader Joe's)1 apple, sliced thin (I like Granny Smith)

1/2 package pomegranate seeds (available at Trader Joe's)

1/3 cucumber peeled and cubed

1/2 red or yellow pepper, cubed

 handful of raw sunflower seeds

1-2 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled (add at the end)

Combine all ingredients except the sunflower seeds and goat cheese about 2 hours before you are ready to eat. Dress with any salad dressing of your choice, or the one I made below, which was delicious. It's a good idea to dress it early, because the vinegar in the dressing will break down the fibrous veggies and make them easier to digest. Just before serving, add the sunflower seeds and the crumbled cheese. I like the cheese crumbled, but if you want to add it early with the dressing, it will soften like cream cheese and is very tasty. That is your choice. Below is the dressing I made, and all amounts are approximate

                                                              Pomegranate Dressing

2T. pomegranate vinegar, available at Trader Joe's
4T. olive oil
2tsp. Dijon mustard
1tsp. honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients, and be sure and taste. Adjust amounts to suit your palate. This can also be made with red wine vinegar and shallots, instead of the pomegranate vinegar, but I think this goes so well with the pomegranates in the salad. I hope you like this as much as I do!