Winter Squashes are so versatile, and a Butternut Salad is just the tip of the iceberg of amazing ways to use winter squashes.  Thai Butternut Soup is another recipe that blends butternut with spices and citrus for a savory soup.  This salad has a wonderful combination of sweet and savory.  The dried cranberries sweetened with fruit juice and the mildly spicy flavor of the butternut squash roasted with cinnamon and red pepper flakes,  will excite your taste buds and satisfy your hunger.  The crunchiness of the toasted pumpkin seeds add another dimension to this salad, which is important to the what our palate craves.   Strive to make recipes and eat those that are not only healthy, but that also make you feel like you’re not missing out on anything.  Instead, you feel like you have been served a gourmet dish, something you might only find at restaurant.

Winter squashes are very prevalent this time of year, and can easily be stored in a cool dark closet.  My pantry fits this description, and because my kitchen floor stays on the cool side it’s a great place to store my stock of winter squashes.  The garage might be a better place if your house stays really warm through the winter.  I enjoy making  a lot of meals that include squash, like Italian Acorn Squash or Cashew Butternut Vegan Lasagna. Butternut and other winter squashes make comforting food as the weather is cooler and we are getting ready for winter.  What’s your favorite winter squash?

There are so many nutritional benefits you get when dining on this salad, and not just from the butternut.  Pumpkin seeds also know as pepita’s, are concentrated with fiber, vitamins E and B complex group.  Pepita’s also have essential amino acids and anti-oxidants.  So much good in such a small package.  Although high in calories, pepita’s used as a garnish like on this Butternut salad, is within reason.

Serving this salad with a Rosemary Balsamic Dressing will make this Butternut Salad off the charts when it comes to flavor, and just think you didn’t even have to go to an expensive restaurant to get the gourmet salad.

Tags:  avocado dried cranberries pumpkin seeds