This Lentil Kale Whole Grain Beet Winter Squash Mushroom Salad is packed with nutrient-dense Superfoods.
I made this Superfood Salad yesterday for my Women’s Bible Study group – it’s packed with seasonal, local, nutrient dense whole foods, free of pesticides, and rich in healthy fats. My CSA Box has been brimming with beets, butternut squash, onions and kale, so this salad was the perfect opportunity to showcase fresh local produce at its peak.
I recently started my first course in nutrition, and am having a blast. Although it’s been a really long time since I’ve taken any college level courses, it’s invigorating and I am excited about what’s to come.
This week, I have been reading The Nutrient Dense Eating Plan by Douglas L. Margel and listening to lectures on the environment, whole foods, different dietary systems and more. While it’s scary to think about the state of our current food system where pesticides are used, foods are genetically modified and processed, and disease is on the rise, the coursework is also invigorating and inspiring.
One page in the book that caught my eye this week was a list of high quality nutrient dense foods. This Superfood salad has lots of high quality nutrient dense foods:
- garlic (cooked with the lentils)
- leeks (cooked with the kale)
- onion (roasted with mushrooms)
- pomegranate
- beets
- carrot
- kale
- thyme (cooked with lentils and mushrooms)
- oregano (cooked with mushrooms)
- sage (cooked with lentils and mushrooms)
- lentils
- mushrooms
- extra virgin olive oil (used to roast beets and mushrooms)
- flaxseed oil
- whole grains (forbidden black rice and whole sorghum)
This Lentil Kale Whole Grain Beet Winter Squash Mushroom Salad is full of superfoods, many of which are on this list.
Lentil Kale Whole Grain Beet Winter Squash Mushroom Salad ~ https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked black lentils
- 2 cups cooked French green lentils
- 1 bunch chopped kale sauteed with leeks
- 1 butternut squash roasted, cut into bite size pieces
- 3 beets roasted beets, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup cooked black rice
- 1 cup cooked whole sorghum
- 2 cups roasted mushrooms and red onion
- 1 pomegranate seeds removed
- 1 orange juiced
- a few drizzles of flax seed oil
- a few drizzles of fig balsamic vinegar
- 1 few spoonfuls of Dijon mustard
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
-
Toss all the ingredients together and season to taste with fresh orange juice, fig balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
Use local, organic ingredients where ever possible
Gorgeous salad Jeanette, and filled with so many yummy things (I’m so curious to try the cooked whole sorghum)! How exciting for you to be back in school-enjoy!!!
Thanks EA – cooked sorghum is kind of like barley. Looking forward to be back in the learning mode and using my brain cells more ;).
Love this salad! Pinning!
Thanks Maria – it’s so good. Having the leftovers for lunch today 🙂
Beautiful combination of flavors, colors and textures.
Love the color of this beautiful salad! I adore nutritious salads like this and this superfoods salad is definitely a meal I’d feel good about eating everyday. I’ve used sorghum flour in baking but never tried whole sorghum so would be interested to try it. Pinning, thanks for sharing Jeanette 🙂
Thanks Kelly – I’ve been trying whole sorghum recently as an alternative whole grain to brown rice and it’s a great addition.
I love how this is brimming with seasonal veggies and colors! My kind of salad bowl.
Thanks Joanne – the leftovers have been great for lunch and dinner.
Absolutely gorgeous, Jeanette! Beets are a love it or hate it veg, and I just adore them. Love everything here and I have a sudden urge to make this salad soon! Fabulous photography, too. Sorry I missed you yesterday. Had a terrible allergic reaction to fingerling potatoes of all things. (I guess I need to add nightshade allergy to my new dairy allergy. Grrrr.) The Benadryl knocked me out. Thanks for sharing, girl. Will be pinning tonight!
Thanks Stacy – so sorry to hear about your allergic reaction – ugh. Hope you’re feeling better.
Simple beautiful and gorgeous salad. When I saw this on pinterest, I knew it was you who came up with this beauty even before I saw your picture. Love how colorful and hearty this looks. The photography does justice to how good it must taste. love it Jeanette.
Awee…what a riot of colours there! Love this healthy and filling salad.
Wow, looks so yummy and healthy!
A salad to the stars… not only nutrient dense but absolutely beautiful too. I would be delighted to eat this for breakfast, lunch or supper (truly!). I have to track down some of that fig balsamic vinegar — sounds too good :O).
Such a colorful salad filled with great nutrition!
Thanks Sylvie – yes this salad is jam packed with goodness!
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Lovely salad, so many nutrions!
What a gorgeous looking salad. But we’re a household of 2. Any suggestions for scaling the recipe down from 30 servings to say, perhaps 4 to 6 servings?
Heather – I would cut this recipe way back for 4-6 (I made this for a party, hence the large recipe). For example:
3/4 cup cooked lentils (black or French green lentils or a combination)
1/2 bunch chopped kale, sauteed with leeks
1/4 butternut squash, roasted, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup cooked whole grains (black rice, whole sorghum)
1/4 cup roasted mushrooms and red onion, optional
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
1 few squeezes of fresh orange juice
a drizzle of flax seed oil
a drizzle of fig balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
This looks very healthy, easy to make, and I want to try it — but I don’t see some of the ingredients that are mentioned at the top of your post mentioned in the recipe. Is carrot used in this salad?. How much onion is roasted with the mushrooms, amounts are not included in the Ingredient list. The kale ingredient says to sauté it with leeks – how much leeks are required? How much of the herbs (thyme, oregano, sage) and garlic is used when preparing the lentils, mushrooms/onions? Are they added while cooking/roasting or after? I think additional information in the directions will be helpful to those who have not made this recipe before.
Hi Nancy – this is a very versatile salad – the idea is to include a variety of nutrient dense ingredients. Carrots can be used or not. I did not include amounts but the idea is to use as many superfoods/nutrient dense foods as you can. For example, when you are roasting the mushrooms, you might add 1/2 a chopped onion or a whole onion – it’s your choice). I used this general recipe for sauteeing the kale: https://jeanetteshealthyliving.com/kale-avocado-salad-and-simply-sauteed-leafy-green-vegetables/ – one leek for a bunch of kale. When using dried herbs and garlic to cook the lentil and mushrooms, I added them while cooking/roasting. Again, the amount of herbs you use is up to your personal taste. I generally like to use about 1/2-1 teaspoon dried herbs for 2 cups of lentils or mushrooms.