Winter Salad with Fennel Radicchio and Pomegranate Dressing

Looking for an easy and delicious salad recipe? This Winter Salad with Fennel Radicchio and Pomegranate Dressing is one of my current favorites to enjoy during the cooler months. It comes with some of the best seasonal winter greens that do nourish your body and boost your inner glow. Topped with a light, vibrant dressing that tastes as beautiful as it looks, I have a feeling you are going to love this salad as much as I do!

Raw Foods in the Winter

When the air is on the cooler side, it’s super important that we fill our plates with immunity-boosting, fiber-rich, raw foods. Fruits and veggies like pomegranates, fennel, kale, and radicchio contain powerful antioxidants that nourish us with wonderful nutrients that our bodies crave. While you may not crave as many raw foods, it’s good to still incorporate some raw nutrition into your diet, no matter how cold it is outside. For example, I suggest always enjoying some sort of raw veggies or salad before you dive into your cooked meals. This helps provide your body with loads of fiber and amazing enzymes that will help you break down those cooked meals.

When you do eat cooked meals, and especially heavier ones, be sure to take my Feel Good Digestive Enzymes. They help to effectively break down stubborn macronutrients in your food like protein, carbs and fat, which can reduce gas and bloating as well as improve nutrient absorption. Why spend more on healthy and organic food if your body doesn’t reap the benefits? Adding this supplement to your daily practice helps to ensure you will get the most out of every meal and is essential to your digestive wellness.

The 411 on Oils

I rarely use oils in my recipes, but everyone once in a while I may use tiny amounts of unrefined coconut oil or olive oil like I am using here in my pomegranate salad dressing. Before you use oils, Beauties, I want you to know that is is super important that you only consume oils in their totally unrefined state. Therefore, if the oils have been processed in any form, stay away.

Refined oils contain preservatives and often polyunsaturated fats. Most people know that refined oils, hydrogenated oils, and trans-fatty acids are some of the worst things to consume. But don’t let the term “vegetable oil” fool you. Too often I see people mistakenly think they are good for you, but they truly are not. I am talking about canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil. These are some of the most aging foods, which you definitely want to eliminate from your diet.

Sadly many manufacturers use these poor oils in vegan butter spread and vegan mayonnaise products. The excessive consumption of polyunsaturated oils has been linked to things like heart disease, liver disease, increased cancer, digestive disorders, impaired growth and even damage to the reproductive organs. Crazy, right? So the bottom line is, Beauties, these oils just are not worth it. They damage your cells, destroying your beauty and causing destruction to pretty much all of your tissues. Stick with better choices like coconut oil and olive oil at all times.

The Powers of a Plant-Based Lifestyle

Speaking of our reproductive organs, Beauties, if you’ve been following me on Instagram then you’ve seen the big news! I am pregnant with my second baby boy, and I am completely overjoyed with love for this little one. I am feeling amazing right now and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to bring life into this earth.

Unfortunately, I do hear about a lot of women struggling to get pregnant. And I would love nothing more than to help support mamas to be everywhere in this beautiful cycle, and this beautiful experience of getting pregnant. Check out my recent podcast where I cover a lot of tips and information about a plant-based lifestyle. I think is a very powerful way to promote fertility and healthy pregnancy with a diet lower in toxins and high in antioxidants and nutrients.

Benefits of Fennel

Have you tried out the deliciously aromatic fennel bulb yet? It is such an amazing veggie that has crunch, flavor, and smell like no other. It smells similar to black licorice but it tastes so much more delightful! Fennel has a white or pale green bulb and stalks that are topped with feathery green leaves. The entire plant is edible, but for this Winter Salad with Fennel Radicchio and a Pomegranate Dressing recipe, I used just the bulb which hosts tons of different health benefits.

Ayurvedic medicine has used fennel’s wonderful healing powers for centuries. Thanks in part to its roughage, fennel helps with constipation. It has a stimulating effect that helps maintain the proper peristaltic motion of the intestines. And just one cup of fennel contains almost 20% of the daily requirement of vitamin C. So this beautiful bulb really helps to strengthen your immune system!

Looking for a little more assistance to get things moving down there? My new and improved, Feel Good Detoxy 2.0 gently aids in the elimination of daily toxins in a safe and effective way with no harsh or irritating herbs that create discomfort or dependency. It works by delivering more oxygen to your colon and overall body, loosening toxins and acidic waste in your colon and helping to transport it out via elimination.

Let me not forget to mention that eating fennel may even help us ladies with menstrual disorders. You might see fennel used in a number of products to reduce the effects of PMS. Traditionally, it’s been used as a soothing pain reliever and relaxing agent for menopausal women. Can you see now why I just love this veggie?

Benefits of Radicchio

Radicchio might be a new vegetable on your list and I promise you it is worth checking out. This red leaf veggie is actually a form of chicory. It is common to find it at your local market during this time of year, as it is a winter crop. The most commonly available radicchio is Chioggia radicchio. It looks very similar to that of a small red cabbage, with bright white ribs that separate its tightly packed leaves.

This beautiful veggie has a slightly more spicy and bitter taste than cabbage. When paired with a hint of sweet, like my pomegranate dressing, radicchio’s flavor really comes to life. I love the pops of flavor adding radicchio to my salads takes on, not forgetting the loads of vitamin K it offers. Just one serving of radicchio provides you with 243% of your daily vitamin K needs. We all could use more vitamin K as it aids in our skin’s healing process and fights off inflammation and swelling.

Not a fan of radicchios’ powerful flavor on its own? If you are looking to take off a bit more of its bitter edge, it also tastes delightful lightly sauteed. Still add it into my Winter Salad with Fennel Radicchio and Pomegranate Dressing recipe and enjoy all its benefits!

Benefits of Pomegranates

Fruit is the most life-enhancing food we can put into our bodies. That why I love eating a variety of fruits that are in season, like pomegranates. These tasty, bright red gems are easily sourced in the winter months and they stay good for long periods of time. They make a beautiful addition to salads and are bursting with life force.

When we eat pomegranates, we take it all of its energy and amazing nutrients. I love eating this tasty fruit quite often as it is high in antioxidants, vitamins A and C, and fiber. Plus pomegranates contain minerals such as calcium, potassium, and iron. They are a healthy way to satisfy your sweet tooth, too! When looking for a pomegranate, look for those with unblemished, shiny skins, which feel heavy for their size, as these are often the juiciest.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

My Winter Salad with Fennel Radicchio and Pomegranate Dressing recipe is so easy to make. Simply chop up your head of cabbage, kale, and radicchio. Then you will want to slice your fennel into nice, thin slices. I like to add these salad ingredients into my favorite large salad bowl and move onto making the dressing. Now I used my Vitamix to make this pomegranate dressing recipe, but you can also use a food processor if that is what you have. All you need to do is add your salad dressing ingredients into a blender and blend on low until you reach a smooth consistency. Then pour the salad dressing over your salad and toss it well. Voila! It’s so simple, right?

Let’s Get Tossing!

This Winter Salad with Fennel Radicchio and Pomegranate Dressing truly is a beautiful masterpiece. It is a great one to bring to a gathering and share with friends and family this winter season. And you can feel so good knowing that you are bringing a vibrant mix of nourishing foods that will help nourish their body and boost everyone’s inner glow!

I absolutely love to see your recipe creations Beauties! When you make my Winter Salad with Fennel Radicchio and Pomegranate Dressing recipe, take a picture of it and post it on your Instagram account. Then tag me so I can take a look at how yours turned out. This recipe is one of those that tastes as good as it looks so be sure to Pin a photo of it on your Pinterest accounts too!