We love this time of year for so many reasons! The air is cool and crisp, the leaves on trees are starting to change to beautiful golden yellow and orange hues, the autumn light casts longer shadows as the days grow shorter, and our garden is in full harvest mode.
In celebration of autumn, here is a fall harvest salad for you!
This one has:
3 cups of dandelion greens grown in our backyard
¼ cup of basil grown in our garden (so aromatic!)
3 cups of heirloom tomatoes also grown in our garden
3 figs grown in our yard
2 cups of carrots
3 cups of cucumber
8 cups of Romaine lettuce.
Enjoy with the whole food raw plant-based dressing of your choice!
And for those of you who love to know the nutrient breakdown (like I do!):
| Salad | Adult DRIs | |
| B1 | 0.72 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| B2 | 0.73 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| B3 | 5.26 | 14 – 16 mg |
| B5 | 2.40 | 5 mg |
| B6 | 1.10 | 1.3 – 1.7 mg |
| Folate | 492 | 400 mcg |
| B12 | 0 | 2.4 mcg |
| C | 137 | 75 – 90 mg |
| D | 0 | 5 – 15 mcg |
| E | 5.50 | 15 mg |
| K1 | 1041 | 90 – 120 mcg |
| Beta-carotene (mcg) | 36,603 | |
| Vitamin A - RAE | 3363 | 700 mcg |
| Lutein and zeaxanthin (mcg) | 18,564 | Not established |
| Calcium | 439 | 1,000 – 1,200 mg |
| Iron | 7.9 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Magnesium | 180 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2816 | 4,700 mg |
| Zinc | 2.6 | 8 – 11 mg |
One might say that this salad is nutrient dense, given its nutrient content per calorie. Vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, folate, C, E, and K1 are very plentiful, as is beta carotene, and lutein + zeaxanthin. This salad provides 43% of the DRI for calcium, almost 100% of the iron DRI for men and postmenopausal women, 44% of the iron DRI for premenopausal women, 58% of the magnesium DRI for women and 42% for men, 60% of the potassium DRI, and 32% of the zinc DRI for women and 24% for men.
Impressive numbers considering that this salad contains only 351 calories! For those of you who are curious, without the figs, this salad contains 240 calories.