Pear Pomegranate Salad with Fruity Balsamic Vinaigrette

I’m sure your holiday meals are similar to ours; full of delicious, fattening, rich, buttery, heavy foods. I like making something light and refreshing so we don’t get completely off track this time of year. Plus when there are tons of pies, cakes, rolls, candies, etc most people don’t quickly grab veggies to put on their plate! Fill your plate half full of this salad and not only will you be less likely to overeat but you won’t have to feel as guilty about that pie you eat later! This is one of my go-to dishes to bring to any meal as it is so quick and easy and so healthy.

4 cups of fresh kale

4 cups of romaine lettuce, chopped
2 cups of spinach
1 cup of raw brussell sprouts, chopped
1 cup red cabbage, chopped
1 pear, thinly sliced
1 cup pomegranate arils
½ cup toasted/candied pecans
Pomegranate Balsamic Vinaigrette
½ pear, peeled and sliced
½ cup pomegranate arils
½ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp thyme

• In large serving bowls, combine salad ingredients and mix well.
• In a blender, combine vinaigrette ingredients and blend until smooth.
• Refrigerate at least an hour or until ready to serve.
• Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and serve.

Pumpkin Cranberry Dump Cake

If you’ve never had a “dump” cake, you are missing out. This simple and quick technique delivers a unique tasting dessert that you can customize to your desires. All you have to do is figure out your base and “dump” a box of dry cake mix on top (hence the name, dump). I traditionally see it made with cherry pie type filling or pineapple. I wanted a winter version of the dish so I decided to add in pumpkin and cranberry with a cinnamon walnut topping. It’s a little more work than a typical dump cake but it’s so good and so easy to make!

1 can pumpkin puree

1 cup fresh cranberries
¼ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup apple juice
1 banana
½ cup almond milk
1 pkg of GF vanilla cake mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
¼ cup butter, coconut oil or shortening, cut into very small chunks
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

• In a small saucepan, combine cranberries, coconut sugar and apple juice. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat until berries start to pop and soften.
• In a small blender (I used my Magic Bullet), puree banana with almond milk. In a large bowl, stir together banana mixture with pumpkin.
• Fold in cranberry mixture and carefully swirl together.
• Pour pumpkin mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking pan.
• Pour dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin until covered. Place the small chunks of butter or shortening over the cake mixture.
• Sprinkle over cinnamon and walnuts.
• Bake at 375°F for about 40 minutes or until the topping starts to brown. Let cool about 15 minutes before serving.