Add beautiful color to your holiday feast with a side of our Butternut Squash Kefir Salad. Toss chopped kale with zesty lemon juice and olive oil, then decorate the leafy greens with butternut squash, roasted brussels sprouts, cashews, and cranberries. To finish off this earthy bowl of goodness, drizzle with our flavorful garlic kefir dressing featuring our farmer cheese and plain kefir. Every bite of this probiotic and prebiotic salad is a healthy feast for your microbiome, too.
The Benefits of Cultured Dairy for Better Health:
Research continues to show the importance of eating healthy foods, including cultured dairy such as kefir, for better gut health, a strong immune system, and to support the microbiome. Fermented foods like kefir hold important value in this line of research due to the link between the gut-brain axis and overall health. Specifically, kefir has been shown to help diversify the microbiome, improve digestion, reduce inflammation, and even help support healthier blood sugar levels and improve levels of satiety due to how ittriggers the release of GLP-1 since it is an excellent source of protein and high in bioavailable nutrition.
Lifeway Kefir contains a variety of nutrients that are vital for healthy bones and overall health: vitamin D3, K, calcium, and vitamin B12. Lifeway also offers our artisan-made Farmer Cheese, a creamy cultured cheese made with live and active cultures to support a healthy microbiome that is also an excellent source of complete protein.
Ingredients
Salad Base
- 1 cup butternut squash
- 1 chopped garlic
- 1/2 tbs olive oil
- 2 cups shredded brussel sprouts
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 2 tbsp fresh parmesan
- 3-4 cups of chopped kale (stem removed)
- for kale: 2 tbsp olive oil
- for kale: 1/2 tsp salt
- for kale: 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt/pepper to taste
Dressing
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp Organic Whole Milk Plain Kefir
- 2 tbsp Farmer Cheese
- 1 tsp chives
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili Flakes
- 1/2 squeezed lemon
Directions
- Toss butternut squash, shredded brussel sprouts, and cranberries in garlic, olive oil, and salt/pepper. Roast in an oven for 10-15 minutes, or until butternut squash is soft and brussel sprouts are golden brown.
- Toss cashews in olive oil, turmeric, garlic powder, and chili powder. Roast for 5 mins or until golden brown.
- While the veggies are roasting, you can prepare the dressing. Add all the ingredients for the dressing and mix until all evened out and smooth.
- In a large bowl, toss chopped kale with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Set aside.
- Once your veggies are done roasting, set aside to slightly cool.
- Fill bowl or plate with your kale, roasted butternut squash, brussel sprouts, cashews, and cranberries. Lightly toss with kefir dressing -- serve.
