“SALAD AGAIN?!?!” you’re asking? Yes, salad again. Every forking night until I lose these few extra pounds. Luckily, this is another one of my favourite salads and it’s hearty enough that you can add a small piece of protein and enjoy it as a meal (last night it was salmon). One of the main ingredients is pomegranate, which I have loved ever since I can remember. I used to sit on the sofa for hours reading a book and eating each aril (seed) separately, sucking the juice off and throwing out the seed in the centre. Why did I do that? Those seeds are crunchy and delicious, and they are chock-a-block full of vitamins, minerals, and fibre. This is a great way to make use of them.  This large salad generously feeds 2 as a main, or 4-6 as a side.

For the salad:
5 oz baby arugula (approximately 6 cups)
1/2 crunchy apple, diced (I usually use Gala or Honeycrisp)
1 small or 1/2 large pomegranate, seeded (I have put a couple of links below on “how to”)
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup sprouted beans (optional)
1 handful (about 1/4 cup) toasted, salted pumpkin seeds

Dressing:
1-2 TBS pomegranate molasses (depending on your taste… start with one, taste and add to it)
1 TBS red wine vinegar
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 TBS liquid honey
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
generous 1/4 cup good fruity olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

To make dressing: Put all ingredients except olive oil in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil.
You may wonder why such a small amount of Dijon? The mustard isn’t for taste (although I do love Dijon). It contains lecithin which helps emulsify the dressing (just as the lecithin in egg yolks emulsify mayonnaise).

To finish: Put all salad ingredients (except pumpkin seeds) in a large bowl. Pour over as much dressing as you want. Toss salad to coat. Sprinkle over pumpkin seeds. Dig in!

To de-seed a pomegranate, look here:

OR here http://lifehacker.com/5895852/deseed-a-pomegranate-in-10-seconds-using-a-wooden-spoon)