RECIPE: thanksgiving-inspired broccoli salad

This salad is unfortunately not very photogenic–or I didn’t try too hard to make it look appetizing–which is a shame because it is a really delicious salad. I served this at a group dinner in hopes that I’d be able to offer a salad that was more than just a bag of lettuce and a generic dressing. The ingredients in the salad are a pretty safe approach to salad–broccoli, avocado, apple, cranberries–but the dressing is where I took a different twist. I wanted to use fresh cranberries and keep the salad, overall, within an 801010 ratio. If I had made this salad just for myself I would have used far less avocado, but since this was for a group I opted for lots of avocado, because, well, it usually pleases the masses.

I consider this salad a huge success because nobody questioned it as a “vegan” or “raw” option and instead gobbled it up along with their other eats. If I can sneak healthy raw foods into their unsuspecting tummies then I consider my mission a complete success 🙂

As a side note: I did not include any nuts in the salad because a friend at the dinner is very much allergic to nuts. I feel that nuts would be a great addition if you’re looking for an extra crunch.

• 1 head of broccoli, chopped
• 2 apples, chopped
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 3 avocados, diced
• 1/2 cup nuts, optional

• 1 cup cranberries
• 1 orange, juiced
• 1/2 cupe medjool dates, soaked and pitted