Spring Salad

Here is a great salad with a ton of variety- proteins, fruit, and extra veggies- just in time for spring! This refreshing, colorful salad is perfect to eat in the springtime (or to remind you of spring during any time of the year) and is a well-balanced meal on its own. I usually cook the butternut squash in the oven and then cube it, but it works just as well to just cook it over the stove-top in a bit of  dairy-free butter. Balsamic dressing is one of my favorite dressings to use on salads, but since it’s spring, I also have fun mixing different fruity-flavored balsamic vinegars and olive oils to make a delicious salad dressing of my own creation. Here’s a link to the website with the best (or at least I think so) flavor-infused olive oils and vinegars: http://evoomarketplace.com/.

So, the question is, is vinegar paleo? Well, vinegar is derived from grapes, so being fruit-based, vinegar is paleo. However, vinegar is created through processing that would not exist naturally in nature (though people have been making vinegar since 5,000 B.C., so it’s not that processed). Therefore, for the strictest paleo diet, vinegar might be something that would be avoided. However, for me personally, I have no problem with vinegar and grapes definitely fit into the paleo diet. So, I’ll leave it up to you whether you want to use vinegar or look for another salad dressing.

Here’s some more information about vinegar being paleo: http://paleomagazine.com/is-vinegar-paleo.

I hope you enjoy this salad! If you have any creative ideas for extra toppings, feel free to post them in the comments below!