Fall Salad with Maple Candied Pecans, Bacon, Apples, and Shaved Brussels Sprouts

Don’t let the cooler weather make you feel like salad season was put away with your swimming suit and beach towels. This Fall Salad with Maple Candied Pecans, Bacon, Apples, and Shaved Brussels Sprouts is perfect all fall and winter long.

This fall salad is filling and just perfect for the main dish at lunch. The apples and nuts are crunchy and sweet, bacon is never ever bad on a salad, and those shaved Brussels sprouts are my favorite. Raw Brussels sprouts taste like a mild crunchy cabbage. They are really pretty in the salad and add a fun unexpected element. You can use a mandolin slicer to shave them extra thin or you can simply cut them in half (after removing most of the hard stalk end) and then use your knife to slice them very thinly. There’s no real science behind “shaved Brussels sprouts”, but try for really thin little slices of the raw vegetable. When it comes to the salad dressing, you can make a homemade maple Dijon dressing (recipe included), or you can even serve this with store-bought poppy seed dressing; both are delicious.

In my efforts to slowly lose some of my baby weight, I’ve made an effort to eat vegetable heavy dishes for two meals in my day. Most of the time that means eating sautéed vegetables and eggs or a smoothie for breakfast and then eating a salad for lunch. Then I’m pretty good to eat a normal portion of whatever I’ve made for dinner. I’m here to tell you that salad for lunch doesn’t have to be boring! Also, eating a little bit of nuts and salad dressing with good fats in it really helps me to stay fuller longer and makes the meal more enjoyable.

I loved this fall salad and made it a few days in a row while I still had the dressing in the fridge. I know you are going to really enjoy it too. This would make a beautiful side for your Thanksgiving meal. I know I enjoy a fresh dish or two with all of the warm cooked ones.

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That’s salad perfection right there! Enjoy friends!