It seems strange now to not be writing ‘DAY ____’ before each post! Vegan Mofo is now all over…oats are gone forever? No, never!  I have just realised that I didn't put together a monthly round-up for October! My head has been all over the place...forgive me!

Halloween has been and gone and we are already in November with the cold winds and crispy leaves. This is a busy month for me, so many friends and family with birthdays in the lead up to Christmas… I have two 30th birthday’s to attend this weekend alone!

It’s also a month of some contemplation, planning ahead and looking forward to the New Year that will be with us before we know it…a few changes may be on the horizon.

After yesterday’s  Halloween lunch (I ate so much pizza) today wanted to be a lighter day!  I ate my usual apple-oats for breakfast but going lighter on the oats and adding lots more fruit for the topping.

A salad lunch seemed a good option and the sweet apple chutney flavours were a lovely seasonal twist. You could of course use homemade chutney which would be even more delicious, but for speed and because I was having a ‘what do I have in the fridge’ moment I opted for a ready-made version. I appreciate that chutney does have a high sugar content, but for the quantities in this dish and the amount of healthy veggies we have, it was a compromise I was happy to make.  I love the caramelised onions and red cabbage in this salad- my favourite way to eat these veggies.

I am really enjoying salads and would like to experiment with some more seasonal versions…what is your favourite winter salad combination?

Recipe: Apple chutney salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

3-4 handfuls of mixed leaves (I used peashoots, spinach, rocket)

2 leeks chopped into rings

1 cup loosely packed red cabbage

½ cup green beans (I used frozen soy beans)

1/3 cup chunky apple sauce

2 tbs fruit chutney (mine was a mix of apple pear and plum)

2 tbs pumpkin seeds

Method

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the leek and red cabbage for 5 minutes.

Add the soy beans and pumpkin seeds and continue to cook for another 5 mins.

Add all remaining ingredients and cook for a final 1-2 minutes to heat through.

Serve on the bed of salad leaves.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.