This Thanksgiving salad recipe is the nutrition powerhouse your Thanksgiving table needs. It’s full of prebiotic fiber for gut health, anti-inflammatory compounds, and antioxidants that help balance the rest of the feast.
by Mia Rigden, board-certified nutritionist, classically trained chef
Here’s a salad just as exciting as any Thanksgiving dish.
Not only is this chicory, date, walnut, and manchego salad the perfect refreshing, bitter, sweet, salty, crunchy sidekick to your meal, it provides the nutrients that help you turn all the rest of the foods on your plate into fuel. The radicchio and endive (chicory) base provides the prebiotics to feed your good gut bacteria. I love the bitterness of the chicories paired with the sweetness of the dates, which contain both soluble and insoluble fiber to help promote digestion and reduce inflammation.
Walnuts add that delightful crunch as well as protein, anti-inflammatory omega fatty acids, and fiber. All of these nutrients make these brain-supporting nuts double as a blood sugar-friendly ingredient.
Even the olive oil in the dressing is anti-inflammatory and can aid in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins A, D, and E in the manchego and K in the radicchio.
Before eating this Thanksgiving salad (or anything on Thanksgiving for that matter), I down a shot of Lypo-Spheric® R-Alpha Lipoic Acid. I feel the difference its support for blood sugar and insulin sensitivity makes after a feast.
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 head radicchio, sliced
- 3-4 heads of endive, sliced
- ¼ cup dates, roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup toasted unsalted walnuts, roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup manchego cheese, thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by making the dressing. Add the shallot and sherry vinegar directly to the serving bowl. Season with salt and let sit for 5–10 minutes. Add the mustard and whisk to combine, then slowly whisk in the olive oil.
- Add the radicchio, endive, dates, walnuts, and cheese to the bowl and toss to combine. Shave some additional cheese on top and season with fresh cracked pepper.
Mia Rigden is a Los Angeles-based board certified nutritionist, trained chef, and the author of The Well Journal (2020) and Foodwise (2023), a comprehensive, encouraging guide to healthy eating with 100 original, nutritionally-balanced and flavor-enriching recipes. Learn more about working with Mia on her website, check out an online course, and follow on Instagram @mia_rigden for science-backed, practical nutrition advice.
