Recipe: Spinach Apple Bacon Salad with Coconut Almond Dressing - Butter Believer (2024)

Everyone knows that everything’s better with bacon. Even salad!

Oh, who am I kidding—especially salad. But we don’t mess around with no piddly-little artificially-flavored “bits” or anything like that here—nooo, no. I’m talking the REAL deal—thick, juicy, succulent crumbles of bacon from happy, pastured piggies snorting around in the dirt as any good pig should, on a friendly local farmer’s watch. (Until, ya know… they’re turned into bacon, of course.)

And bacon on top of fresh, springy baby spinach. And with sweet, slightly-tangy, thin slices of organic apples. And drizzled with rich, creamy, coconutty dressing dripping its saturated fatty goodness all over the plate.

Yeah. I know. This is the salad that real foodie dreams are made of.

Kristen Michaelis, of Food Renegade fame, has generously allowed me to share with you this most awesome recipe from her brand-new cookbook, Simply Salads by Season.

I am a bit of a salad slacker, myself. I mean, I know they’re a great way to get in a good serving of greens, fresh produce, and healthy fats, but I have a hard time coming up with anything other than a pile of lettuce and some baby carrots. Bor-ing.

Oh and salad dressings? Are you kidding me. Not only are literally ALL of the dressings you can buy at the store complete and total crap, made with PUFA after rancid industrialized PUFA, but homemade dressing recipes all sound way too complicated and I never end up making them. There’s one in Nourishing Traditions that has like 18 ingredients and you’re supposed to make it only for that specific serving of salad, and make it all over again next time you want it. Yeah.Ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat, SALLY!So usually, if anything, I just knock out a few shakes of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, and call it good. Again, not super exciting.

So I was pretty much freaking out when I read the list of TWENTY-EIGHT different recipes for salad dressings and condiments in Kristen’s new book! 28. We’re talking, Raspberry Chipotle Sauce, Creamy Lemon Dressing, Homemade Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dressing, Pear Vinaigrette, Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette Homemade Worcestershire Sauce, plus all your old favorites like Honey Mustard, Blue Cheese, Thousand Island, Ranch Dressing and more.

And yes, they are allactually simple, as the name of the book says! There’s also over 50 easy-to-throw-together salad recipes that are organized by what’s fresh and in-season for spring, summer, fall, winter, and year-round. Food Renegade, of course, is all about supporting small farms and buying locally and in-season whenever possible. So,Simply Salads gives you plenty of inspiration for making good use of your local farmer’s fresh fruits and vegetables no matter what the season.

I can’t think of a better way to add more farm-fresh variety to your diet! This new ebook will be kept handy on my desktop all year long, for sure.

Makes about 2 cups of creamy goodness.

Dressing Ingredients

• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 Tbsp. water, warm
• ½ cup almond butter
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. mint, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Whisk lime juice, water, and almond butter together until smooth.
2. Add in remaining ingredients and stir until even and consistent.
3. If desired, add more salt and red pepper flakes for additional kick.

Makes about 4 cups of yumminess.

Ingredients

• 1 lb baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 apple, sliced thin

Directions

1. Combine the baby spinach leaves, bacon crumbles, and apple slices in a large bowl.
2. Then, toss mixture with Coconut Almond Dressing to taste. (Or just drizzle the dressing on top like I did.)
3. Serve (and eat!) immediately

THIS week only you can get Simply Salads by Season with theFall into Health Autumn Salepackage, for 98% off!

Click HERE to learn more about the sale.

By the way, the 50+ salads in the book aren’t all based on a bed of leafy greens. There’s quite the variety! Other incredibly delicious and simple salads in the ebook include:

• Egg Salad with Bacon and Homemade Mayonnaise and Dill Pickle Relish
• Clementines in Whipped Cream
• Date & Goat Cheese Salad withRaspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Avocado Grape Salad with Pecans with Homemade Mayonnaise
• Roasted Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
• Smoked Salmon Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
• German Potato Salad
• Mango Cherry Salad with Raisins with Honey Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dressing
• Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad in Halved Avocados with Homemade Mayonnaise
• Kiwi Honey Pecan Salad
• Strawberry Broccoli Salad with Oriental Vinaigrette
• Kale & Brussels Sprout Slaw withHoney Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dressing
• Green Bean, Almond, and Apricot Salad with Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Roquefort Pear Salad with Pear Vinaigrette
• Zucchini and Basil Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon Pepper Dressing
• Authentic Tex-Mex Bean Salad

Simply Salads by Seasonis on sale right now as part of theFall into Health Autumn Salepackage, for 98% off!

TheFall into Health Saleincludes…

• 47 e-books –$955 value
• 15 exclusive podcast seminars –$45 value
• 3 online video classes –$238 value
• 2 meal plan packages –$223 value
• 2 magazine subscriptions –$63 value
• 21 coupons (for your favorite online healthy living retailers) –Over $500 value

And of course, Simply Salads by Season is included, too!

You getover $2,000 worthof incredible real food and healthy living resources for only $39—that’s 98% off!

Click here to get your copy with the Fall into Health Sale now.

Hurry!Sale ends November 7th.Don’t wait to order before it’s too late!