Happy 2017 | Pear, Pumpkin and Rocket Salad

Happy 2017!!

A new year, a new start and I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions or anything of that sort particularly at the start of the year I thought I'd make a bit of an exception and start off 2017 a little bit differently for this blog.

You can probably tell from the photo, that it's a little different to my usual posts huh?

The above photo looks like a typical super healthy meal photo that you might possibly see on some clean eating site, perhaps moreso at this time of the year when 'losing this Christmas weight' is a priority on so many people's New Years resolutions. Quite a bit of a difference from the first posts of the year: last year (burgers), the year before (pulled pork burgers/pizza) and the year before that (Sausage and Egg Muffins) I must say!

As I may have mentioned here and there previously on my blog, in the years gone by I have completed my uni degree and am an now Accredited Practising Dietitian (for a year now!), although it may not be apparently obvious from looking at my blog posts alone. Although the blog started, and remains today much of a tool for me document my cakes and sweets, health and nutrition has become an important part of my life and I'd love for my blog to reflect that.

If you've been a reader of this blog for a little while, relax, I'm not turning into an extreme dieting-crazy workout type of blog/website anytime soon. Or anytime at all.

(I love my sweet treats and fun foods a little too much for that)

You won't start find me raving about kombucha, Activated Charcoal, Super salts or the latest super-food, nor will I be only be posting your typical healthy salads and visiting Paleo Cafes any time soon. I'll still be posting my usual (and hopefully a little more often too!), including my favourite cakes- because as boring as it sounds- everything in moderation is what I believe in.

Back to the salad, which is really the reason for the post today- this is something i tossed together a little while ago for my work lunch, which involved a bag of greens, pear and roasted pumpkin, alongside a grilled chicken breast. 

I'll be honest- my picture with the chicken is not a depiction of what I actually had- take away half of the chicken and double the salad and you'll get a much more accurate depiction. The reason the photo looks as it does is purely for aesthetics- a salad with two flimsy slices of chicken breast wouldn't be nearly as photogenic, although it would be a much better indication of what a serving size should be. 

With so much information on the internet and social media about health and nutrition, I feel like so much of it is about the aesthetics and appearing 'healthy' rather than actually being meaningful. Sure, there's plenty of amazing and helpful bloggers and accounts, but there's also so much ridiculous nutrition advice that I've come across that I'd really love to have a say too.

I'm not too sure where exactly this blog will be heading- I won't be introducing any fully researched nutrition articles on this blog anytime soon- but perhaps some handy tips here and there or perhaps some healthy recipes? Let's start with this salad recipe and we'll see how this goes from here aye?

Pear, Pumpkin and Rocket Salad Recipe
Adapted from Taste
served with Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken (recipe available here)


1/2 Jap pumpkin, cut into 2cm-thick wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 Beurre Bosc pears, cored, thinly sliced
Lemon juice, to drizzle
125g baby rocket leaves (I used a rocket and baby spinach mixture)
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line 2 baking trays with foil.
2. Arrange the pumpkin in a single layer on the baking trays. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes until tender and lightly golden. Set aside to cool.
3. Drizzle the pears with a little lemon juice.
4. Make honey and balsamic dressing: Combine honey, vinegar and remaining oil in a screwtop jar. Secure lid and shake to combine. Remove lid. Microwave on HIGH (100%) for 10 seconds or until honey is melted. Replace lid. Shake until well combined.
5. To serve, combine the rocket, pear, pumpkin and dressing in a large bowl and gently toss to combine. (Optional: I also drizzled my salad with some balsamic reduction to give it some more flavour)