This past weekend was perfect! Saturday consisted of football, my stepson’s school carnival, and watching Halloween movies (Hotel Transylvania–so cute–and The Nightmare Before Christmas–a classic). After years of working in retail and having random days off, I so appreciate my free Saturdays and being able to spend them with my boys.

Then on Sunday, I finally had time to sit down, relax, and finish reading my favorite magazine: Whole Living. I would say that I’m obsessed with the magazine, but that wouldn’t do it justice. I have a subscription, and each time I find a new magazine in the mailbox, I run inside and find a quiet corner to myself, scour every recipe and article, and dog-ear practically every page for re-reading later. Yesterday provided me with some free time to really read the magazine and look back over everything I had dog-eared. There are SO many recipes that I want to try, but the first one that caught my eye was a raw Brussels sprout salad with avocado, pumpkin seeds, and a Dijon mustard, lemon, and olive oil dressing.

I’m going to be completely honest: until a couple of years ago, I thought Brussels sprouts were repulsive. I’m pretty sure it was because I was only familiar with the over-cooked version that smells distinctly similar to dirty socks. When I finally gained the courage to give them another try, I was shocked to discover that I actually like them. Now, I love them! I especially enjoy them lightly steamed and coated in coconut oil, salt, and nutritional yeast or roasted and served with pecans and cranberries. It makes me drool just thinking about it! For some reason though, I had never thought to eat Brussels sprouts raw. I just assumed that they had to be cooked. Well, once again, I was very wrong. Brussels sprouts are actually quite delicious raw and the citrus dressing in this recipe balances out the flavor perfectly!

You can get the full recipe here. When I made this the first time, I decided to add shaved fennel bulb to give the salad some added bulk. Then, I made the salad again this morning and shredded the Brussels sprouts using my mandoline slicer (aka the finger eater) to save some time (pictured below). Clearly, I’m in love with this salad. I’m even thinking I may have to make this for Thanksgiving with pecans and mandarin orange slices. If you decide to try this out (and I highly suggest you do), I hope you love it as much as I do!