Roasted Yam, Avocado and Pumpkin Seed Salad

Well as many of you know these past few months have been chaos between prepping for the GRE, finishing up my university degree and one very very long practicum experience.  At the height of my craziness I (very regretfully) decided to take a break from the Cook Clean Blog and in the process deleted all my delicious posts.  However as of Thursday at noon I finished the GRE, and my summer can begin.  With that I will be back in the kitchen doing what I love.  So it is my hope that some of my loyal readers who so enjoyed my cooking will find their way back.  In the meantime  I thought I would start off the Cook Clean Blog 2.0 I would share with you one of my go to simple recipes that kept me sustained through the past few months of craziness. It has been a staple in our house and make the perfect light summer meal.  Enjoy.

Roasted Yam, Avocado and Pumpkin Seed Salad with a Strawberry Balsamic Dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients

Dressing

·      ½ cup of low fat strawberry yogurt

·      1 ½ tbsp of balsamic vinegar

·      1 tbsp Dijon mustard

·      ¼ tsp sea salt

Salad

·      4 small yams

·      1 head of green leaf lettuce

·      2 avocados

·      ½ cup of toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions

1.     Preheat the oven to 400 degrees on bake, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.     In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt, vinegar, mustard and sea salt.  Refrigerate until needed.

3.     Wash and chop the yams into bite-sized pieces and spread out evenly on the baking sheet.  Roast the yams in the oven for 30 minutes.  Switch the oven to broil, and broil for an additional 10 minutes or until the edges begin to blacken.  Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.

4.     Wash and rip the lettuce into bite-sized amounts and add to a salad bowl.

5.     Slice the avocado in half lengthwise, and remove the pit.  Slice the flesh into ½ inch cubes and arrange on top of the lettuce.

6.     Add the yams and pumpkin seeds to the salad.

7.     Pour dressing over top of the salad, toss and serve while yams are still warm.