Fennel, Pomegranate and grapefruit slaw

It's Rosh Hashanah so to all my Jewish friends I wish you a happy new year! I always enjoy this holiday as it is filled with laughter, sweetness and wishes for health and happiness. Those are all things I preach about daily.

My goal this year was to bring a light and refreshing side dish to help cut or balance the heaviness of the typical Rosh Hashanah meal of brisket, turkey, stuffing and kasha.

I quickly thought about pomegranates. They symbolize life, fertility and represent a crown on ancient jewish coins. It is also thought that the forbidden fruit was a pomegranate NOT an apple which could not have grown during that era in time. I like pomegranates for their heavy antioxidant qualities! What also came to mind was grapefruit. I love that it cuts the greasiness of heavy meat. I especially love that it is thought to have fat busting qualities. Plus it just tastes good! And the last thing that flashed across my brain was fennel. It is also called anise and has a licorice like flavor. It is amazing for soothing the belly.

When you google those ingredients together there are actually some fabulous recipes! So I took inspiration from a few and started tossing things together.

Ingredients:
▪️ 1 bulb of fennel, washed and thinly sliced into slivers. Reserve the leafy tops for decoration.
▪️ 1 pomegranate, seeds removed
▪️1 Grapefruit, segments removed and juice squeezed into a bowl
▪️ arugula to line bottom of bowl
▪️1 crisp apple thinly sliced into matchsticks
▪️1/2 cup olive oil
▪️2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
▪️1 teaspoon dijon mustard
▪️the reserved juice from the squeezed grapefruit
▪️salt and pepper to taste
▪️optional grapefruit vitality essential oil to amplify the effects of the grapefruit           flavor naturally 

make a bed of baby arugula

add the sliced fennel, apples, grapefruit segments and pom seeds to a bowl.

Mix the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and grapefruit juice together in a separate bowl. Add optional grapefruit vitality oil. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Pour this liquid over the fennel mixture and stir to combine.

Place on top of the bed of arugula and add additional pom seeds for a visual pop. Garnish with the leafy tops of the fennel bulb.