A Day with O Organics® + Fall Squash Salad Recipe

Last week, I took some time off work to spend the day with Jewel-Osco and learn about their O Organics products. You might remember that I flew out to Los Angeles to learn about their

Signature™line back in the spring (which was SO much fun), and I was so excited to learn about the event in my hometown of Chicago showcasing their O Organics products because they are ALL so up my alley.

O Organics aims to create quality products with quality ORGANIC ingredients at reasonable prices. Their goal is to make organic food attainable for every shopper, not just the health crazed or the people with tons of money to spend. Amen amen amen! Organic shouldn’t mean overpriced or the kind of healthy that makes people pinch their nose… it should just mean real food. Period.

To kick off the day, Annessa Chumbley, RD, did a few cooking demos for us. She focused on easy recipes that everyone can make at home. Pancakes with oat flour and peanut butter! Mini meatloaves! One pot pasta! These are all things that anyone could whip up and feel good about.

How good do these pancakes look? Umm YUM.

After the cooking demos, we were brought down to the kitchens at Kendall College for a chance to get our own hands dirty. It honestly felt like a cooking competition TV show – you have under an hour to make anything you want! Go go GO! I had the opportunity to work with a vast selection of O Organics products, but check your local Albertsons family store to see what’s available in your area.

Because there were so many AMAZING bloggers there, the recipes ranged from cookie skillets to pasta dishes to snacks to pizza. It was so inspiring to be around so many creative minds. One of my personal favorites were these berry muffins by Baking A Moment. I wouldn’t even know where to start with these, and she saw berries and whipped em right up! Amazing!

I, on the other hand, saw greens and hummus and butternut squash and went straight for a fall salad. As you guys know, I’m a firm believer that healthy food should be delicious – EVEN salads. So, here’s what I did…

(3-4 lunch servings)

1 small red onion

1 bag O Organics frozen Butternut Squash

6 cups fresh O Organics spinach

1/4 cup pecans

1/4 cup O Organics hummus

1/2 lemon

2 tbsp water

1/4 cup O Organics Extra Virgin Olive Oil

salt and pepper

crumbled O Organics Goat Cheese

Start by chopping and sautéing the onions in olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and let them caramelize. Once they’ve softened, add the frozen butternut squash and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Grab a bowl to make the dressing. Whisk the hummus, olive oil and lemon together. If it’s too thick, add water to thin it out. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the dressing to your spinach and toss to coat. Chop pecans finely and grab your goat cheese – it’s time to assemble!

Start with the dressed spinach and add the butternut squash and onions on top. Sprinkle with the crushed pecans and top with crumbled coat cheese!

That’s all there is to it!

This was perfect for lunch that day – I almost ate all of this instead of the food they provided! Woops!

I get my O Organics products at Jewel-Osco, but if you are outside of the Chicago area, O Organics products are available at Albertsons Companies stores across the country, including Albertsons, ACME Markets, Vons, Safeway, Shaw’s,  Tom Thumb, Randalls,  Pavilions and Star Market. Let me know if you make it or try any of the products! I’d love to see your creations!

Oh, and we ended the day with a mini yoga session… as if they hadn’t already won me over 🙂

*Big thanks to Jewel/O Organics for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own.