Balsamic Broccoli Sweet Potato Salad

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Prepare the sweet potatoes: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, toss the cubed potatoes with 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil, ½ tsp sea salt, and minced garlic. Arrange on a cookie sheet and pop it in the oven for 25 minutes. Save the mixing bowl for later.
3. While the sweet potatoes are baking, cook your bacon. Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium-low heat, and cook the bacon for 2-4 minutes per side (depending on how thick your bacon is). You want to get it nice and crispy, but not burnt! Once it’s cooked, remove the pan from the heat and place the bacon on a paper towel-lined plate to cool, then chop it into bacon bits when it’s not too hot to handle.
4. Next, steam the broccoli. You can either do this in the microwave for 4-5 minutes in a large microwave-safe dish (with the lid on) and about ½ inch of water poured in the bottom. Or, you can steam it in a basket over about an inch of water for about 5 minutes, until you can easily insert a fork in the center of a floret but they’re not mushy and overdone.
5. Once the broccoli is cooked, set it aside to cool slightly. Do the same for the sweet potatoes when they come out of the oven.
6. In the same mixing bowl as before, combine the mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar, then stir in the minced onion and apples.
7. Add the cooked and slightly cooled broccoli and sweet potatoes to the mixing bowl and fold all the ingredients together with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Do this carefully so the broccoli and sweet potatoes don’t get mushy.
8. Season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, if desired.
9. Garnish with bacon and optional chopped nuts.
10. Enjoy! Serve warm or at room temperature. If you have leftovers, store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Do not reheat leftovers (because of the mayonnaise), eat the salad cold.

Recipe from: https://www.realfoodwithdana.com/balsamic-broccoli-sweet-potato-salad/  Serves 6