Asian Salad with Sesame Dressing

Hey everyone!

Sorry I have not updated my blog since March! I am finally done my rough spring semester and have a break until summer semester! This past semester I had great classes, just a lot of work. My favorite class was advanced nutrition and human metabolism. It is so interesting the impact nutrition has on our body. Each job that carbohydrates, fats, and protein play for our health is amazing. This salad below provides vitamins like: Vit K, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, antioxidants, protein (edamame), and so many more!

This salad is a great example to "eat the rainbow". Every color provides different nutrients, here are some popular examples:

• green (spinach, cucumber)= chlorophyll pigment, lutein, folate, vitamin K
• red/orange/yellow (red pepper, carrots, orange)= carotenoid pigments, xanthophyll,vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, potassium, manganese, magnesium 
• purple/red/blue (purple cabbage)= betalain pigments, anthocyanin, flavonoids, vitamin A
• white (cabbage)= glucosinolates compounds, vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber 

Most of the time I buy salad dressing, but it is very difficult to find a salad dressing that is low in sugar and sodium. I found an Asian ginger salad dressing with 12g of sugar in just 2 Tbsp. That is too much sugar! So I decided to make my own Asian salad dressing for the salad with just 2 tbsp of honey to provide some sweetness. I have become addicted to the salad and dressing, I have been eating it about every day! The recipe is so easy and healthier than a store bought one and there is no way I am going back to an already made Asian sesame dressing (you will think the same when you try it!). 

Asian Salad with Sesame Dressing

Salad ingredients:

• 2 cups Jersey Spinach
• 2 cups lettuce
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced
• 1/2 cup mandarin oranges 
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup red cabbage
• 1/2 cup green cabbage
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup edamame, unshelled
• 1 tbsp green onion, thinly sliced
• 4 slices of red pepper

I defrosted the edamame and squeezed them out of their shells.

Sesame Dressing

• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup low salt soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

-Combine all ingredients and mix well. Shake before using. Drizzle on top of salad.

The theme for May, for recipe redux, was to provide a recipe of a product that you will not buy from the store and will homemake instead. This salad dressing is a homemade dressing that I will not be buying from the store anymore. I love that I have control of the sodium and sugar level in my own recipe!

I knew this salad and the dressing was a hit, when the picky eaters (and non-salad eaters) of my family went up for seconds. I love providing my family with nutrients and colorful foods to better their health!

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