Vegetable Smoothie Salad Dressing

[jodi f.]

I've been experimenting with ways to get clients to eat more veggies, and this concept of hiding them in foods is working pretty well. I served this dressing to a couple friend of ours in their 70's, who are very mainstream eaters and they both loved it.


Vegetable Smoothie Salad Dressing
A concept rather than a specific recipe


½ fresh raw beet, cut into small chunks
1 carrot, cut into small pieces
Handful romaine, spinach or chard leaves—or any combination of greens you like

In a Vita Mix or other powerful blender, blend these items in a cup of water until smooth

To this mixture add and blend:
Tahini (sesame seed paste)---approx. 2 – 3 tablespoons
½ avocado
Juice of 2 lemons (or peel and seed 2 lemons and toss them in)
3 or more tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar (or other vinegar of choice)
Tamari (wheat-free soy sauce) or sea salt to taste
1 Tablespoon dulse or other dried seaweed (optional)
Fresh or dried herbs of choice, including plenty of garlic (can be organic granulated if raw garlic doesn’t work well for you)
1 or more Tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)

With blender running at low speed, drizzle in ¼ cup (or more) extra virgin olive oil.
If too thick, add more water and adjust seasonings as necessary.


Also delicious as a topping for steamed vegetables.

[AlexandraL]

Hi Jodi,

Oh I love it! Great minds think alike! I've actually been doing the same - "hiding vegetables" in sauces and dressings in an attempt to get my teenager to eat more veggies and good fats. My latest experiment

Zucchini
Spinach
Sun dried tomatoes
Tahini
Hemp oil
Garlic
Pinch of cayenne
Sea salt/pepper to taste
Bit of water for thinning if desired
Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth. It's great on vegetables or as a salad dressing. I've also used it as a topping on fish.

It's been a while, I hope all is well with you!

Warm Regards,

Alexandra

[blujay]

I like the way you ladies are thinking...here is a few more ideas...

Add homemade sauerkraut or probiotic powders to your dressings (for that probiotic boost!)...if you add kraut you can reduce the amount of other acid you use. Just use a little and they won't know whats in it that makes it so good! It adds more of the umami flavor.

For your creamy dressings, soak some nuts for a few hours prior to blending, try pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews, etc...

Try adding brewed teas (once cooled) for the liquid part of your dressings...or just add whole tea leafs if you've got a powerful enough blender (I like the Asian maddness of kim chi, mushrooms, seaweed, miso, sesame and green tea...wow!)

Add cool mineral broths in addition to your other liquids...the best way to get loads of minerals!

Blend it splended!

[jodi f.]

Aly, sounds delicious, especially with the sun-dried tomatoes. Have you ever tried adding pureed spinach to guacamole? Works beautifully. Great minds? Maybe. Sneaky minds? Definitely.
I'm doing pretty well. Very busy. Have been nursing a sick cat all summer, but he's holding his own now. I get to do a long cycling trip in September. I hope you're well, too.

Blujay, Genius. Thanks. Am already onto creamy dressings with nuts and seeds, but the sauerkraut idea is great. It's funny. I almost always have some around, but I like it so much as-is that it never occurred to me to hide it in a dressing. But this is a great idea for my husband, especially, who is not a sauerkraut fan (to say the least).