E2L Spinach Salad with Fruit and Lime Vanilla Creamy Tofu Dressing

This is the salad we had tonight with our white bean stew. I wanted to make something similar to last night’s salad, because I enjoyed it so much, but I also wanted it to be different. I decided to use silken tofu as the base (eliminating the oil) and add the lime and vanilla for flavor. I think we were all surprised by how different the dressing was for the last version. The flavors were much more muted and subtle. I still like the combination of flavors. If I weren't eliminating added fats from my diet I think I prefer the dressing version from yesterday a little bit more. However this one is also good and does provide additional protein to the salad, which is an added benefit. Here is the recipe for the salad we had tonight.

E2L Spinach Salad with Fruit and Lime Vanilla Creamy Tofu Dressing
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

6.15 ounces firm organic silken tofu (1/2 package)
1 lime, zested and juiced
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 scoop stevia
2 apples, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups black seedless grapes, cut in half
1 tangerine, peeled and seeds removed
12 cups baby spinach
1 cup red cabbage, finely shredded
4 tablespoons almonds, sliced

Directions:

Combine the silken tofu, lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract, salt and stevia and process until smooth. You may need to stop the processor and scrape down the sides to get all the dressing smooth.

Add the fruit (apples, grapes and tangerines) to the dressing and toss. Add the baby spinach and cabbage to the fruit and toss to cover the greens with the dressing.

Serve the salad with almonds sprinkled on top the salad.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 211.13
Calories From Fat (26%) - 54.64

Total Fat - 6.47g
Saturated Fat - 0.66g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 165.84mg
Potassium - 972.75mg
Total Carbohydrates - 35.67g
Fiber - 6.85g
Sugar - 23.12g
Protein - 8.76g

Comments:

This salad was cool and refreshing. Shredded cabbage adds nice crunchy texture as well as anthocyanins, red grapes add resveratrol, tangerine adds vitamin C, apples add polyphenols, and almonds add healthy fat. Overall this salad is healthy and tasty. Each serving of this salad contains approximately 8,725IU of vitamin A, 60mg of vitamin C, 160mg of calcium, 3.9mg of iron, 195mcg of folate, 450mcg of vitamin K, 160mg of phosphorus, and 122mg of magnesium. Not bad at all for a quick 10 minute salad.

I tried to get a comment out of the hubby regarding the salad and all he would say was “that it was very good” and “that I needed to make some bad food so that he can compare”. Husbands! Sometimes they can be so helpful. Not! He likes to frustrat me for entertainment, can you tell?

Unrelated note:

I don’t know what we are doing this evening at our house. Typically Saturdays are movie night at home, but since the hubby already has his ticket for Avatar tomorrow morning he may want to pass on the movie tonight. I guess will find out soon one way or another.

I hope you all have a great evening.