Carrot Ginger Dressing, AKA Sunshine on Salad
Sometimes salad dressing gets a bit basic in my house… also known as laziness.
I don’t really know why, when dressings like this take the same amount of time but bring a whole new dimension to a meal!
So easy, simple ingredients, an extra boost of phytonutrients, AND it’s tasty.
Added bonus, my kids love it!
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Ingredients
1 cup of peeled and roughly chopped carrots
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup coconut vinegar (or unsweetened rice vinegar - be sure to check the ingredients if sugar is something you’re trying to reduce!
2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped. If you LOVE ginger feel free to add more — this is a kid approved amount of ginger.
1 - 2 TBSP honey, depending on desired sweetness
1/2 tsp sea salt.
OPTIONAL ADD INS
1 TBSP sesame oil
1 TBSP miso paste, preferably organic/non gmo
1 TBSP cilantro
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Instructions
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until completely smooth.
Eat it.
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Nutrition And Tips
I’m always a sucker for slipping extra veggies into EVERYTHING, just like my mom.
But the kids LOVE these extra sunshine phytonutrients and it makes them gobble up salad like it’s the greatest thing ever! So that’s a good time.
Carrots are generally a hit with everyone and the colour of this dressing is like happiness and sunshine splashed on your plate. I haven’t met a salad it doesn’t taste good on, but I generally serve it with mixed greens, Asian inspired salads, or just your average everything in the fridge salad.
It’s also great spooned over roasted veggies, chicken, and fish. And probably a million other things! (Let me know how you serve it up.)
Carrots contain vitamins A, K, and C. As well as potassium, fiber, calcium, and even a bit of iron! So this dressing is a great addition to your weekly rainbow rotation and is sure to bring some smiles into your life.
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Final Thoughts
Growing up a vegetarien we ate BUCKETS of salads, and I still do. I love them!
They can get a bit boring though, if we don’t take some time to experimenting with new flavours, textures, and ingredients.
Salads are the perfect foundation for all kinds of amazing things, and while they aren’t the most celebrated thing on the planet, I think they should be!
When we go to the grocery store we can grab a thing of mixed greens as the foundation, and then walk around the produce isles and see what looks good, new, or interesting.
Get your kids to pick something out that looks fun to them, ask the produce person what’s fresh and tasty, and grab some fruit to slice into it as well. Wander the olive isle, check out the artichokes, and see if any nuts or seeds are on special this week.
This will help us increase our phytonutrient intake AND make cooking and eating a bit of an experience.
Because salad can take almost no time, and is so dang versatile it’s one of my favorite places to experiment in the kitchen. It’s also one of the only times I actually really love getting my kids involved in the shopping and food prepping! Salad is so low pressure and incredibly versatile, and when I ask my kids to pick stuff out for our salad they are 100% more likely to eat it — so that’s a win!
This dressing recipe is a quick reminder that adding something new doesn’t need to be tricky or take a lot of time, and it can certainly breathe a little more life into the weekly salad lunches.
Thank you so much for being here.
I hope you enjoy this dressing, and if you do please leave a comment below or share it any way you like sharing. It means the world to me.
Kindness for a million days,
Gwen
Sunshine in a bowl.
