Here’s a recipe I’d like to share for Super Protein Veggie Salad. Inspired by a tired new year’s resolution to lose weight, this salad is vegetarian, but gets its protein from cannellini beans, wheatberries, nuts and the yogurt/cottage cheese salad dressing. The dressing stays low in calories and fat because it contains no oil, but it satisfies thanks to the creaminess of the dairy products involved. The recipe is based on a salad in the Moosewood Cookbook.
I use good quality canned beans for convenience. Use this recipe as a guide, season to taste and add and subtract as you go along. If I am in a hurry and don?t have the dressing made, I’ll add a sectioned orange and toss the salad with a bit of olive oil. This is a great salad for lunch or quick, light dinner because the bean mixture stays so well in the fridge and it
can be assembled quickly.
- ½ cup wheatberries, cooked
- 1 (19 oz.) can good quality canellini beans, rinsed
- 1 bulb fennel, sliced
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- red wine vinegar and olive oil, to taste
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 6 handfuls baby spinach
- ¼ cup roasted and unsalted almonds, chopped
- Dressing:
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1-2 Tblsp Dijon mustard
- 2 Tblsp Red wine vinegar
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ½ cup cilantro
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- Combine the first 6 ingredients in a Gladware container, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and refrigerate.
- Combine the dressing ingredients and blend with an immersion blender or in a blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- In a salad bowl combine the spinach, top with the bean and wheatberry mixture and toss with the dressing.
- Top with the chopped almonds and freshly ground black pepper. Toss and enjoy.
Thanks for stopping by. Here's to great food and good thymes! -