It’s not new that I hear stories about all kinds of dieting techniques from my friends. In fact, I feel like we’ve always been on a journey of losing weight since we were teenagers. The foods and exercises that are most effective to burn calories and how we fight our cravings for sweets are our never changing conversation themes.
It makes me wonder why our conversation around diet never ends. That is because we either never reached where we wanted to be or couldn’t stay where we wanted to stay, meaning an unsuccessful diet or a rebound. I realized that it happens when we are not satisfied with what we eat. In my opinion, food should feed both your body and soul. To me, cooking is like giving love whether to your loved ones or to yourself. With foods created with a loving mind, you can be truly satisfied with your eating experience.
I noticed lately that so many of my friends are eating more salads than ever before. Yes, salads are conceived as “healthy” in order to eat more veggies or lighten up on calorie intake. But they are now eating salads more as a meal as a way to avoid excess carbs in their diet. With various low-carb diets being so popular, salads have become the star of their meals.
Many of my friends are enjoying hopping on a scale seeing that their weight is going down however, they are not enjoying the same old tastes or their bland meals. They are eating salads just to satisfy their hunger. Their body and soul are not happy and they are in danger of the reoccurring rebound. So here I am to rescue my dear friends and anyone who is willing to get out of their salad boredom. I hope these tips and recipes will help you enjoy salads again and keep your meals as joyful, satisfying experiences.
Here are 3 tips to make your salads more exciting and satisfying.
- Use homemade dressings
- Change up veggies, protein, and toppings
- Make your salads with love
These are the five Asian dressings that I make often. They all are very tasty and complement so well with various veggies, protein, and toppings. If you prefer, these dressings can be made without sugar or with your favorite type of sugar.
Tamari Lemon Dressing
Gluten free, vegan
Makes about ½ cup
Ingredients:
¼ cup Olive oil
3 Tbsp. Fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. San-J Tamari Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Fresh lemon zest
2 tsp. Sugar of choice, optional; granulated sugar, honey, agave, or other
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to a jar and shake well, or add to a bowl and whisk well.
Serving suggestions:
Pour over grilled chicken, grilled tofu, or “Salad chicken” on a bed of greens. Top with lemon slices. For another option, marinate chicken breast or tofu with any San-J Asian Cooking Sauce for 30 minutes then grill. Try this Grilled Orange Chicken or Grilled Lemon Herb Chicken to add to your salad with Tamari Lemon Dressing.
Creamy Tamari Sesame Dressing
Gluten free, vegan
Makes about ½ cup
Ingredients:
5 Tbsp. Rice vinegar
4 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Tbsp. San-J Tamari Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Tahini
2 Tbsp. Roasted sesame oil
2 tsp. Sesame seeds
2 tsp. Sugar of choice, optional; granulated sugar, honey, agave, or other
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk well.
Serving suggestions:
Drizzle over baked tofu on a bed of baby kale. Top with shelled, cooked edamame and shaved carrots.
Add zucchini noodles to make Asian sesame zoodles. Try different San-J Asian Cooking Sauces for flavorful baked tofu. Top with slivered almonds to add some crunch.
Tamari Carrot Dressing
Gluten free, vegan
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients:
1 medium Carrot, cut into about 1 inch chunks
¼ medium Sweet onion, cut into about 1 inch chunks
¼ cup Olive oil
3 Tbsp. Vinegar
1 Tbsp. San-J Tamari Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Sugar of choice, optional; granulated sugar, honey, agave, or other
1 tsp. Fresh ginger, chopped finely
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend well until it has a smooth consistency. If you prefer a less thick dressing, you may add up to 1/8 cup water while blending.
Serving suggestions:
Spoon over a bowl full of shredded napa cabbage and red cabbage. Top with roasted chickpeas and halved cherry tomatoes.
Miso Yogurt Dressing
Gluten free
Makes about ¾ cup
Ingredients:
1/3 cup Plain yogurt
3 Tbsp. White miso (gluten-free brands are available)
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Tbsp. Rice vinegar
2 tsp. Sugar of choice, optional; granulated sugar, honey, agave, or other
1 tsp. San-J Tamari Soy Sauce
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk well.
Serving suggestions:
Serve as a dip with fresh or lightly steamed vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower florets, sweet potatoes, sugar snap peas, asparagus, carrots, celery sticks and radishes.
Creamy Wasabi Dressing
Gluten free
Makes about ¾ cup
Ingredients:
½ cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. San-J Tamari Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Wasabi paste
2 tsp. Sugar of choice, optional; granulated sugar, honey, agave, or other
Instructions:
Add all ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.
Serving suggestions:
Drizzle over cooked shrimp and cubed avocados on endive leaves. Also pairs well with grilled chicken, salmon, steaks, or portabella mushrooms.
It’s hard not to get excited about your salad meals with these Asian dressings. The combinations are limitless. I’d love to hear about your creations. Please write us at info@san-j.com if you’d like to share your salad experiences. If your recipe is added to the San-J recipe collection on our website, we will send you a gift as to say thank you! Check out other salads and salad dressing recipes!
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