more greens, please

I have always loved a classic Caesar salad. If you’ve read my post about the inspiration for this blog, you will already know this about me.  Additionally, you may remember I promised to post a recipe for a healthier, more nutritious Caesar salad dressing. Well, here it is!

I chose this recipe for my first post because I think it’s a great example as to how you can take a not-so-healthy dressing and with a few tweaks, can make it into one that is guilt-free.

The best thing about this salad dressing, in my opinion is that the base is Fage’s non-fat Greek yogurt. I love Fage Greek yogurt for a few different reasons: it is an excellent source of both protein and calcium, but most importantly it doesn’t have any added sugar. I repeat, no added sugar. In a world where some seemingly healthy non-fat yogurts on the supermarket shelves have 14 grams of sugar (which equals 3.5 tsp of sugar), it’s best to do a little research and find out which yogurts are the “greenest,” or most nutritious.

I hope you like the recipe!

Light Caesar Salad Dressing + Kale + Tomatoes + Pine nuts

Serves 4

Dressing makes 1 cup, serving size ¼ cup

For the dressing:

1/2 cup non-fat Fage greek yogurt

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tsp Worchestire sauce

2 tsp anchovy paste (lasts 1 year)

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp water

For the Salad:

4 kale leaves

Parmesan cheese, to further season

1 lemon, for the zest

1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes

Pine nuts, amount up to chef’s discretion

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, mix in all the dressing ingredients and stir well with a whisk. The dressing should have a creamy texture.
2. Wash the lettuces leaves thoroughly and then pat them dry. Remove the stems and then chop the leaves into bite size pieces.
3. Massage the lettuce leaves for a minute or two to remove some of the bitter taste.
4. In a large salad bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes and pine nuts. Then toss the salad with the dressing, coating the leaves well. Lastly, top with some fresh lemon zest.

There you have it, the perfect classic Caesar salad, full of healthy greens.