A Sunny Salad Dressing

Spinach tossed with sunflower seed salad dressing and garnished with pork crackling – of course!

This is a great way to add some protein into your salad, especially if you are vegan. It is a light creamy dressing which tastes fantastic on some green leaves or a mixed salad and also makes a great drizzle over some roasted mushrooms.

The basis is sunflower seeds which contain a whopping dose of vitamin E, the body’s primary fat-soluble antioxidant. Vitamin E travels throughout the body neutralizing free radicals that would otherwise damage fat-containing structures, such as cell membranes, brain cells, and cholesterol. By protecting these cellular and molecular components, vitamin E has significant anti-inflammatory effects.

Recently on ABC TV, the well publicised Catalyst program talked about fat and oxidising cholesterol. Vitamin E is one of the main antioxidants found in cholesterol particles and helps prevent free radicals from oxidizing cholesterol. Getting plenty of vitamin E can significantly reduce this risk. See the program here.

Sunflower seeds are also a good source of magnesium. The function of magnesium in the body is often overlooked and under-rated. It is required by every cell in the body and necessary for healthy bones and energy production, plus it may help prevent diabetes and migraine headaches.

Magnesium assists in maintaining muscle and nerve function and helps our immune system. It is great for diabetics because it helps regulate blood sugar levels. (I take 400mg of magnesium everyday to help me with my energy and sleep.)

I also like to substitute the sunflower seeds for pumpkin seeds which have a different form of vitamin E and are a great source of zinc. Mix them up and you’ll get your very own purpose-built multivitamin!

Because sunflower and pumpkin seeds (and most seeds, for that matter) contain a lot of oil, it is best to keep them in the fridge.

As simple as this dressing is, don’t underestimate the nutritional benefits of its ingredients. It is a bit addictive too, now that I have been having this on my salad, its hard to go back to a basic vinaigrette!

The recipe will thicken a little bit on standing so don’t be concerned if it seems a bit runny at first. Make it before you start your dinner preparations so it has had time to thicken up.

Tonight I served this with a roast loin of pork, some yummy Byron superkraut and spinach – it was a hit!

PS – If you reduce the amount of water by a third, it would make a great nut-free dip.

1 clove garlic

40g sunflower or pumpkin seeds

150g filtered water

50g macadamia oil

1 teas mustard (I use Dijon)

Juice of half a lemon

2 teas nutritional yeast

salt & pepper to taste

 

Mince the garlic in the TM for 10 seconds on SP 8. Add the seeds and blitz for another 10 seconds on SP 8.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on SP 9 for 1 minute, stopping to scrape down if required. The dressing will thicken a little bit on standing.