Last week, we were craving salads. It seemed like a great way to cure our early onset winter blues. There is something about bright colorful vegetables that makes the day seem warm and sunny. I call it the “pina-colada effect” when we make out-of-season favorites to remind us of going to the beach (sans the boozy-alcohol twist, of course, in this case).
While the weather causes bursts of escapism, I am also inspired by the variety of fresh vegetables I can get from our favorite local farm. Asian pears, purple fingerling potatoes, beets or hot pink watermelon radishes get my creative juices flowing. Against the backdrop of deep greens (baby spinach, curly or dinosaur kale), colorful toppings are even more vibrant.
Of course, a salad isn’t complete without the dressing. And nothing is quite as good as homemade options. Surprisingly, the recipes for many of our favorites are almost keto and gluten-free.
We swapped a few ingredients (namely regular sugar for Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener) to come up with these must-make salad dressings!
1. How Sweet Eats’ Hot Bacon Dressing
HOT BACON DRESSING (adapted from original)
- 1/4 cup bacon fat
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar = 2 teaspoons of Lakanto Monkfruit Classic Sweetener + 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 4 slices bacon, crumbled
2. Peas and Crayons’ Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
LEMON POPPY SEED DRESSING (adapted from original)
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon minced shallot
- 2 Tablespoon honey or sugar = 2 Tablespoon of ChocZero Maple Syrup
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 Tablespoon poppy seeds
3. “Superfood” Maple Vinaigrette
4. Caesar Dressing