Have you ever noticed when someone is dieting they try to live on salads? I see people trying to fill themselves up with nothing but lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. Not an easy task for sure. I can only imagine that they are pretty hungry an hour later.

Triple Protein Salad Recipe
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image by jmayer1129

Or they put together a pretty good salad. Maybe some chicken for protein with nutrient dense vegetables like broccoli and spinach. Then they kill it with the giant ladle of salad dressing.

I like salads when they are done right. Lean protein, nutrition packed veggies and the perfectly put together flavor enhancing dressing. No bottled dressing for me anymore either. Salad dressings are actually really easy to make and you can make just enough to last for few days. No more getting bored with a flavor, watching it go bad or having 6 different jars of dressing open in the refrigerator.

I was so excited when I received one of my favorite magazines, Clean Eating

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, in the mail a couple of months back and saw one of featured covered articles was 9 Homemade Salad Dressings. Before I get into the details of the dressing, I do want to do a quick promo for Clean Eating
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. This is, in my opinion, one of the best sources for clean eating recipes. I have every issue since the magazine started  in 2008. And they just keep getting better and better. If you haven’t picked it up, do it. You will not be disappointed.

Okay, so back to the article.  I got to it and found, indeed, some amazing dressing recipes. I would have loved to have tried some of their salad recipes but, alas, they contained meat. As you probably know by now I am a vegetarian. So I decided to take some of my favorite protein sources and throw them together to create my Triple Protein Salad (with Clean Eating Magazine’s fantastic Orange Herb Dressing).

Orange Herb Dressing

  • 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
  • 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp EVOO
  • ½ tsp dried tarragon
  • ¼ tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp orange zest
  • Black pepper to taste

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients.

Now you can build your salad.

  • 3 cups baby spinach
  • 2 oz baked Italian tofu
  • 2 hard boiled eggs (whites only)
  • ¼ cup chickpeas

Toss these ingredients and drizzle with 1 tbsp of Orange Herb Dressing

The three protein choices each bring a little something different to the recipes. Chickpeas not only provide protein, they are an excellent source of fibers as well. Tofu (made from soybeans) is a complete protein with an added calcium boost. Eggs have the highest biological protein value (100) of any single food protein, meaning essentially all the nitrogen that is absorbed from it can be retained. Between the 3 ingredients your protein needs are well covered.

Using spinach, instead of lettuce, gives you another nutrient boost. Spinach is a great plant source of iron. The vitamin C in the orange juice helps aid in the absorption of the iron as well. (A tip: if you take a vitamin with iron in it and get nauseous from it, try drinking it with a little OJ).

Give this one a try and tell me what you think? Any other Clean Eating Magazine

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fans out there? Tell me which of the 9 dressings you tried and liked.

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