One of the most refreshing things you can eat is salad, especially on warm days. This Asian Slaw is tangy, salty sour and sweet and this rounded flavor, this combination is absolutely divine.
Healthy low-calorie salad
It’s a quick and healthy salad that is so low in calories that you can pair it with vitually any protein and you’ll have a low calorie meal that’s full of nutrients. Each serving is just 75 calories and if you give the fried noodles a miss, you can shave off another 25-30 calories per serving.
Nutrients in cabbage
The star of the salad is of course the cabbage. I love lots of color in my meals because the color is an indication of a variety of nutrients. I’ve added green and red cabbage in this one. So you may think that green and red, what’s the difference? One cup of red cabbage will give you 85% of your daily Vitamin C requirements. Green cabbage still rates high when it comes to Vitamin C, but offers 54% of your daily requirements. Whereas green cabbage contains oodles of Vitamin K (85% DV) Vs. 42% with red cabbage. See how even in cabbage, the nutrients and their amounts differ? That’s why it’s so important to eat a varied diet full of color.
Prepare tofu cubes and throw them into the salad for the addition of protein. It will also fill you up easier if you are having the salad on its own.
Preparing this salad is so easy. If you are short of time, you can even buy a ready made bag of slaw mix from the grocery store. All you’ll need to do is throw the dressing ingredients together and you’ve got yourself a healthy salad.
You can double or triple the dressing ingredients and you’ll have enough for another two salads.
What’s the difference between Soy Sauce and Tamari?
Tamari is the healthier version of soy sauce. Soybeans are not spared when making Tamari, it contains a higher proportion of soybeans compared with regular soy sauce. Tamari does not contain added wheat, so it is generally gluten-free (but check the bottle to make sure).
So as Tamari contains more soy beans and no added wheat, it’s flavor is richer and less salty compared with soy sauce which is thinner, ligheter and saltier. Overall, Tamari is the healthier option.
Monk Fruit sugar substitute
To give the dressing it’s sweet flavor, I added Monk Fruit extract instead of sugar. Monk Fruit extract healthy, natural sugar alternative. Monk fruit is also known as “Buddha fruit.” The sweet taste, when dried and extracted actually comes from the unique antioxidant called mogrosides. This means that the extract doesn’t contain fructose or glucose. The powder I use is mixed with erythritol to reduce the intensity of the sweet flavor. This makes it equivalent to sugar. One teaspoon of the powder is equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar.
Asian Slaw Salad
This quick, easy and healthy cabbage salad recipe features tangy Asian flavors that are amazing. Make it mid-week if you're feeling tired. It can serve as a light dinner but makes a delicious side dish and goes very well with really any protein like chicken, beef or even fish. At just 75 calories per serving, this Asian cabbage salad is full of nutrients and great for your health.
- 4 cups Grated cabbage (Finely chopped or grated)
- 1 cup Green beans (Sliced)
- 1/4 cup Green onion / Spring onion (Finely chopped)
- 1/4 cup Cilantro / Coriander (Freshly chopped)
- 1/4 cup Peanuts (Crushed)
- 2 Lime wedges
- 1/2 cup Asian dressing (See below)
- 1/4 cup Fried Noodles (Optional)
- 1 Carrot (Grated)
Asian Dressing (makes 1/2 cup)
- 1 teaspoon Ginger (Grated)
- 2 tablespoons Lime juice
- 2 tablespoons Orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Tamari soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Monk fruit powder (Plant based sugar replacement. If you don't have this, you can use a sweet alternative like raw sugar.)
- Sriracha sauce (To taste)
Combine salad ingredients into bowl
Combine dressing ingredients and pour over the salad ingredients. Mix.
Top with crushed peanuts and dry noodles (optional)