Can you believe this is a delicious salad dressing? A little stretch, but great, healthful cooking really requires a lot of imagination and a love for experimentation.

I discovered (invented) this salad dressing when my husband Bill was recovering from oral surgery. For a week, I pureed or minced all his food. Everything — vegetables, fruit, rice, potatoes, fish, chicken. The pureed vegetables (fresh, steamed, lightly salted) really appealed to me. I started making extra to pour on my salads. Add a little lemon juice, spice, and wow! Fantastic!

If you’re not a fan of runny liquid-y salad dressings, this dressing will verge on decadent. Thick, creamy, packed with flavor. Oil is completely optional, which makes this a great dressing for anyone cutting down on fat.

Very easy to make. A blender works well, but an Oster hand-held is really the way to go. I travel with my Oster. Incredibly versatile, easy to use and clean up, and purees food much better than a blender.

Vegetables

Here are the best (tastiest and creamiest) vegetables for this salad dressing I’ve discovered so far (best listed first):

• yellow banana or crook neck squash
• zucchini
• spinach (I’ll admit, on busy days I used canned spinach)
• red, orange or yellow bell pepper (cooked soft, pureed a pretty long time)
• green beans (again, canned is great, but not too often)
• carrots (interesting with curry powder or dill)
• peas (sweet peas are best)

Additions

Add to your cooked vegetable a spice or spice blend of your choice. Lemon or other fruit juice is also a good addition. Experiment and think out of the box. Here are some ideas:

• lemon juice
• pineapple juice (a powerful digestive aid)
• garlic salt
• chili powder
• oregano, basil, thyme
• rosemary
• cumin
• curry powder
• soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids
• dulse powder
• kelp powder
• ginger
• cayenne
• lemon pepper

For the non-dieter, you can of course add your favorite healthy fat: avacado, walnuts, sesame seeds,

• avocado
• walnuts
• sesame seeds
• oils: olive, safflower, sunflower, coconut, canola
• flax seeds (ground) or flax seed oil
• hemp seed or hemp seed oil

The hand blender will make making this salad dressing easy and fun. Here are 3 that are excellent and well priced:

Cuisinart CSB-76 Smart Stick Hand Blender

Proctor Silex 59735 Immersion Hand Blender, White

Rival IB954W Ultrablend 2-Speed Handheld Immersion Blender

More information and recipes:

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