Easy Protein Salads With Healthy Homemade Salad Dressing

Here’s a quick spinach salad with healthy homemade salad dressing for a nourishing lunch. Eggs are a natural with spinach. First I hard cooked them by putting them into a pot full of water and letting it come to a boil. Then took the pot off the heat and covered for 15 minutes. That’s why they’re called hard cooked, not hard boiled. I dislike an overcooked boiled egg.

Once the eggs are done, put them into cold water to stop the cooking process. If you’re not going to eat them immediately, change the water once it’s no longer cold and then refrigerate them once cool enough. You could do an ice bath instead if you have some ice.

About Eggs

I had picked up these eggs on clearance because they were near their sell by date, which really doesn’t mean that much. Eggs are good in the fridge for some time and it’s actually preferable to use an older egg for hard cooked. They’re easier to peel because there is more air space between the white and the shell. I wasn’t paying strict attention to the timing, so it looks like I could have cooked them a tiny bit less for a creamier yolk. But as long as there is no gray sulfur ring around the yolk, which happens when they’re overcooked, I’m happy.

If I was cooking a larger batch of eggs, I would put them into a steamer basket instead of a pot full of water. They are easiest to peel after steaming. Again, plunge them into cold water or ice bath to stop the cooking process once finished.

Dressing

Dressing here was made using:

• part of a shallot,
• dijon mustard,
• apple cider vinegar
• honey
• plain yogurt
• olive oil
• salt
• thyme
• fennel

I was thinking tarragon might be good, but I was out of it, so I used the herbs on hand. A mayonnaise based dressing would have also worked well. Use what you have to create something delicious. Taste as you go (using a clean spoon) and learn to develop your intuition in the kitchen and start cooking without a recipe.

I realized I had a little salami that needed to be consumed, so I chopped that up and threw it in along with some tomatoes. This salami is called finocchiona, being made with fennel (finocchio in Italian). So it was a good match with the fennel flavored dressing.

One word about dressing, in case you are used to just pouring it on top of the salad: Try tossing your salad with the dressing before serving. You use less and it tastes so much better having your vegetables evenly coated with flavor.

Here’s another way to get some protein in your salad: smoked herring from a can. It’s wonderful with sauerkraut, which is probiotic. A basic lemon vinaigrette is all that’s needed for this healthy homemade salad dressing.

For more on making your own healthy homemade salad dressing, please read Undressing the Dressing next.