Creamy Almond Butter Spiced Salad Dressing

"Eat rice,ah?". I got that message from my brother two days ago. Last week, we both swore that we would go low carb this month to lose some excess fat. 

I don't know what prompted that question but it must have been my eating out posts (published after our pledge) where I had carbs, carbs and more carbs.

But those were actually from the weeks before. In fact there will be a few more of such posts after this one (from past transgressions) heh..heh....

I know I have deviated from my ideal eating plan. You know, restricting carbohydrates to cheat days only. And from my recent posts, you see me eating carbs practically everyday. The consequences? Yes, there were consequences.

I felt lethargic, bloated, slightly depressed and not surprisingly, my weight crept back on. And before things got out of hand, I must do something.

So to kick things off, I started with one of the best things to eat when low carbing. Salads! Loads of fresh veges or roasted veggies (and some protein) with a good dressing always does it for me. Time for some clean eating, eh?

Just the other day, I saw a very interesting salad called Kitchen Sink Sunflower Salad where the dressing is made from sunflower butter, yogurt and seasoned with spices. It looked so delicious that I decided to make it right away.

Well, I can't get sunflower butter so I substituted with almond butter. As for the veggies, I used whatever I had in the fridge. I had some cabbage, broccoli and red/green peppers.

I know that sausages in salads aren't exactly what is considered part of clean eating. But that was the only protein option I had that was hassle free.

I have never liked yogurt based dressings and the only one I ever tried was from the now defunct Salad Bar. But I was willing to give this one a go since there was very little yogurt used (4 tablespoons) and with the added spices, I would most likely not be able to taste the yogurt.

Another thing I was unaccustomed to was the addition of water to the salad dressing. Well, my reservations on this dressing were unfounded as I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious it was.

There is the fragrant nutty aroma from the almond butter and aromatic spices that came from curry powder and cumin. This is thinned out to preference by adding water and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. I think I may be able to conjure my own creamy dressings as inspired by this recipe.

Creamy Almond Butter Spiced Dressing

Recipe source : Adapted from Pinch of Yum

Ingredients :

- 2 heaped tablespoons almond butter

- 4 tbsp plain yogurt

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 2 tsp curry powder

- 1 tsp ground cumin

- 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 1/2 tsp pepper

- 3 tbsp water (or according to your preference)

Method :

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk all the ingredient except water.

2. Once the ingredients are emulsified, add water, a tablespoon at a time and whisk. Add more if you prefer a thinner consistency.

3. Drizzle over your salad.