Blueberry Vinaigrette
I try to eat a big salad every day for lunch, and though I don't always succeed, I feel much better on those days that I do. As you can imagine, eating the same thing every day could get boring; for me, the key to keeping it exciting is not so much in changing the salad ingredients but in jazzing up those ingredients with different salad dressings.
Though I know that people can be very set in their ways when it comes to dressings, I'm not a stickler for any one type of salad dressing. Thick or thin, creamy or vinegary, tart or sweet--I like all types, depending on my mood and the contents of my fridge. I just require that dressing be tasty, fresh, and low in fat.
This dressing meets all of those requirements. It's sweet and tangy in the right proportions and gets its thickness and body from fresh blueberries rather than from added fat. I used my Vitamix to blend it to almost-smoothness (the tiny blueberry seeds remain unblended, as you can see from the photo below) but any blender that's capable of pureeing small quantities should do the trick. Drizzle it over a bed of fresh lettuces sprinkled with tomatoes, walnuts, and a few whole blueberries for a summertime-only treat.
Blueberry Vinaigrette
(printer-friendly version)
Due to the blueberries' natural pectin, this dressing will quickly begin to gel after a few minutes. Use immediately or blend in additional liquid to make it pourable.
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (but fresh is best)
1 tablespoon apple juice
2 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy yogurt (or use water or additional apple juice)
1 teaspoon shallots, coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch stevia (or other sweetener, to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Puree all ingredients in blender until relatively smooth. Drizzle over salad and serve.
Servings: 4
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/4 of a recipe (1.3 ounces).
Percent daily values are based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Though MyPoints are calculated using a formula similar to Weight Watchers Points TM, this site has no affiliation with Weight Watchers and does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.
Other Recipes You May Enjoy:
Labels: CORE*, Eat to Live, Gluten-Free*, Vita-Mix
Labels: CORE, eat to live, gluten-free, Vita-Mix
posted by SusanV at 1:25 PM
30 Comments:
This looks great! I love fruity dressings! I try to eat a salad everyday too, but it does get boring... I'm sure this will help!
This looks amazing. Summer is the season of salads, and once I'm done going through the huge batch of your goddess dressing a made a few days ago, I'm definitely going to give this a try.
Mmm, that looks really good! I love fruit-based salad dressings!
Ooh another use for my Vitamix... and the plethora of fresh blueberries taking over our fridge!
Great idea. I happen to have some blueberries in the fridge, so there is my lunch tomorrow :-)
I'm the same way about my daily lunch salad, and I still look forward to them everyday. A fruity dressing is a nice change of pace. I've never made a blueberry dressing though. This looks wonderful!
I've finally managed to get into the habit of eating salad for lunch each day - I did it by writing it in my diary every day for a couple of weeks - worked for me because I usually obey my diary! My favourite dressing at the moment is a big dollop of tahini (not fatfree, I know, but a wholefood), a squirt of tamari and a few drops of liquid smoke, all thinned down with water. Unbelievably delicious!
Susan,
This looks great and sounds delicious--guess I'll be buying some more blueberries at the farmer's market next week! I'm curious, too, if I could try it with my raspberries as well, maybe smashing some through the food mill first to hold back some seeds. . .I'll let you know if and when I experiment. . .they don't have as much pectin as blueberries so the consistency would be different. . .
Thanks--
xo
moonwatcher
That looks delicious! I eat salad almost every evening for dinner with lentils or some other legume. And I feel so much healthier when do that. I usually do the same dressing just because it's easy and I don't really get tired of it. But this definitely looks yummy :)
I love berry vinaigrette. Perfect for summer. Gorgeoso. xox
That dressing sounds amazing and it is such a pretty colour that you would just want to eat it right away.
Ooh, delicious. Wild Maine blueberries will be here next month, and this will be a perfect way to use them. But why summertime only? I think this would be just as great made with frozen blueberries during a snowstorm.
I absolutely can't wait to try this dressing out!
Oh! Holy yum! Thanks, Susan! I love trying new dressings, even though I have my favs (cough, back-to-basics maple balsamic from ed&bv!). The nutrition stats are GREAT on this, and I have plenty of frozen blueberries right now.
Looks Delicious!
Blueberries are my favorite. I am planning to go picking this weekend and will have to try this. Great idea!
This looks and sounds so yummy! As soon as I can get some blueberries I am making this, I just love my salads :)
This salad looks amazing! Strawberries go well with vinaigrette too. Good sweetness to a bitter balsamic!
Excellent! I just got fresh blueberries in, so I was pleasantly surprised to find them a main feature in your latest recipe. Thank you, Susan.
This looks simple and yummy. I suppose it could be done using any berry. Looks like something in the ETL book, but i like that its much simpler with just a few ingredients.
Just wanted to let you know that although I'm not vegan I so admire your work. It's hard not to admire good food. :) I linked to your post today - How To Make A Lower-Fat Vinaigrette
I love giving my readers quality options.
Mmmm. I love the colour!!
Now I know where the picked blueberries will go? :D
Thanks so much for this recipe! I am always looking for new ideas for salad dressings and this one looks gorgeous.
What a beautiful and delicious way to dress a salad! I would love to make this.
Dear Susan, This comment has nothing to do with the blueberry dressing. But it sure does look delicious!
I just wanted to leave a comment to thank you for such a great blog/site. I have recently begun cooking many veg/vegan meals and your recipes are inspiring. Just a few days ago I tried Mac-N-Cheeze. Then with the leftovers I made a version of Chili Mac (using vegs I had on hand). Your creativity has given mine a spark and I thank you again. :)
I hear you on the big-salad-each-day thing! Even if it's not replacing a meal, but in addition to it, it has tremendous health benefits.
Your dressing looks beautiful, and I'm so jealous that you have a Vitamix!
This dressing looks incredible, I can't wait to try it!!!
I've tried this dressing just now for my "evening salad"...I don't know what a Vitamix is, but I made it with my hand-blender. Really, REALLY delicious - thanks for the recipe!
This looks incredible.....am sure it'll taste even better! What a nice change from the regular dressings!
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