I love a good crunchy Thai style salad with a sweet low carb peanut dressing. Some low-carb & Paleo purists are adamant about avoiding peanuts because the founder of the Paleo diet said so. But for me it’s personal decision based on how my body feels and runs after eating peanut butter, which is awesome. I have absolutely no side effects, so I’m all about peanut butter. My advice is to eat it if you feel the same way & can remain true to your health goals. If you’re trying to keep blood sugar low, then be sure to test your blood sugar to see how peanut butter affects you.
hidden sugars
Lots of ‘all-natural’ peanut butter brands have added sugars, so be sure you’re checking the nutrition information and ingredients list. I buy this brand of peanut butter, and then I just add my own all natural liquid stevia to it to add back some sweetness without carbs. Even better than buying peanut butter is using one of those in-store nut grinders to grind fresh peanuts. Whole Foods has them. These are also usually very fresh peanuts which tastes so much better than jarred peanut butter.
thai salad with low carb peanut dressing
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE SALAD:
2 Cups shredded green napa cabbage napa cabbage is easy to work with
2 Cups shredded purple cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
1/2 orange bell pepper cut into thin strips
1/3 C lightly packed cilantro roughly chopped
2 chopped scallions green onions
1/3 C roughly chopped organic cashews
black sesame seeds optional
1/2 Haas avocado sliced optional
FOR THE DRESSING:
⅓ cup avocado oil
1 cloves garlic peeled
1 Tbs. natural no sugar added peanut butter
1 Tbs. gluten-free tamari sauce
1 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1/2 Tsp. Thai red curry paste
1 Tbs. Yakon syrup or 10 drops of liquid Stevia
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the salad, add the lettuces to a medium-sized bowl and toss lightly until combined.
Puree all the dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your preference. If it’s too thick add some water.
Pour dressing over lettuce and toss until dressing is evenly coated. Scatter pepper slices cilantro, scallions, cashews, sesame seeds and avocado over top.
Serve immediately with remaining dressing.
