I had no idea what to call this Carrot Ginger Miso Salad. I bought the Carrot Ginger Miso dressing from Trader Joe’s because I’ve been wanting to make more vegetable bowls. Sometimes, I don’t feel like making a dressing from scratch. Also, I needed a dressing that wasn’t loaded with sugar and unnecessary ingredients like high fructose corn syrup.
Besides the Carrot Ginger Miso Salad dressing, I’m a huge fan of Trader Joe’s Green Goddess dressing. It’s so delicious. But, it doesn’t taste like the Green Goddess salad dressings that I have eaten. It sorta reminded me of salsa verde.
When it comes to making a salad, I like picking unconventional ingredients and placing them together. This salad features baby kale, brussels sprouts grilled chicken, feta cheese, butternut squash, black beans, and sunflower seeds. You’d never in a million years see this salad in a grocery store or at a restaurant.
What goes with Trader Joe’s Carrot Ginger Miso Salad Dressing?
First and foremost, this dressing is unusual tasting. Most importantly, I’m aware that this dressing is not for everybody. It’s not going to taste well with everything in your kitchen. I was taking a risk with this salad and I believe it payed off. I think the Carrot Ginger Miso Salad Dressing would work best with spring rolls.
Choose your ingredients wisely. I’m saying this twice because it definitely should be noted. You’re going to want to really focus on what you put with this dressing because it can go left so quick. I wouldn’t dare put this dressing on top of a Caesar salad.
If you make Asian-inspired salads, this is the perfect salad dressing for you. This dressing will work with tofu and lots of vegetables. Also, this will definitely work well with some seasoned shrimp!
How to make a healthy salad:
To make a healthy salad, you should begin by choosing the healthiest greens that you can. I tend to prefer to now make salads with iceberg lettuce due to it’s low nutritional value compared to greens like Kale and Spinach. Arugula, Kale, and Spinach are my greens of choice when it comes to making salads.
Next, choose your protein! If you’re a vegan, you should aim for lots of nuts, beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, chickpeas, etc… If you consume meat, you already know that you should go for chicken, salmon, or shrimp! I load up on more proteins by combining nuts, beans, and meat for the perfect salad combo.
Then, it’s time to add more vegetables! You can add some grains here if you don’t want a lot of vegetables in your salad. I love to add veggies like cucumbers, butternut squash, tomatoes, or roasted mushrooms.
After adding your vegetables, you can add fruit if you choose. When it comes to a salad like this one, I’m definitely not going to be adding fruit. It would taste so strange. Berries are my go-to for salads, definitely not bananas!
Lastly, choose your salad dressing wisely! There’s no point in eating a salad if you’re going to cover it in tons of salad dressing. My rule for salads are always no more than two tablespoons. And, if you’re going to be buying dressing from the store, make sure that it has somewhat clean ingredients.
NOTE: I work out, so I do not keep track of my macros. I do not track my sodium intake! If you’re concerned about this, use cooking spray & less salt.
Carrot Ginger Miso Salad
Ingredients
For The Chicken:
- 1 Boneless Chicken Thigh
- 2 tbsp Grapeseed Oil
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Salt
- 1 tsp Herbs de Provence
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
For The Salad:
- 1 cup Baby Kale
- 1/2 cup Frozen Riced Butternut Squash
- 2 tbsp Black Beans
- 2 tbsp Sunflower Seeds
- 8 Frozen Brussels Sprouts
- 1 tsp Garlic Salt
- 1 tsp Everything but the Bagel Seasoning
- 2 tsp Feta Cheese
- 2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Carrot Ginger Miso Salad Dressing
Instructions
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Begin by heating a grill pan to Medium/High Heat, add your oil.
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While waiting for the grill pan to heat, add the seasonings above to a bowl and mix. Cover both sides of the chicken with the seasoning.
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Once the grill pan has heated, add your chicken. Allow to grill for 9 minutes on both sides. Remove from grill when done. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F when done. Do not turn off your grill pan when done!
For The Salad
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If you don’t have any left over black beans, begin by cooking some black beans on the stove. This doesn’t take too long if you’re using canned black beans.
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Begin by adding your frozen brussels sprouts to the same grill pan you had the chicken in. This is only going to take a few minutes to cook. Let the brussels sprouts brown and get crispy!
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While waiting for the brussels sprouts to cook, cook your frozen riced butternut squash according to instructions. This should take around 5 minutes.
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Add your baby kale to a large bowl, top it with sunflower seeds, the black beans, riced butternut squash, feta cheese, chicken, and brussels sprouts. Top the salad with the garlic salt and everything seasoning. Now add 2 tbsp of the Carrot Ginger Miso Salad Dressing.
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I always heat up my salads for one minute in the microwave after preparing. This step is completely unnecessary!
Notes
- Use rotisserie chicken if you don’t feel like preparing chicken from scratch.
- Don’t want to wait for black beans? Add another vegetable in it’s place.
- Don’t eat feta cheese? Use goat cheese!
- Don’t want to use meat for this recipe? Use tofu or chickpeas.
- Concerned about the sodium? Use less salt, and use 1 tbsp of the salad dressing.
- Want to use less fat for this recipe? Use Avocado Oil cooking spray instead of Grapeseed Oil.
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