Anyone who has been following along here knows I’m no fan of crash diets, restrictive eating, or punishing cleanses. But I do recommend the occasional dietary reset, since even the most devout healthy eater can get derailed from healthy habits. It’s practically inevitable (and, frankly, part of enjoying life) to eat a little more and perhaps a little more indulgently on vacation, over weekends, and during the holidays. The key is to find your way back to best practices when the time comes. This Salad with Carrot Miso Dressing is an excellent place to start.
Carrot Miso Ginger Dressing is a Great Reset
The best route for me to get on track is by prepping what I think of as a reset recipe: Delicious food that is enormously good for you and makes you feel good.
Today’s salad is exactly that. A Reset Button Salad. 
The key to this salad is the tangy, tasty, crazy good-for-you carrot miso ginger dressing. It’s a blend of carrots, miso, ginger, and two kinds of oil. If you have ever eaten a green salad at a Japanese restaurant, it was likely dressed with some iteration of this dressing. And while extra virgin olive oil is my standard for salads, I opted for neutral flavored oil for this instead. If it’s not avocado oil, I”ll go for canola, since it’s high in desirable mono-unsaturated fats, and when you use an organic expeller-pressed oil, like the one I buy at Sprouts Farmers Market, it’s processed without chemicals or heat.
Crunchy and Colorful Salad
As for the salad itself, it’s all about color and crunch. The greens are a combination of kale and romaine, which deliver a wallop of nutrition. After that, toss in whatever raw vegetables you like, the bigger the rainbow, the better. The finishing touch is a small handful of chopped tamari roasted almonds, which deliver flavor, texture, and staying power . If you plan to serve this as a main course, I like to include baked tofu or chicken for added protein and heft.
It’s a reset button powerhouse that is miles better than any crash diet or crazy cleanse. Toss yourself a gorgeous salad instead, enjoying every bite while recommitting to your best intentions.
If you like this salad with Carrot Miso Ginger Dressing, you might like these other reset recipes
Vegetables with Lemon Tahini Dressing.
Reset Button Salad with Carrot Ginger Miso Dressing
A colorful, crunchy salad that’s dressed with a classic Carrot, Ginger, Miso Dressing. The combination is satisfying, tasty, and enormously nourishing. Serve as a side, or add baked tofu or chicken to make it a main dish. Leftover dressing makes a great dip for raw, crunchy vegetable.s
Ingredients
Dressing
- ¼ cup Sprouts organic expeller pressed canola oil
- 1 tablespoon organic Sprouts sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons white miso (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 medium carrots, cut into several pieces
- 1 inch long piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into slices
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Salad
- 1 bunch kale
- 3 cup chopped hearts of romaine lettuce
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- ⅓ english cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 small ripe avocado, cut into bite-size cubes
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped Tamari almonds, from the bulk bin section of Sprouts
- 6 ounces baked teriyaki tofu cut into cubes or 2 cups cubed cooked chicken (if serving as a main course)
Instructions
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Put all of the dressing ingredients into a blender and run until smooth. Alternatively, you can make this in a food processor, though it won’t be quite as smooth.
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Strip the leaves from the kale and cut crosswise into ¼-inch-wide ribbons. Measure 3 packed cups and put in a large bowl. Use your hands to massage the kale (fairly aggressively) to soften it a bit. Add a big spoonful of the dressing and use your hands to massage it vigorously into the kale. Add the romaine, carrots, radishes, cucumber, pepper, avocado, almonds, and optional tofu or chicken.
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Add several more spoonfuls of the dressing to the salad. Toss well. Taste and add more dressing if needed. Save leftover dressing for another salad or to use as a dip for vegetables.
Recipe Notes
Miso is sold in tubs in the refrigerated section of the market, usually where tofu and other soy products are sold. I prefer white miso for this dressing, but yellow or red miso will work as well. Just know that it will alter the color of the dressing somewhat.
