Out of all the nutrient-rich vegetables out there, broccoli is one of the best. The super food is high in vitamins and antioxidants, including Vitamin A & C, fiber, folic acid, potassium and calcium. My lunch concoction today revolved around broccoli slaw, which is a combo of shredded broccoli, carrots & red cabbage. Sesame was the other major component of the salad. I used both roasted sesame seeds and sesame oil to give the dish a nice strong sesame flavor. I love sesame!
A bag of broccoli slaw caught my eye recently while food shopping, and I nabbed it with memories of a salad I’ve had in mine. My mom’s friend used to make this broccoli slaw salad that I liked, and though I couldn’t remember exactly what was in it, I knew that it involved crunchy Ramen Noodles. I’ve never really eaten the packaged noodles on their own before, though I already figured that they don’t offer your body anything great. But when I got to the noodle aisle at the food store and looked at the packaging, I simply could not put them in my cart. Maybe it was checking out the preservatives they contain to keep their ridiculously long shelf-life that made me say No thank you! Or it could have been the packaging noting the possibility that the vegetable noodles contained shellfish that grossed me out. Whatever it was, I just didn’t feel like these noodles offered me anything nutritious and I no longer had a yen for them. So with that, I ditched the over-processed crap and instead came up with a healthy, tasty salad that I absolutely loved!
Besides it being the first time I made a broccoli slaw salad, it was also the first time I’ve tried these babies:
I like eating meat-like substitutes every now and then, and these Gardein seven grain crispy tenders caught my eye because their ingredient list was short with all easily pronounced words – always a positive thing!
I incorporated a few of the tenders into the salad. Overall, I really liked them. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was their lack of crispiness. I generally like my food a bit crispy, and the tenders were more on the soft side after I cooked them in the toaster. Nevertheless, the tenders were a nice addition to the salad!
Asian Sesame Broccoli Slaw Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups of broccoli slaw
- 1/2 cup of canned mandarin oranges
- 2 Gardein vegetarian crispy tenders cooked
- 2 TSP roasted sesame seeds
- 1/2 TBSP sesame oil
- 1/2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 TBSP soy sauce
- Sprinkle of sea salt
Instructions
- Place broccoli slaw and mandarin oranges in a salad bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and a touch of sea salt. Mix together well.
- Pour the dressing over the slaw and add the crispy tender slices.
- Sprinkle the sesame seeds over top and enjoy!
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