Bok Choy Slaw with Peanut Dressing

Bok Choy Slaw with Peanut Dressing

This morning, my husband asked me why I hardly ever eat bananas. In comparison, he eats one almost every day. I answered, “I don’t like bananas enough to bother with them because they don’t contain as many nutrients per calorie as the fruits I like better.” To me, they typically aren’t worth the calories. If bananas are the only fruit available, I’ll eat a banana. Otherwise, I won’t.

There are definitely foods with a high calorie content that I find worth the calories, like chocolate: cocoa powder sprinkled on dates – delicious! I can overdo a treat like that.

But the same kind of reasoning applies to many of my food choices: if I like two foods equally, I’ll choose the one with more nutrients per calorie. In a slaw, I prefer to use bok choy rather than green cabbage because bok choy has about twice the amount of calcium per pound as green cabbage. I also like the crispness of the bok choy, but it’s the calcium content that’s the deciding factor.

According to registered dietitian Ginny Messina, as with our meat-eating friends, vegans need to make sure we get enough calcium in our diets. Greens are an excellent source of calcium, and although the calcium in cooked greens is absorbed better than in raw; a salad of bok choy, kale, mustard greens, or turnip greens is still a great source of calcium.

Of course, just knowing that something’s good for you isn’t going to make you want to eat it, but I think you’ll find this salad has terrific taste and texture. 

The peanut dressing contains ginger and lime juice, with sweetness from dates. I could eat it by itself, to be honest. Like chocolate, I love peanuts. But because peanuts are so high in fat, I use  defatted peanut flour in the dressing instead. It still has great peanut flavor. I recommend brands such as Protein Plus, Trim Healthy Mama, and Anthony’s Goods, which do not contain added sodium or sugar. I buy them from Amazon, but you might also find them at your local health food store.

Besides being delicious and crunchy, this salad is pretty; containing red cabbage, red bell pepper, carrots and cilantro as vegetables and a black sesame seed garnish. The cilantro is there for taste, but I chose the others because of their colors. The pigments in plants are not just beautiful, but different pigments contain different nutrients. Isn’t it awesome that you make a recipe healthier just by making it look more appealing?

Of course, if you’re in a rush, you can simplify your life by just tossing the dressing with some chopped up bok choy by itself. I’ve done that myself without feeling the slightest bit guilty. Sometimes we all need to catch a break, and however you’re serving Bok Choy Slaw with Peanut Dressing, you’re making a really healthy eating choice that’s worth the calories. I hope you like it too!

As always, thanks for reading, everyone.

Hugs of kindness,