Asian Sunflower Seed Dressing

My garden is in full bloom. Yeah! This spring  I brought in new soil and made some raised beds.  Unfortunately my garden got wiped out last year from hurricane Sandy, OK things happen. I am grateful we had no damage to the house like so many others. I am keeping the new and improved garden small and manageable.  Right now the  garden is full of greens.   As you can see I have lots of lettuce, arugula, kale and swiss chard. All my favorites. I got a new garden hat in Vietnam this winter, it is so cute!

I eat salad every day for lunch.  I like to use a creamy dressing which I often make from seeds.  I like making dressings with seeds, this way you get protein along with some healthy fat.  The sunflower seeds provide protein,  are very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of  Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Copper, Manganese and Selenium, and  a very good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol). This dressing is one of my favorites. To make your salad more of a meal try this sunflower seed dressing

Asian Sunflower Seed Dressing

Vegan, Gluten Free, Paleo, Dairy Free

3-4 servings

½ cup sunflower seeds*
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tb fresh ginger chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 Tb dark sesame oil
2 Tb wheat free tamari
Pinch cayenne
¼ tsp Celtic sea salt
¾-1 cup water

• Put all ingredients into a blender except the salt and water.
• Add ½ cup of the water and blend to a smooth paste
• Add the rest of the water to desired consistency, it will thicken when you refrigerate it, so you want it to be pourable
• Taste for salt, add if desired.
• Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. This dressing will keep for 4 days.

*Nutrition Note:  Soak sunflower seeds 4 hours for easier digestion