Strawberry Spinach Salad with Greek Yogurt Poppy Seed Dressing

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Have you ever tried Brianna's Homestyle Poppy Seed Dressing?  It's rich and creamy.  If you've tried it, you know its the BEST, right?!!  One of the most delicious salad dressings ever!!  But just like all of those delicious store bought dressings, it's got some problems.  The biggest problem being that the main ingredient is canola oil.  I'm big on counting macros.  But I know it's not just the quantity of foods that count, but the quality.  One reason why canola oil is not the best choice of fat is because it contains a very high level of omega-6 fatty acids.  

Omega-6 Fatty Acids are necessary for human health, but its the balance between omega-3 and omega-6 that we need to pay attention to.  Most people have WAY too many Omega-6 fatty acids in their diet which is a leading cause of inflammation.

The American diet is loaded with processed junk.  Most processed foods are cooked with vegetables oils, specifically canola, or even worse, soybean.  Look at the label on almost any salad dressing.  The main ingredient will be.... surprise, canola oil!  

So how do you have a delicious poppy seed dressing without all of that nasty canola or soybean oil?  GREEK YOGURT!!!  This homemade poppy seed dressing was more than delicious.  One of my absolute favorite salads is strawberries, spinach, goat cheese, pecans, and poppy seed dressing.  This was a huge hit, and since I used non-fat greek yogurt, it only had 3 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons, verses the 14 grams of fat found in Brianna's dressing.  SCORE!!!

I used the Perfect Baked Chicken from yesterdays post to turn this salad into a complete meal.  Check out the dressing recipe below!! 

Greek Yogurt Poppy Seed Dressing

This makes 5 Tablespoons.  Just double the recipe to make more.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup non-fat greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

1/2 - 1 Tablespoon honey

1/2 Tablespoon Light Olive oil

1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Pinch of salt

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together 

Macros (1 Tablespoon):

1 gram Protein/4 grams Carbs/1.5 grams Fat

I used the Poppy Seed Dressing for the PERFECT salad:  

- Perfect Baked Chicken Breast (check out yesterday's post)

- Sliced strawberries

- Crumbled goat cheese

- Chopped pecans

- Spinach

- 2 Tablespoons dressing 

Oh.My.Goodness.  This salad was heaven.  Enjoy!!