I admit to being lazy when it comes to salad. If I can get an assortment of salad greens already washed I am all for it. For Monday’s salad I used a bagged chopped salad that included some bitter greens. I added slivered snow peas and cherry tomatoes. For dressing I used my homemade low calorie Italian dressing.

Mixed greens salad

For the dressing I use a packet of Good Seasons Italian dressing. I follow the instructions for the amounts of water and vinegar but instead of using oil I replace it with the same volume of water. If I am making one packet I then add 1 teaspoon of oil. I put all this in a container that I can use a plunge blender in to whiz it up. As I am whizzing it up, I add 1/8 teaspoon of xanthan gum powder. It is important to use the plunge blender because otherwise the xanthan gum powder tends to clump up. Refrigerator your dressing overnight and you will find that the dressing has a nice viscosity and will not split. The teaspoon of oil is just enough to make the dressing taste almost like a full fat dressing. I usually make two packets at once so all the bother seems worth it. The amount of xanthan gum increases to 1/4 teaspoon and the oil to 2 teaspoons.

The main course of our dinner was orecchiette with broccoli, onions, mushrooms and garlic. Cook the vegetables in olive oil spray while the pasta cooks and then dump the strained pasta into the vegetables. Add some reserved pasta water and a teaspoon of olive oil and you have made a sauce. Really simple, really good.

Orecchiette with broccoli and mushrooms