Coleslaw is a great salad that can be paired with many meals as a complementary side dish. Unfortunately for many individuals following a paleo diet meal plan, coleslaw traditionally contains dressings made with ingredients that are decidedly not paleo-friendly, such as mayonnaise. To work around this, we wanted to share this recipe that features a dressing made with all natural ingredients that makes use of avocado as a base. The end result is a creamy, delicious coleslaw with avocado dressing that combines tasty shredded vegetables with the healthy monounsaturated fats found in avocados.
Healthy Homemade Avocado Dressing
Instead of using traditional coleslaw dressing ingredients such as mayonnaise and vinegar, we’ve opted for a dressing that’s whipped up entirely from scratch. Using a single pitted avocado, we also include garlic, lime juice, olive oil, chili flakes, black pepper, and salt to taste. They all add up to making a salad dressing that’s heavy on heart healthy fats and will no doubt have you coming back for seconds.
Hold the Mayo – Use These Healthy Heart Friendly Fat Options Instead
Instead of using mayonnaise, this dressing recipe relies heavily on avocado and olive oil to produce its creamy texture. The end result is a great paleo-friendly low carb side dish that’s loaded with healthy fats
1. Avocado
Avocado is regarded as a superfood that’s loaded with nutrients, containing even more potassium than bananas along with a wide variety of other vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B5, B6, C, E, K, and folic acid. Avocados also contain a large amount of dietary fiber which is vital to include in the diet. A single avocado also contains about 15 grams of fat, with the majority of it coming in the form of healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. (1,2)
2. Olive Oil
Olive oil is another rich source of healthy fats that we have included in the dressing. A longstanding staple of the classic Mediterranean diet, olive oil is known to lower inflammation within the body and protect against heart disease. It even has many different antibacterial properties thanks to the nutrients it contains. (3,4,5)
What really makes these two healthy ingredients shine in this dressing recipe though is that the monounsaturated fats they both contain is oleic acid.
Oleic Acid – A Potent Antioxidant
Oleic acid is an omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acid antioxidant that holds many great health benefits. It reduces blood pressure, increases fat burning, and it’s even been shown to reverse type 2 diabetes in mice. Most importantly though, it protects your cell membranes from the damage caused by harmful free radicals. (6) Free radicals are formed naturally via processes within our bodies as well as from external stressors found in the environment. They can cause premature aging, certain types of cancers, and cellular death.
Not only does this avocado dressing recipe serve as a deliciously creamy replacement for traditional coleslaw dressing, but it’s also incredibly healthy for your heart while protecting your body from free radical damage.
Once you try out this coleslaw salad recipe using avocado and olive oil in your dressing, you’ll most likely find it hard to go back to more traditional salad dressings again. As a final recommendation, in order to get the most health benefits from using olive oil, you should make sure that you are using extra virgin olive oil. A great organic extra virgin olive oil that we recommend can be purchased here.
- 2 carrots ( various colors), julienned
- 3 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 bell peppers (various colors), julienned
- 1 fennel, julienned
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 8 radishes, sliced
- 1 avocado, pitted
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- Put the avocado, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chili flakes, black pepper and salt in a blender or food processor.
- Blend together until smooth.
- In a bowl, add the prepared veggies and dressing and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately.
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Paleo Slaw with The Best Homemade Avocado Dressing Ever
Harper
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