Chopped Salad with Miso Dressing

This past weekend I was on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas for my cousin’s bachelorette party. (I know, decease life is hard.) Cruises mean food 24 hours a day. Breakfast buffet, snack, lunch, snack, 3-course meal, the bar and late-night pizza. All in all, more food (and beverage) than I’m used to. So, this week is all about detox for me, and I made this super tasty chopped salad with a slightly sweet miso dressing. I felt healthy just looking at it…and eating it was was no chore either.

A chopped salad is so much more pleasant than one with big, chunky toppings. Especially when you eat it at your desk and your office has no walls. Much neater. This salad starts with some baby spinach, small enough that chopping isn’t necessary. Pile on your favorite chopped veggies and proteins — radishes, hard-boiled egg, Canadian bacon, Havarti cheese and carrots in my case. Then drizzle with a little miso dressing and dig in.

I’m posting this salad and others this week as part of The Cruise Cleanse. Stay tuned for Taco Salad later this week.

Chopped Salad with Miso Dressing
Use your favorite salad toppings here…anything goes. Artichoke hearts would be good, so would sunflower seeds, roasted red peppers, green onions, hearts of palm, etc.


5 - 6 large handfuls of baby spinach
6 slices Canadian bacon, browned and chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
8 radishes, shredded
1 cup shredded carrots
4 oz. Havarti cheese, shredded
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup unseasoned brown rice vinegar (or unseasoned rice vinegar)
1 tbsp. miso paste (I used yellow)
1 tsp. honey

Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, miso paste and honey together until miso paste is completely dissolved (or use your immersion blender).

Assemble your salad ingredients and toss with the dressing. Serve immediately with soup or a whole grain roll.

Makes 2 big salads, 4 smaller salads.