Arugula & Apple Salad with Creamy Mustard Dressing

 The “Arugula & Apple Salad with Creamy Mustard Dressing” (page 50) is a bright and delicious blend of greens and fruit, dressed with a tangy mustard dressing, as the name suggests. Very quickly assembled, this salad makes a great starter to any meal, and is open to variation – different greens, different varieties of apples, mixing up the choice of fresh herbs.

The dressing calls for a lot of olive oil, 1/3 cup to be exact, which packs 630 calories and 71 grams of fat. Not to worry, though! It is easy to make this dressing fat free, without sacrificing any of the flavor. The secret is guar gum (see guar gum here). An emulsifier and thickener, a little goes a long way, and if you can find it in bulk, likely ½ cup will last you all year. In this recipe, I substituted 1/3 cup water for the oil, mixed it with the rest of the dressing ingredients (white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and parsley), and added just ¼ teaspoon of guar gum. Mix thoroughly, then let it sit for about 15-30 minutes, and the dressing will thicken up perfectly! I liked this dressing so much, I plan to make it in the future for other salads as well.

Keeping it “McDougall Friendly” checklist:

• Use water instead of oil when making the dressing, adding ¼ teaspoon of guar gum to emulsify and thicken.