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Have you ever had Kale?
Kale is a dark leaf that is packed with vitamins and is chock full of health benefits, which are delivered best when consumed raw, but it is dry as paper.
There is a family member that keeps bringing huge bags of Kale into the home, however I end up eating most of it.
How?
Because of this dressing.
Autoimmune Paleo Mango dressing is light, creamy, with a tangy kick. Surprisingly even the little kids like it, comparing it to honey mustard dressing, if such a picky eaters can approve of this dressing, it must be great!
Equipment
Blender
Knife
Cutting Board
Peeler
Juicer (Hand) (Optional)
Microwave Safe Bowl (Optional)
Ingredients
2 Cups Mango Chunks
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Ginger Root
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Shredded Carrots
Instructions
- Prepare Mango Chunks (Microwave for 2-3 minutes from frozen, or cut up 2-4 fresh Mango into chunks amounting to 2 cups)
- Squeeze the juice of the Lemon into juicer
- Peel ginger root
- Add all ingredients to the blender
- Blend
- Serve
Yields: 6-8 servings
Speedy Recipe
This is one of the shortest recipes that I have ever made, which is good, because as long as I have the ingredients on hand it will be super easy to make.
The real work comes in getting each ingredient together. Prepping for each ingredient can be somewhat time consuming if you are not used to it.
Since I make this recipe so often, it usually takes me less than five minutes. Afterwards there will be enough dressing to be used for at least 5-6 individual meals. The standard serving size would be like many dressings at about 1/4 cup per person, but if my meal is larger then more will be used.
Oftentimes when eating with family the dressing is used as a dipping sauce when eating the white meat portion of a rotisserie chicken, as it is likened by my relatives as a honey mustard-like sauce,and in my home it is treated as such.
Under most normal circumstances though, this dressing is used for salad and potentially for wraps if I have enough coconut wraps on hand.
Packs A Punch
One time I made this recipe without lemon juice and it was not the same, it was certainly sweeter, but the tanginess was missed. The added liquidity from the lemon juice creates a smoother and more robust taste.
Another comparison from my younger family members was that with the shreds of carrots and the slight bitterness, that the mango dressing resembled a yellow version of ranch dressing.
The ginger really brings the heat to the mango dressing, making it acceptable throughout the year, as ginger is well consumed in the winter months by many as a herbal remedy to keep from getting sick. If you eat a lot of this dressing you may be overwhelmed due to the ginger, which is why sticking to the serving size may be for the best.
Originally this was supposed to be a Carrot Ginger dressing, however I have always detested the chunky and gritty texture of it. At the time those were all that were on hand to provide inspiration.
Normally shredded carrots are eaten in my AIP tacos or topping for an AIP salad. Though it was already decided that it would be made into a dressing at that point, it took time for me to figure out exactly how through experimenting in my kitchen.
For whatever reason an idea occurred to me to add mango as a base, which turned out creamier than expected. At first it seemed like a smoothie rather than a dressing, but adding the olive oil gave it a step up.
Olive Oil was a surprising addition to this recipe, it was added to provide a more dressing aftertaste that you would sense from most vinaigrettes, which it imitates superbly. Who knew mango and olives went so well together!
Thrown Together
It was fortunate that my pantry both dry and refrigerated consistently had these items in stock. Ginger is often kept, especially during the winter months, as lemons for tea and also Olive Oil to prepare Autoimmune Protocol meals.
The shredded carrots were the wild card, due to us not often having them without a purpose. Usually when any of us buy shredded carrots they are consumed fast, but these shredded carrots were purchased on a whim with no plan on what to do with them.
I believe that the shredded carrots to add a necessary element to the dressing in the way that parsley are to ranch dressing.
Do not use any larger form of carrots or else it will not turn out as creamy. In an attempt to use the baby carrots on hand, the dressing came out chunky, since then this substitution has never been repeated.
Shredded carrots have just the right amount of matchstick thickness to be pureed into the tiniest assortments that add color, sweetness, and a slight bite to this creamy mango dressing.
At home there is no high end equipment used to make this particular recipe. The simple self-serve blender that one can get from any widespread store chain can whip this dressing up in a jiffy.
Because all of these ingredients combined create a perfect balance with their underlying consistency when blended, even the most budget blender can handle these components well without too much prodding.
Concluding Thoughts
Do you have all of these ingredients already in your pantry?
If you do, try this recipe today!
It is sure to not disappoint.
Prior to Autoimmune Protocol you may have loved the bittersweet dressings, and unfortunately you had to give them up because they are full of processed ingredients. Well miss them no more!
This Autoimmune Paleo Creamy Mango Dressing will fill that void.
Personally I enjoy making it as much as eating it, feeling so accomplished after making this to top off wonderful meals that need a little something extra.
As always I look forward to finishing every smooth taste that is on my plate, and I am certain that you will too!
What do you think of this recipe?
Please tell me by leaving a comment below!
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Hey Kirsten, I love your blog!
I’m an AIP-oldie as well, I’ve been eating this way for 3 years now. I still love some new ideas and inspiration from time to time… 🙂
I have a question: The ingredients list 1/4 shredded carrots. What’s the unit, is it cups? Or is it one fourth of a carrot to be shredded?
Thanks 🙂
Hello Juliane!
I appreciate you so much for checking out my blog ? Apologies for the confusion, it is 1/4 cup of shredded carrots, which can be store bought from a package or shredded from scratch ? The amount will be corrected right away, thank you so much for catching that Juliane ? Have an incredible day!