Asian Cabbage Salad

I am always on the hunt for a good, filling, flavorful salad.  This salad is now in my top 3!  It is SO amazing!  And so flavorful!  And so filling!  My husband gave me a new cookbook for Mother's Day and while perusing through it I knew I had to try this salad.  The ingredients are so fresh and also very healthy--but don't have that "health food" taste.  I love the crunch that the coleslaw adds to it and the combo of textures from all the veggies and then toasted sesame seeds and sliced almonds is to die for.  I made it to go with another Asian type dish that I'll blog about later and we were dying over this salad.  And my favorite part was that it was STILL good the next day!  That pretty much never happens when you dress a salad.  It's usually soggy and gross the next day.  But not this one!  I will for sure be making this one a regular on our menu!

Asian Cabbage Salad from "Our Best Bites"

1 (14 oz) bag coleslaw mix

1 rib celery, sliced

1/2 cucumber, sliced (I omitted this...we're not fans)

About 20 sugar snap peas

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups cooked, shredded, or diced chicken, optional (but I totally recommend it)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup toasted slivered or sliced almonds

Dressing

2 T canola oil

2 T cider vinegar

1/4 C seasoned rice wine vinegar

2 T sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp garlic powder, or one small garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1. Make dressing first.  Combine all ingredients in a sealed jar and shake extremely well.  Store in the fridge until ready to use.  This step can be done 2-3 days before serving the salad.

2. Place all salad ingredients, except sesame seeds and sliced almonds, in a bowl.  Toss with dressing at lesat 30 minutes before serving.  When you pour on the dressing, you might think it's not quite enough, but when it sits and marinates, it combines with the vegetables and draws out some of the liquid, so there will be plenty of dressing after it sits.

3. Refrigerate the salad for 30-60 minutes.

4. Right before serving, toss the salad with the toasted almonds and sesame seeds.

How to toast sesame seeds:

To toast seeds and nuts, place them in a dry skillet over medium heat.  Stir constantly until golden brown. Let them cool before using.  It's important not to toast more than one type together because of size differences an differences in the amount of oil in each type.

Serves 12: Weight Watchers Points+: 3