Fat-free Spinach Salad with Not-Bacon Bits and Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing

Re-Post:

Back in the early 1990's when we were just out of college and up to our eyeballs in student loan debt, our first jobs were located in downtown Spokane, WA.  It was a special treat to meet for lunch and one of our favorite places was called the Metro Cafe in the skywalk downtown.
They served many items but two worth mentioning are the Spinach Salad and the fresh Root Beer on tap.  Good memories!  The salad was made in a large stainless steal tray and consisted of Spinach, Honey-Mustard salad dressing, a choice of boiled egg or tomato and real bacon bits.  It was awesomely yummy.

So now to recreate that, we can't have the boiled egg or the real bacon or the oily salad dressing but we can have lots of spinach, an oil-free honey mustard vinaigrette dressing and TVP Bacon Bits.  To use something to replace the boiled egg I am going to toss in a few specially seasoned tofu crumbles.

Recipe for Fat-free Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

1/8 cup rice vinegar
1/8 cup water
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 clove garlic, diced very fine
1 teaspoon flaxseed meal
salt and pepper to taste
Blend well and let sit for a few minutes to let the flavors meld. (Meld is a good word, isn't it?)

Tofu crumbles

1/2 cup extra firm tofu, pressed and crumbled
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon custard powder
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dill
Using your bare hand, stir this all together and set aside to use as a topping to your salad.

Not Bacon Bits

1/2 cup TVP  Granules
1 /4 cup boiling water combined with the following:
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon
Rehydrate TVP with the water mixture for 15 minutes and then toss into a very warm skillet to dry it back out.  Now you have flavored TVP Granules--just like store-bought only better and less expensive!

A large bowl of spinach that has been washed and trimmed but not too wet.
1 tomato, diced 1/2"
Add salad dressing, as much as you like, and lightly toss with bacon bits.  Plate it up and sprinkle the tofu crumbles on top.  Sprinkle with pepper if you dare.
Enjoy your lunch and think of Spokane and oh, to be young again.