Category Archives: Salads

Mung Bean Sprout and Barley Salad

Posted on by
s 098

I used parsley for garnish.

I had some freshly sprouted mung beans in the fridge that needed to be eaten, so I decided to make a salad out of it for dinner.  I have made something similar to this in the past but I have used quinoa, corn, spinach, and a different kind of dressing.  But, this version is a bit more simpler.  It is crunchy, filling, tangy, and creamy deliciousness!  You have your beans, your grains, your veggies, nuts, etc.  This is definitely super healthy!

I love sprouting!

Serves 2

Ingredients for the salad:

Tangy and Creamy Dressing:

  • 1/6 cup of almonds
  • 1/4 cup of water (note: you can add more to adjust thickness of dressing)
  • 1 tablespoon of flax seeds
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • juice of one lemon
  • herbamare

Directions:

  1. Blend all the ingredients for dressing in your blender until it is smooth adding herbamare little by little until it is salty enough for you.
  2. Cook barley by following directions on the box/bag it came in.
  3. Drain the barley and set aside.
  4. Put all of your ingredients (barley, mung bean sprouts, tomatoes, carrots, and dressing) in a salad bowl.
  5. Toss and serve (either warm or cold).
  6. Enjoy!

Aunt Ivy’s Everything Coconutty Salad

Posted on by

My little sister Ivy introduced this salad to me in 2008 and I have loved it ever since.  Not only it wonderfully colorful, it is also packed with an explosion of flavors and a variety of textures.  It is so delicious that my 4-year-old child had 3 bowls full of it the other night!  She said, “I love Aunt Ivy’s salad!”

I am glad my sister made this for me years ago because I would have never thought of mixing coconut, onion, and raisins together.  But it totally works!

 

Coconut Vinaigrette dressing:

  • 1/2 cup of coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup of raw apple cider vinegar
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons of coconut nectar or agave (I usually just use a little less than 2, but adjust to your liking)
  • Juice of 1/2 of lemon
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped red onion
  • a few dashes of mesquite powder (optional)
  • salt to taste

Directions:

Place everything in the blender and blend.  Add salt little by little and adjust to your liking.

For the Salad:

  • Mixed greens
  • Red onions (sliced)
  • Apples (chopped)
  • Shredded coconut
  • Cooked quinoa
  • Choice of nuts (I used raw pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds)
  • Raisins

Chipotle Lime Black Bean, Avocado and Jicama “noodle” Salad

Posted on by

I remember eating jicama as a snack when I was a child.  My mom would slice it into french-fry-looking pieces and serve it to us with salt and/or with vinegar.  I loved the mixture of the sea salt and vinegar with the crunch of the jicama.  In my opinion, it tastes a bit like pears, but not as sweet.  Jicama is very nutritious because it contains a lot, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, etc.

I decided to make “noodles” out of the jicama for this salad because I was too lazy to chop it into small squares.   I wanted to make a jicama salad that had that tanginess I was used to.  I also wanted to add more protein and a southwestern taste to it.  So, I added black beans, cilantro, chipotle and lime.

This is such a delicious salad/side dish.  It is refreshing, filling, flavorful and super healthy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of organic black beans (Edens is BPA free.  I usually cook my own beans, but today, i just didn’t have the time)
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 2 avocados
  • 1 medium to large jicama
  • Hand full of cilantro (about 2/3 of a cup)
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon of chipotle powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/3 teaspoons of Celtic sea salt

Directions:

  1. Peel jicama and slice to fit in the food processor.
  2. In your food processor, blend lime juice, salt, oregano, onion powder, chipotle powder, garlic, and cilantro with the S blade.
  3. After it is blended, remove the S blade and replace with he shredding blade.
  4. Close the food processor and shred your jicama.
  5. Pour jicama and blended lime dressing in a large bowl.
  6. Slice avocados and pour it in the large bowl along with your rinsed/drained black beans.
  7. Toss everything together.
  8. Serve and enjoy!

Tangy Sesame Kale Salad

Posted on by

I just love kale.  I love it in smoothies, juices, soups, and I also love it as salad.

Kale is packed with fiber and antioxidants.  It also helps fight off cancer cells, helps lower cholesterol, and it also has anti inflammatory properties.

So, eat more kale!

It is a great source of:

  • Manganese
  • Iron
  • Copper
  • Calcium
  • Fiber
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin K
  • Vitamin E

….and more!  Click here to find out: http://whfoods.org/

 

A couple of years ago, I was introduced to a delicious kale salad from Earthfare (health food store).  The kale salad had sun-dried tomatoes, black-eyed peas, kale, and some kind of sesame oil vinaigrette.  It was delicious.  I forgot what the name of that salad was, but my recipe adapted from that salad.  I just used what I had in my fridge but it turned out pretty yummy.

This salad is flavorful, filling, and healthy.

Ingredients:

  • 8 cups of kale (veins removed and chopped)
  • 1 chopped tomato
  • 1 cup of black beans or black-eyed peas
  • 5 tablespoons of sesame seeds

Dressing ingredients:

  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 3 tablespoons of liquid aminos (for salt)
  • 1.5 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • 3.5 tablespoons of toasted sesame seed oil
  • 1 clove of garlic (finely minced)

Directions:

  1. Prepare your kale (wash, remove vein, and chop).
  2. Place your kale, tomatoes, and beans/peas in a large bowl.
  3. Mix dressing ingredients together.
  4. Pour dressing into your bowl of kale.
  5. Mix dressing into the salad.
  6. Place on your salad plate/bowl and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  7. Serve.

Raw and Delicious Cauliflower

Posted on by

I have always loved cooked cauliflower.  I love them steamed, stir-fried, curried, etc.  But, a few years ago, my little sister Ivy, suggested I try eating them raw.  So she gave me a recipe for a raw-vegan “popcorn” made from the vegetable.  I have been meaning to ask her for the recipe again because I just could not remember everything I needed to make it.  The only ingredients I could think of were the following: onion powder, nutritional yeast and olive oil.  And, I find it difficult to get a hold of my sister these days, so I decided to improvise.

I was very pleased with the outcome of this “popcorn” and I couldn’t believe that it had taken me this long to make it.

I love the citrus tang and overall flavor of this delicious side-dish!

Also, this dish is healthy!  Cauliflower helps fight diseases, it contains a lot of vitamin C, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin K, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 B9, and it is packed with antioxidants.  Nutritional yeast packs a lot of B vitamins (B 6 and B12), protein, riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, folate, etc.  (example: one serving: 1.5 tablespoons = grams of protein, 130% of B12 (DV), and 460% of B6 (DV)).  So, I don’t feel guilty about eating the whole head of cauliflower in one sitting.  :)

Ingredients:

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 5 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of lime or lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of braggs liquid aminos for salt (adjust to preference)

Note: for some heat, add a bit of cayenne pepper.  Also, if you have DULSE granules, use a little bit of that (in replacement of salt) and reduce the amount of liquid aminos.

Directions:

  1. Prepare cauliflower: slice, pull apart, and make into bite sized pieces.
  2. Place cauliflower, olive oil, and lime/lemon juice in a container.
  3. Shake it up.
  4. Add the rest of the ingredients.  Note: add ingredients little by little to adjust to your taste or preferred flavor (saltines).
  5. Shake it up again.
  6. Serve and enjoy!

Curried Maftoul with Broccoli

Posted on by

Last week I purchased some uncooked couscous for the first time.  I usually just get the already-made-couscous-salad from the deli, but I wanted to try making it myself from scratch.

 

I purchased the “Ziyad Brand All Natural Middle Eastern Couscous” because it had an interesting recipe on the box that I wanted to try out (Curried Maftoul).   Note: I am sure it would taste just as good if you used a different brand of couscous (just in case you can’t find this brand).

I have to say, it was pretty delicious!  Which is why I am sharing it with you.  I think you will like this tasty, healthy, and filling dish just as much as we did!

Ingredients (straight from the box):

  • 1 and 1/3 cup of vegetable broth (organic)
  • 1 cup of Ziyad Maftoul
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of small broccoli florets (organic)
  • 1/2 cup of chopped red onion (note: I just used an organic yellow onion because I didn’t have red)
  • 1/3 cup of shredded carrot (organic)
  • 1/4 cup of raisins (organic)
  • 1/4 cup of toasted almond halves or slivered
  • 15 oz. of organic Chick Peas/Garbanzo beans (drained)

Dressing:

  • 2 tablespoons of vinegar (I used Braggs raw apple cider vinegar)
  • 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (organic)
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar (I used a little bit less than a tablespoon of raw agave)
  • 1/2 tsp of sea salt
  • 2 teaspoon of Curry Powder

Directions:

  1. Bring broth to boil and add maftoul, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
  2. Simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes.
  3. Stir on occasion so it doesn’t burn at the bottom.
  4. Make the dressing.
  5. In a large bowl, pour in the cooked maftoul, the rest of the ingredients, and the dressing.
  6. Mix together and serve.

Vegan Thanksgiving

Posted on by

People have asked me what kind of things I serve up during the holidays, so I decided that I would just write a quick blog post to share them with you.

Sometimes, we have the traditional Tofurky Vegetarian Feast served with potatoes, bread, stuffing, etc.  But, lately, I have really been into these delicious Field Roasts!

One of the great things about this roast is that it only took 40 minutes to bake!!!!  I didn’t spend all of my Thanksgiving day making food.  As a matter of fact, I was able to prepare our Thanksgiving meal,  clean my house, do the laundry, and even cut my daughter’s hair!  We had a wonderful and productive day!

Picture is from Tofurky.com

Note: the Tofurky Vegetarian Feast is also super quick to prepare!

Ok, so here is what we had:

  1. Barley Salad with Squash and Broccoli (click for recipe)
  2. Freshly baked bread (click for recipe)
  3. Roasted Garlic Purple mashed potatoes topped off with garlic mushrooms (recipe below)
  4. Field Roast
  5. Pumpkin Pie
  6. Vegan Wine

And, oh it was heavenly!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Boil potatoes for about 15 minutes or so.
  2. Remove the garlic from the skin after it has been roasted.
  3. Place all ingredients in a large bowl.
  4. Blend all together.
  5. Top it off with mushrooms (recipe below).

Sauteed Garlic, Onions and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of mushrooms (sliced)
  • 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 1/2 of an onion (chopped)
  • 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat olive oil in a pan.
  2. Add garlic and onions.
  3. After a minute, add mushrooms, salt and pepper.

Click here for more info on this delicious roast! (pictuew from http://www.fieldroast.com)

So, for you vegans who haven’t tried this roast before, I highly recommend it.  And, for you non-vegans, you should try this as well!….you will be very surprised!

Martha Stewart’s Barley Salad with Squash And Broccoli

Posted on by

Technically this is Sarah Carey's salad recipe, but it was on the Martha Stewart site, so I just titled it "Martha Stewart's...."

Last week a friend of mine had us over her house to celebrate another friend’s birthday and she served us a delicious barley salad and fresh-baked bread.  I loved the salad so much that I had to ask for the recipe.  So, she sent me this link (Martha Stewart’s website): http://www.marthastewart.com/864334/barley-salad-squash-and-broccoli.

So, after a few days, I decided to make this dish.  Unfortunately, I was not able to find organic acorn squash at the store down the street and I didn’t feel like driving 20 minutes to the local health food store, so I just used organic yellow squash instead.  I also added a little bit more almonds and some garlic.

Check out the link above for the original recipe!….It is delicious!

My “tweeked” version is delicious just as well!  So delicious, I am making it again and sharing it with you!

Ingredients:

  • 7 cups of broccoli
  • 1.5 cups of quick-cooking barley
  • 2 large yellow squash (chopped)
  • 1 cup of chopped almonds (unsalted or raw)
  • 1/2 cup of raisins
  • 5 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons of onion (finely chopped)
  • 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. In a large baking pan, pour in your broccoli, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  3. In another large baking pan, pour in your chopped yellow squash, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  4. Bake the broccoli for 15 minutes.
  5. Bake Squash for 20 minutes.
  6. While the veggies are baking,  heat up a skillet/wok/pan (medium heat) and spray it with about a tablespoon of olive oil and add the chopped onions and minced garlic.  Stir frequently so it doesn’t burn.  Cook for about 5 minutes.
  7. Cook barley according to package instructions.
  8. In a large salad bowl, pour in lemon juice, broccoli, squash, raisins, almonds, barley, salt and pepper.
  9. Mix together.
  10. Serve.

Gardein Crispy Nuggets Goddess Veggie Wrap

Posted on by

This is what we had for dinner this evening.  It is light, flavorful, and delicious!

I just love the crispiness of the nuggets and veggies with the goddess dressing.

If you want to try this out, here is what you will need:

I served garlic sweet potatoes with this.  For Garlic Sweet Potato Recipe, click here.

Directions:

  1. Bake sweet potatoes  and Gardein nuggets (follow the instructions on the package for the nuggets).
  2. When the potatoes and nuggets are baked, you can heat up your wrap on the griddle.
  3. Layer veggies on the wrap/tortilla.
  4. Add the crispy nuggets and goddess dressing.
  5. Roll it up into a burrito.
  6. Serve and enjoy!

Asian Noodle Salad

Posted on by

I needed to make something yummy with all of my CSA vegetables I had sitting in my fridge.  I also wanted to incorporate delicious Asian flavors to it.   So, I made Asian noodles.  This is my first time making these, so, I just had to guess and come up with a salad dressing recipe…and, it turned out pretty lovely!

This is a bit tangy, pea-nutty, gingery, and delicious!…spicy is optional. I just love eating delicious and healthy food!

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of Buckwheat Soba Noodles
  • 2 cups of mung bean sprouts
  • 1 cup of cilantro (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup of green onions (diced)
  • 1 cup of yellow squash (diced)
  • 1 large carrot (thinly sliced)  (I used a spiralizer Click on PRODUCTS to see which one I use)
  • 1 bell pepper (chopped)
  • 2 cups of baby spinach
  • Peanuts for topping
  • 2 cups or 8 oz. of sliced baby bella mushrooms or shitake mushrooms (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil (optional)
  • Fresh cayenne pepper (sliced) ….(optional)

Dressing Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup of liquid aminos (Braggs)
  • 1/4 cup of raw apple cider vinegar (Braggs)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger (chopped into tiny little pieces)
  • 2 cloves of minced garlic
  • 5 to 6 tablespoons of Nori Kumi Furikake Rice Seasoning (sesame seeds and seawead)

Directions for dressing: Combine all ingredients and mix together.

Directions for Salad:

  1. Cook and drain buckwheat soba.
  2. Slice veggies and place in a large bowl.
  3. Note: you can use raw mushrooms, but I chose to lightly saute it in some olive oil before mixing with the noodles.
  4. Add noodles.
  5. Add mushrooms.
  6. Add dressing and mix well.
  7. Serve in a salad bowl and top it off with some peanuts and cayenne pepper (optional).