Southwestern Salad

INGREDIENTS

For the salad:

• 2 organic sweet potatoes

• 1 tbsp organic olive oil

• 1 heaping tsp each cumin and chili powder (plus a sprinkle of cayenne if you like it hot)

• sea salt and pepper to taste

• 1 14-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 14-ounce can chick peas, rinsed and drained

• 1 romaine heart, chopped

For the cilantro dressing:

• half an avocado

• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 cup cilantro leaves and stems

• 1 small clove of garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• a squeeze of lime juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and chop into bite-sized pieces. Mix the olive oil, cumin, and chili powder together in a small bowl. Brush mixture on sweet potatoes. Roast for 10 minutes. Stir or shake the pan. Turn heat up to 425, and roast for another 10-15 minutes. Check, stir, and bake until the sweet potatoes are just barely brown on the outside. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Meanwhile, pulse all the dressing ingredients in a food processor until mostly smooth.

3. Toss the beans, chick peas, lettuce, and sweet potatoes with the dressing. Serve with chips and/or the other half of the avocado for extra yum!

Grilled Romaine w/ Avocado Lime Dressing

INGREDIENTS

2 organic romaine hearts, washed, trimmed, and sliced in half

1 clove of garlic, chopped up

2 tablespoons olive oil

a pinch of sea salt and pepper

AVOCADO LIME DRESSING

1 ripe avocado

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon organic olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped all small

½ teaspoon honey

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup water

sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

For the dressing, put all the ingredients in a small food processor or blender and combine until creamy. Add sea salt and mix. If it looks too thick, add more water until it looks like salad dressing. Pour it all into a small container and refrigerate until the lettuce is ready.

To grill the romaine hearts, heat the grill to a medium-low heat. While the grill heats up, mix the garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper in a little cup.  Brush or spoon the oil mixture to the cut side of the lettuce. Place the lettuce face down on the grill for 60 seconds or until there are clear grill marks and the leaves are beginning to wilt. Flip the hearts over and grill the other side for another 60 seconds. You want the leaves to look charred. When they look good, put them on a plate and sprinkle with dressing. Top with sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and plenty of black pepper.

Avocado Beet Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium-sized beets (any color), green tops removed, beets scrubbed clean

• 1 just ripe avocado

• 1 Orange 

• 1/2 red onion

• 4 ounces mixed green lettuces

• 2 Tbsp slivered almonds, chopped

DRESSING

• 1 Tbsp minced shallot

• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)

• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 Tbsp fresh orange juice

• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

• 1 teaspoon orange zest

• A Pinch of sea salt

• 1/3 cup good quality light olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1 Place beets in a medium saucepan and cover with an inch of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to maintain a low simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the beets, until easily pierced with the tines of a fork.

When done, drain, peel off the outer thick skin, and let the beets cool to room temp.

2 Whisk together the citrus vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.

3 When the beets are cool and you are ready to serve, cut the beets in half and the halves into wedges. 

4 Cut and peel the avocado, onion and orange, cut into chunks . Toss the salad greens with half of the citrus vinaigrette. Arrange the dressed greens on serving plates.

Arrange the beet, avocado, orange and onion on top of the salad greens. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette over the salads.

 

 

Seaweed Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ounce dried red dulse seaweed

• 1 ounce dried green wakame seaweed

• 2 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar

• 2 teaspoons grated ginger

• ½ teaspoon wasabi powder

• 2 teaspoons liquid aminos 

• 1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil

•  Juice of 1 lime

•  Sea salt, to taste

• 1 small carrot, peeled and sliced

• 4 red radishes, thinly sliced

• 2 ounces daikon radish, peeled and thinly sliced

• 1 small cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

• 1 firm-ripe avocado, sliced

• 1 teaspoon toasted white sesame seeds

• 1 teaspoon toasted black sesame seeds

• 2 teaspoons toasted pumpkin seeds

• 4 green onions, slivered

DIRECTIONS

1. Put the dulse and wakame in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak 5 to 10 minutes, until softened. Drain in a colander, pat dry and place in a serving bowl.

2. To make the dressing, whisk together the rice vinegar, ginger, wasabi powder, liquid aminos and sesame oil in a small bowl.

3. Spoon half the dressing over the seaweed, add the lime juice and toss gently. Taste and add a small amount of salt if necessary. Surround the salad with the carrot, radish, daikon, cucumber and avocado. Season them lightly with salt and drizzle with the remaining dressing.

4. Sprinkle the salad with the white and black sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and green onions.

Thai Peanut Slaw

INGREDIENTS  

• 4 cups shredded cabbage (any variety you like)

• 2 carrots, peeled & julienned or shredded (about 1 cup)

• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

• 6 scallions (aka green onions), root end and 2 inches of green top removed, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen defrosted in room temp water)

• 1/2 cup rough chopped fresh cilantro

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons organic tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)

• 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons raw honey (local if possible)

• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons creamy organic peanut butter (or almond butter)

• 1 clove garlic, peeled 1 inch knob fresh ginger, peeled & rough chopped Optional: hot sauce or a small fresh jalepeno for heat

DIRECTIONS

Put all of the ingredients for the sauce in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Alternatively, you can finely chop the garlic and ginger and whisk by hand.

Wash and prepare all produce. You can shred by hand with a sharp knife or use the shredding blade in a food processor. The veggie measurements are pretty flexible; adjust to your preference, what you might have on hand, and what’s a good price at the store (e.g. yellow vs red bell pepper).

Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. The cabbage will give off water the longer it’s stored, so the fresher the better.

 

Kale Salad

INGREDIENTS

• I bunch of kale

• sea salt

• 1 cup of chopped snow peas (slice off tough ends first)

• 1 large carrot, peeled & ribboned with a vegetable peeler

• 1 small red bell pepper, deseeded & chopped

• 1 heaping cup of organic edamame (if using frozen, defrost first)

• 1 avocado, pitted & sliced into small chunks

• 1 large shallot, finely sliced

• handful of cilantro, chopped

• handful of basil, chopped 

Tamari-GInger Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 tbsp rice vinegar 

• 1 tbsp finely grated ginger

• 1 tbsp low-sodium tamari (or other soy sauce) 

• 2 tsp lime juice

• 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

DIRECTIONS

Remove the tough ribs form the kale.  Chop the kale leaves into small, bite-sized pieces and transfer them to a mixing bowl.  Sprinkle the kale with a dash of sea salt and use your hands to massage the kale.  Toss the remaining salad dressing ingredients with the kale.

To make vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients until emulsified.  Toss the dressing with the salad & serve.

Vegan Caesar Salad w/ Kale

 

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 large bunch green kale, washed, stemmed and massaged ç

• 2 tablespoons raw hemp seeds

• dressing

Dressing:

• 1 large garlic clove, pressed or grated

• 3 tablespoons raw tahini paste

• 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 2 teaspoons organic tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)

• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil

DIRECTIONS
Prepare the kale (massage with a sprinkle of olive oil & a dash of salt) Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl, then drizzle over prepared raw kale and mix with your clean hands. Sprinkle with hemp seeds.

Avocado Superfood Salad

INGREDIENTS

2 avocados

1 bunch of kale, leaves torn and lightly massaged

Juice of 1 lemon (to squeeze on as dressing)

1/2 cup of parsley

1/2 cup of cilantro

1/4 cup of mint

2 Tbsp goji Berries

2 Tbsp hemp seeds

1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds

Pinch sea salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

Wash and prep greens, avocado, and lemon juice. Mix together in a large bowl, then add goji berries, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sea salt.