Baby Kale, Avocado, Pomegranate & Walnut Salad

This is a super easy salad that's sure to impress your guests ;)

Baby Kale, Avocado, Pomegranate & Walnut Salad w/ A Lemon Mustard Dressing

Serves 2

For Salad:

• 1 box Organic Baby Kale (I like these two brands)
• 1/2 Large Avocado (or 1 whole small one), diced
• 1/2 Pomegranate
• 2 Hand-fulls of Walnuts, chopped

For Dressing:

• Juice from 1/2 Fresh Lemon
• 1/4 C EVOO (My most favourite brand)
• 1tsp Dijon Mustard, heaping (I used tarragon flavour, but plain works too)
• Himalayan Sea Salt & Pepper

➨ Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small jar and shake well.

➨ Toss kale with about 2 tbls of dressing and use your hands to massage dressing on the leaves.

➨ Divide dressed kale into 2 bowls and top with pomegranate seeds, cubed avocados and chopped walnuts. 

Enjoy ☺

Green Salad w/ Back Beans, Avocado and A Creamy Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Green Salad, Creamy Cilantro Ranch Dressing, Vegan Sour Cream

Green Salad w/ Back Beans, Avocado and A Creamy Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Serves 2

• Mixed Organic Greens (I use a mix of 'Zen Blend' & 'Power Greens'
• 1 C Organic Black Beans (this is great brand because their cans are BPA-free)
•  Grape Tomatos
• 1/2 Avocado, diced
• 2 Tbls Creamy Cilantro Ranch Dressing
• Sunflower Sprouts

➨ Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.

➨ Toss to distribute dressing

➨ Serve in 2 bowls and top with Sunflower Sprouts

You could also add corn, black olives, & your favourite protein to this salad. I just didn't have anything else in the house!

Enjoy ☺

Creamy Cilantro Ranch Dressing & Vegan Sour Cream

Top: Vegan Sour Cream
Bottom: Creamy Cilantro Ranch Dressing

This dressing is DELISH, if I do say so myself! It's wonderful on salad, on tacos, fajitas, or anywhere else you'd like some creamy herbal flavour.  It's dairy-free, but you'd never know it. To make this delicious dressing and sauce, you'll need to first make vegan sour cream - but don't worry, that takes less than 5 minutes!

Vegan Sour Cream
makes 1 cup

• 1C Raw Cashews (soaked in water for 1-3 hours, then rinsed)
• 1/4 C Spring Water
• Fresh Lemon Juice (from 1 large lemon)
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan Sea Salt
• Splash of Apple Cider Vinegar

⇰ Blend all ingredients in a blender until very smooth. A tip to getting things to blend well is to put all the liquid in first, and then the solids. You may need to add more water to get it to the right consistancy.

Vegan Sour Cream

Creamy Cilantro Ranch Dressing
makes about 1 cup

• 1/2 C Vegan Sour Cream
• Fresh Cilantro (1 large handful)
• Fresh Lime Juice (from 2 limes)
• 1/2 tsp (each) Dried Herbs (I used basil, oregano & tarragon. But use whatever dried green herbs you've got)
• 1 Pinch of Himalayan Sea Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

⇰ Blend all ingredients in a blender until very smooth.
⇰ Enjoy the fresh and creamy flavours!

Creamy Cilantro Ranch Dressing {vegan}

Lemon Mustard Marinated Kale

This one was inspired by an amazing salad I had at The Drake the other night. Before this I wasn't the biggest fan of raw kale...But after trying this delicious, tart & mustardy salad I am a full convert. I let mine marinate for at least an hour and up to overnight. It wilts the kale enough to make it more palatable. 

Enjoy!

• 1 Bunch Organic Curly Leaf Kale
• Juice from 1/4 to 1/2 a Lemon
• 1 Tbls White Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tbls (heaping) Grainy Mustard
• 2 Tbls of Your Best EVOO (more if you like it a little less tart)
• 1 pinch Himalayan Sea Salt

☞ Whisk the lemon, vinegar, mustard and salt together in a large bowl.
☞ Slowly add the oil while whisking to emulsify a bit.
☞ Wash kale and tear leaves into edible pieces, discarding the stems.
☞ Toss kale in dressing and set aside in the fridge for an hour and up to overnight.

Eat more greens!

Two Delicious Salads, One Yummy Dressing

Grilled Shrimp & Quinoa Salad, Mango Cashew Salad, Cilantro Lime Dressing

Cilantro Lime Dressing:

• 3 Limes
• 1/2 Bunch of Cilantro Leaves
• 1 Tbsp Tarragon Dijon Mustard (or regular Dijon)
• 1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (good quality)
• Pinch of Sea Salt
• Pinch of Pepper

Chop the cilantro, removing as much of the stems as possible. Add the juice from the lime and all the ingredients into a Magic Bullet or blender. Blend until all ingredients are combined and the dressing is slightly emulsified.
If you don't have a Magic Bullet or Blender to use, then combined all ingredients in a bowl except the oil. Using a metal whisk, whisk vigorously. Keep whisking while you slowly add the oil, a little bit at a time, until all the oil has been combined. This should create the same results....only with a lot more muscle work!

Grilled Shrimp & Quinoa Salad

Grilled Shrimp & Quinoa Salad:

• 2 Cups Quinoa (could use 1 cup regular and 1 cup red quinoa)
• 1 Bag Frozen Shrimp (fresh would be even better!)
• 2 Cans of Corn (if it's corn season, use fresh corn)
• 1 Pint Organic Cherry Tomatoes
• 3 Avocados (firm but ripe)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 Jalapeños (seeded and finely chopped) 
• 1 Bunch Cilantro (use flat leaf parsley & my citrus dressing  if you hate cilantro)
• Dash of Sea Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Cook the quinoa as per package directions. I use a rice cooker for mine and it always comes out perfectly. Let quinoa cool before mixing with the rest of the ingredients.

Defrost and rinse shrimp under cold water. Drain, pat dry & skewer. Grill Shrimp on BBQ for about 3 minutes on each side - Do NOT over cook them!

Now here's the annoying part...once shrimp is cool enough to touch, peel off all the shells. This takes a while but it really makes a difference to your guests - No one likes taking shells off their shrimps once they are in a meal!

Next, slice the tomatoes in halves, lengthwise and add to bowl of cooled quinoa and peeled shrimp.

Add drained or fresh corn kernels.

Cube avocados and soak them in the lime juice for 1 minute. This will prevent them from browning. Add to bowl, discarding leftover lime juice.

Roughly chop the cilantro, using just the leaves (it's ok if there are a few stems in there too :)


Now add approximately 1/4 cup of the Cilantro Lime Dressing, a little dash of sea salt and as much cracked black pepper as you like. Give it a really good toss and voila! You've got yourself a delicious, nutritious salad that will keep for about 4 days in the fridge.
Serves about 12+ side dish sized portions.

Mango Cashew Salad with Spinach & Sunflower Sprouts:

• 1 Box Organic Baby Spinach
• 1 or 2 Yellow Mangoes (I like the sindhri type, but you can use whatever mangoes you like!)
• Sunflower Sprouts (Grow your own! Or buy them at a heath food store)
• Roasted Unsalted Cashews

Cube Mangoes.

Roughly chop the cashews. 

Add all ingredients together in a bowl (use as many or as little sprouts as you like). 

Add approximately 2 tablespoons of the Cilantro Lime Dressing and toss well.

Enjoy!!!

Serves about 4-6 side dishes or 2-3 main dishes. You could add chicken or shrimp to this to make a yummy dinner too.

Chipotle Avocado Dressing & Dip

This little jar may not look like much, but it's full of my super spicy, delcios dip!

• 2 Avocados
• 1 to 4 Chipotle Peppers (depending on how HOT you like it?!)
• Lime Juice (from 1 medium lime)
• 1/8 Cup Olive Oil (use the extra virgin, good stuff!)
• Pinch of Sea Salt
• Pepper to Taste

 

Blend all ingredients in a blender until combined. I used 4 chipotle peppers in mine because I love things really spicy, but I suggest starting with one and working your way up from there!

Enjoy on salads or as a dip.
Lately I've been using this as a dip for Live's Raw Crackers for a fully vegan, healthy midday snack!

Enjoy!

Broccoli Salad with Citrus Dressing

A Super-Easy and Fast Salad

⬅ For the Citrus dressing you will need these ingredients:

✔ 1/2 a Lemon
✔ Dijon Mustard
✔ White Wine Vinegar
✔ Extra Virgin Olive Oil
✔ Sea Salt
✔ Pepper

In a large bowl, whisk together approximately:
➤ 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
➤ Juice of half a lemon
➤ 2 tablespoons of vinegar
➤ 1/8 cup of EVOO
➤ a pinch of salt
➤ as much pepper as you like

For the Salad:
➤ Cut 2 large heads of broccoli into bite size pieces, discarding the stems.
➤ Blanche the broccoli for 1 minute and quickly rinse in cold water or add to ice bath. You DO NOT want to over cook them as it will lead to a soggy salad :(
➤ Drain and dry broccoli and add to bowl with dressing
➤Add sliced olives and sliced roasted red pepers. I used canned olives and a jar of red peppers, but you could use fresh stuff if you have more time on your hands.
➤ Lastly, crumble about 150g of semi-soft cheese into bowl and toss in the dressing. I used Brebis cheese, but you could also use goat cheese or feta.

This lasts for a good day or 2 in the fridge and serves about 4 portions. The key is to not over-cook the broccoli or to over-dress the salad. Leftovers are perfect for lunch the next day!