Chili Chickpea Caesar – Vegan

Another one for the salad vaults – and yes there have been a tonne of them lately. Why? Well, because I am cooking mostly only 1 creative meal per day and that is at dinnertime when I can spare the minutes of my life to do this. To add, I’m in contest prep currently and salad-type meals are the best for my waistline at this point – yours too!

This heart healthy salad took about 10 minutes to put together….less waiting for your chickpeas to firm up. In total you’ll need about 45 minutes to get this done so may I suggest this tempo:

Get home, preheat your oven then slip into something more comfortable…….put on some tunes, crack a bottle of Perrier with a slice of lime and romance this one together. You’ll need to get your kissing on before you eat this one…she’s a garlic-y doozer which I used to my advantage trying to overcome this poorly timed flu.

Dressing Ingredients: 

2 tbsp Vegenaise or any other type of vegan mayo.

1 large clove garlic

Juice of 2 lemons

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

3 tbsp water

1/2 tsp Himalayan salt

1/2 tsp tri-colour pepper (freshly ground)

Salad Ingredients:

2 cans chickpeas

4 cups kale torn to small pieces

2 cups romaine lettuce chopped into small pieces

1 tsp Chili powder

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp avocado oil

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large mixing bowl add both cans of rinsed chickpeas with chili powder, garlic powder, salt and avocado oil. Mix well.

Spread over baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, remove from oven & stir/mix and bake for another 12 minutes or until desired firmness is reached.

While these are baking combine all your dressing ingredients in a wide mouth mason jar and blend with a hand blender. If you do not have a hand blender simply ensure all your ingredients are minced as finely as possible and whisk in a deep vessel with a fork.

Toss greens in dressing and top salad with roasted chickpeas. You can even use these chickpeas as a simple appy to replace salty crackers or nuts.

Serves 2-4 people. 2 as a full meal, 4 as a side.

Nutritional Info: 

Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 725
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 16 g	25 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	9 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 5 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 3 mg	1 %
Sodium 836 mg	35 %
Potassium 6209 mg	177 %
Total Carbohydrate 128 g	43 %
Dietary Fiber 57 g	229 %
Sugars 32 g
Protein 42 g	85 %
Vitamin A	4130 %
Vitamin C	237 %
Calcium	96 %
Iron	145 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

 

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White bean dip – Vegan

  

  

Filling, creamy and a great source of protein. A simple bean recipe can edge out dips and spreads with ease.

Try this simple 5 minute recipe on for size.

Ingredients:

1 large can of Cannelloni Beans with juice

3 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup water in case of dryness

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

Method: 

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve with crackers or veggies for dip. Use as a great sandwich/pita/flat bread spread!

Zuch haystacks

This recipe was rolled out in an effort to get rid of a lot of zucchini….lets face it, the stuff grows like a weed. Luckily it’s also super versatile and practically calorie free. No really, there are just 19 calories in one cup of raw zucchini.

This is a simple and quick recipe, feel free to play around with it…I wasn’t over the moon about the way the almond meal worked and would have rather used regular gluten-free flour.

Ingredients:

2 large zucchini shredded

2 eggs or equivalent in egg replacer

1 tbsp hemp hearts

3 cloves garlic, pressed or diced

3/4 cup flour (your choice)

1.5-2 tbsp unscented coconut oil for frying

Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Take shredded zucchini and lightly salt. Let sit for 5 minutes. Strain out all excess moisture.

Add all ingredients in bowl and mix well. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon worth for each “patty”.

On stove-top heat up 1/2 tsp of oil at a time over medium-high heat. Do not let it smoke.

Transfer spoonful into hot pan, squish down into small patty. Cook for 3 minutes each side, until browned well.

Transfer to plate with paper towel and serve hot.

 

Baked Curried Cauliflower

I love cauliflower, I love the taste and versatility it contains. While the gas isn’t a highlight, it’s well worth the punishment when you get a recipe right.

I FINALLY got this one down and once baked you can’t help but devour it all. I suggest DOUBLING this recipe right off the bat as Jeff and I ate this whole dish to ourselves.

You’ll only need one measly mixing bowl and a few ingredients to blow your own mind here – I said it.

Ingredients: 

1 medium head of cauliflower washed and broken down into large florets.

1.5 tbsp of veganaise

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp turmeric

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf italian parsley

2 tbsp chopped chive or green onion (green parts only)

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Salt & Pepper to taste

**add Cayenne if you love heat!!!!!

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees – please make sure it’s a true 400!!

Next cauliflower in all ingredients but fresh herbs. It should look a little something like this:

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes then turn and bake for 19 more.

Transfer to mixing bowl, dust with salt, pepper and add fresh herbs. Toss and serve hot!

I find this dish to be delish on its own however, you could try my lime infused aioli or  my sriracha aioli for dipping/drizzle.

Pickled carrot and daikon

 

Pickled radish & carrot

This recipe is a good one for keeping some of this yummy deliciousness around all year. The end product should store well for a year or so in a closed mason jar in your fridge. You can use this for soups, salads and dressings to zip it up a notch.

I have used this in my Bahn Mi recipe as well as hot and sour soup and asian salads.

Ingredients:

5 carrots

1 large daikon

1.5 cups white vinegar

2 tbsp agave nectar

1 cup warm water

Method:

Julienne or grate carrot and daikon into bowl. Mix in all wet ingredients and let stand at least one hour before use.

Vegetarian Naan Pizza in 15 minutes

A meal on the fly.

It was another one of those nights when you get home to “nothing” in the fridge or cupboards. I remembered (luckily) that I had a couple of frozen balls of naan bread dough in the freezer & with our recent local and organic fresh food order, we had PIZZA!

By far, Pizza  has to be our favourite fast food meal and if done right, isn’t unhealthy in the least. I opt out of any type of traditional pizza sauce with this one so that the flavour of the bread can be enjoyed.

Enjoy this one.

Ingredients:

1 small yam grated

1 cup spinach packed

1 tomato diced

1.5 cups broccoli florets

1 cup cheese or cheeselike product shredded

1/2 red pepper sliced

1 jalepeno cut into small rings

Naan – enough to roll into a 8-10 inch thin crust for pizza. Follow THIS RECIPE for my homemade Garlic Naan.

Method:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees and let run at this temp while prepping.

Roll out Naan dough on floured surface until SUPER thin.

Layer all ingredients however you wish onto naan. Top with cheese OR top with cheese and finish with jalepenos in case they are too hot for you. This way, the cheese absorbs some flavour and you can still pick off the hot bits before chowing down.

Place on baking sheet or pizza sheet or pre-heated pizza stone.

Cook in oven for 5-7 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

Enjoy.

Serves 2 starving adults or can be sliced up into small squares as an appy.

Health tips: 

Broccoli – full of iron & vitamin Common cold killer.

Spinach – loaded with protein, high in potassium and magnesium. Great for Veg-heads.