Simple Kale Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette - Vegan & Gluten Free

I am sure we could all use a little more leafy green veggies in our diet.  Lately I have been trying to work more raw foods into our diet and have been playing with kale salads.

I think I've come up with a nice combination of kale and dressing.  I served this salad a few times with steamed tempeh on the side for a complete meal at dinnertime.  I just drizzled a little leftover dressing over the tempeh when serving.   I have also made it with a few different veggie add-ins such as brown mushrooms.  It makes a great lunch on its own too, just put the dressing in a separate container until ready to eat, then mix.

SIMPLE KALE SALAD WITH PEANUT VINAIGRETTE

INGREDIENTS:

1 large Carrot, julienned or cut in thin rounds
1/2 cup Red Onion, slivered or diced
1 bunch Kale
1/4 cup Olive Oil
3 Tbsp all natural Peanut Butter
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Lime or Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp pure Maple Syrup
1-1/2 tsp minced Garlic
5 - 1/8inch slices fresh Ginger Root
        Sprinkle of Black Pepper and Sesame Seeds to garnish

DIRECTION:

1.  Cut kale into bite size pieces as you remove the leaves from the woody stems.  Wash and spin dry kale pieces and place in large mixing bowl.  Gently, and with both hands, massage the kale for a few seconds to soften the leaves.  You may notice it becomes a slightly brighter green color.

2.  Add carrots, red onion and whatever other veggies you may want.

3.  In food processor or high speed blender (I used a Vitamix), process the olive oil, peanut butter, vinegar, lemon or lime juice, maple syrup, garlic and fresh ginger until smooth and creamy.

4.  Drizzle part of the dressing over the salad.  Start with about half of the dressing since whether you use the entire batch will depend on how big your bunch of kale was, what other veggies you may have added, and how much dressing you like.  Stir with salad tongs or a large spoon or fork.  Add more dressing if desired.    I was making two dinner portions and used just over 2/3 of the dressing.

5.  Plate salad and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and sesame seeds if desired.

On a side note, I purchased a counter top dehydrator yesterday.  I have my first batch of kale chips in there now. I will let you know if they turn out.

- Bon Appetit

"There are two types of people; those who eat kale and those who should." - Bo Muller-Moore
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Cauliflower Tabbouleh - Vegan & Gluten Free

Tabbouleh or Tabouli is an Arab salad usually consisting of bulgur wheat, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, mint, onion, and garlic then seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.

I believe this raw take on it using grated cauliflower is a healthier version than the traditional.

While there are a lot of versions of cauliflower tabbouleh on the internet, I found the original version of this recipe last July and did some slight adjustments to it to make it more suitable for hubby and I.  I am not a huge fan of parsley so I reduced the amount by half.  I also upped the amount of green onions. The original recipe is called Detox Tabbouleh, by Angela Liddon of Oh She Glows and can be found here:  LINK.  Check it out - her pictures are way better than mine.  

I like to make the recipe using a large head of cauliflower so that we have enough for dinner portions and lunch the next day.  While you can scoop it onto crackers, we prefer to eat it straight from the bowl as a meal.  I also try and use all organic produce for the recipe.  I have also used both Italian parsley and flat-leafed and I don't think it makes a difference which one you use.

CAULIFLOWER TABBOULEH

INGREDIENTS:

1 large head Cauliflower, rinsed and cut into large florets
1 pint (1.5 cups) Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup chopped Parsley
3/4 cup chopped Cilantro
1-1/2 cups chopped Celery
6 Green Onions, chopped
2 tbsp hulled Hemp Seeds, if available
1/3 cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Flax Seed Oil - or use Olive Oil if flax not available
1 tsp pure Maple Syrup
Sprinkle of Sea Salt & Black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Grate cauliflower into large bowl.  The stems don't grate well, but the florets grate really nice, just work your way around the head of the floret.  Feel free to nibble on the stalks that won't grate.  NOTE - I attempted to use a food processor and found the mixture too wet.  Grating by hand seemed to work best.

2.  To the cauliflower add tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, celery, and green onions and mix to combine.

3.  In small bowl whisk together vinegar, oil, and maple syrup.

4.  Pour vinegar mixture onto cauliflower mixture and stir to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve. If you are using hemp seeds sprinkle on top just before serving.

- Bon Appetit

" Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education." - Mark Twain
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