Yummy dressings:
- Herb Vinaigrette: grab handfuls of fresh herbs from your garden (or the grocery store, or in front of Mosaic Market!)... try basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, savoury, chives, dill, mint. Combine 1 tbsp lemon, 2 tbsp vinegar, 1/2 cup of olive oil, and 1/2 cup of chopped herbs. Shake in a jar until blended.
- Lemon Vinaigrette: Mix 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 Dijon mustard, 1 diced shallot, 2 gloves minced garlic, 1/4 cup lemon juice in a bowl then slowly add 1 cup olive oil and whisk in.
- Creamy vegan dressing: Mix 3/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup tamari, 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 cloves garlic, 1 cup olive oil in a blender. This dressing is creamy and goes with many types of salads and "protein quinoa bowls".
Salads:
- Mediterranean Penne: Cook 3 cups gluten free penne until al dente. Mix with 3 cups mixed cherry tomatoes (lots of color means lots of antioxidants!). 1/2 cup feta cheese, 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, and 1 cup loose packed basil leaves. Toss with the lemon vinaigrette and enjoy!
- Summer Chicken Salad (for my meat eaters): Combine 1 tbsp paprika with 2 tbsp butter or coconut oil. Brush onto 2 cobs of corn and 2 chicken breasts. Use a BBQ to grill the chicken until cooked through and the corn. Chop the chicken into cubes and remove kernels from corn. Place chicken, corn, diced cucumber onto a bed of spinach or baby kale and drizzle with the lemon vinaigrette.
- Fresh Summer Salad: Chop fresh swiss chard, kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrot, zucchini, basil (really whatever fresh veggies you have) and toss with the herb vinaigrette.
- Fresh Summer Salad #2: Halve cherry or grape tomatoes and dice cucumbers. Place on a bed of fresh kale/spinach/lettuce and crumble some feta or goat cheese if you please. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with salt and pepper and enjoy!
- Protein Power Bowl: Cook quinoa (same way you cook rice). Slice a bell pepper, avocado, any greens. Grate a carrot and fresh uncooked beet. Open a can of chickpeas, rinse and drain. Layer the quinoa, chickpeas, sliced veggies, grated beet and carrot and drizzle with the creamy vegan dressing. Very satisfying! This bowl has a good helping of vegan protein from your quinoa and chickpeas and lots of antioxidants from the fresh veggies... and those beets are so good for your liver and gallbladder. Eat up!