vegan salads

Beans, Bowls, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Salads, Vegan

Crispy Chickpea Rainbow Salad & Creamy Vegan Yogurt Dressing

Posted on April. 2022April. 2022 by writinstuff

When the weather is nice and the greens are fresh and crispy, nothing is better than a big ol’ satisfying salad.

When it comes to making salad, I don’t like to stand on ceremony, I like to paint outside the lines by using vegetables not traditionally associated with a boring salad, such as buffalo vegan chicken. Don’t just limit yourself to tomatoes and cucumbers, which are incredible by the way, but they aren’t the only way to make a salad.

For today’s vegan salad recipe, I decided to go with a rainbow theme. Why?

Because the more colors in your salad, the more nutrients you’re giving your body, it really is just that simple.

Remember to rinse all of your ingredients before you eat them!

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Asian Food, Bowls, Dips, Grains, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Salads, Vegan

Vegan Sushi Salad Bowl

Posted on July. 2021July. 2021 by writinstuff

As I’ve mentioned before, I have been working on upping my salad game and so, the trend continues into a new week. I had a dental appointment today which was, let’s just say, less than quick & easy. We went grocery shopping today because tomorrow is my release day for my newest novel, and it was 32 degrees Celsius all day.

All day.

So what else is an exhausted, overheated vegan, author and wife to do? Salad.

But I wanted to do something a little bit different from what I usually do, while also making a salad that was substantial enough to satisfy.

Enter, vegan sushi salad bowl. We probably need a better name, don’t we?

Yeah, but this is the name we got and I promise, the dish tastes much better than the title.

There are quite a few components to this vegan salad recipe, but it’s not difficult at all. Honestly, this recipe is all about the prep work. If you’re willing to prep, this is another easy vegan recipe you can add to your repertoire.

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Beans, Grains, Herbs, Plant Based, Potatoes, Salads, Vegan

Vegan Summer Salads ~ Broccoli, Sweet Potato & Chickpea Salad

Posted on July. 2021July. 2021 by writinstuff

With this unbelievable and sometimes, unbearable, heat, I have been working to up my salad game.

We’ve all heard the vegan jokes about munching on lettuce nonstop to fuel our malnourished bodies, but the truth is that if I’d known how amazing I could make salads in my pre-vegan days, my life might be very different today. Thank goodness, I didn’t figure it out until now.

This is what my friends think I eat.

Nothing wrong with this…as a side salad.

But this is what my salad actually looks like.

See the difference?

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Plant Based, Salads, Sandwiches, Sides, Vegan

Vegan Summer Salad ~ Apple, Kohlrabi & Carrot Salad with Dill Yogurt Dressing

Posted on June. 2021June. 2021 by writinstuff

I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but here in Romania it has been hot.

Really hot.

Super hot.

Hot as balls, hot.

Did I mention it’s been hot?

Anyway, when it’s too hot to focus on writing, or television or anything else, it is definitely too hot to think about turning on the oven or the stove. Since I love salads, it’s not hardship to go salad crazy when the weather is warm and there’s an abundance of produce options.

With all that’s happening in the world, it’s been a little difficult to get certain produce without ordering online and hopping from one grocery store to the next, so when I found some kohlrabi, I figured it was time to give it a shot. I went to the Google Machine to find out what kohlrabi tasted like and how to make it raw, and came up with his easy vegan summer salad.

You can eat this vegan salad as a side dish with your favorite vegan sandwich, or just make a big ass bowl and eat it on its own. It’s low calorie, nutrient rich and incredibly delicious.

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Bowls, Plant Based, Potatoes, Salads, Vegan

Spicy Soy & Steak Fries Salad

Posted on May. 2020May. 2020 by writinstuff

Any good relationship is about compromise, this is something we’ve all heard plenty of times and probably rolled our eyes at it more than a few times. But this is one of the truisms that helps in all relationships.

Take for example this quick and easy vegan meal I’m about to tell you about, it happened easily.

I planned to make salad for lunch because this was one of my workout days and therefore the best days to create the biggest calorie deficit I can while also eating and enjoying my whole life. I’m not at my weight loss goal yet but my husband is and before he knew what I had planned, he requested some type of fries.

Full disclosure: In my house our French fries are never fried. Always light coated in oil and baked in the oven, but still we call them Fries because calling them Bakeds would be weird.

So anyway, I said “sure” and this oddball vegan creation is what I came up with!

The ingredient list on this easy vegan meal is simple:

Lettuce

Tomato

Scallion

Cucumber

Potatoes

TVP

Pesto

Veggiegurt

Herbs & Spices

Of course you can always add anything else you like but last week my market was out of sprouts, artichoke hearts and radishes so I worked with what I had on hand.

Make the salad and toss all the ingredients together in a big bowl, using a little more than half of the basil pesto cream as the salad dressing. Plate it and then add the spicy TVP and French Fries on top, drizzling the remaining pesto cream on top for color and taste.

As long as you keep your serving size reasonable (400 grams of potatoes and 50 grams of TVP for 2 servings), this is a meal that can be healthy and indulgent at the same time.

What are your healthy hacks for cheat days?

Grains, Herbs, Plant Based, Salads, Vegan

Simple Bulgur Salad

Posted on June. 2019June. 2019 by writinstuff

What do you do when you don’t have enough fresh veggies to make a salad but you’re not prepared to make anything more complicated than a salad? You hit up the grain section in your kitchen pantry, pull out the bulgur and make magic!

I don’t know how you guys go shopping but I am a list-a-holic. I create a menu for what I plan to make and all the ingredients I need, with a check mark besides ingredients we already have at home. I give my husband the list and he does the same, then I put it into my Shopping List app which I use inside the supermarket.

My point? Only that it often happens that I’ll have a quarter of a head of lettuce, one tomato and just a nub of cucumber the day before shopping day and let’s face it, there’s not a lot that can be done with that. Unless you’re feeling creative.

Enter, bulgur salad.

If I was feeling less than generous I might call this the kitchen sink salad or garbage salad, but let’s stick with bulgur salad because you still have to put this in your mouth.

As you can see, there’s a little bit of the following:

Romaine lettuce

Bell pepper

Tomatoes

Chickpeas

Scallions

Vegan yogurt

Dill

Corn

Mustard

The yogurt, mustard and dill made a nice creamy dressing that tied everything together nicely. It was healthy, satisfying and tasty, which makes it pretty much an ideal lunch in my opinion.

Add some fried tofu or a beer on the side if you think it’s too late, but I think you’ll love it as it is. My favorite thing about a simple dish like this is you can change it up based on what you have. Since there were chickpeas and bell peppers, I added curry and cumin and piri piri to the mix, but you can make it Mexican, Italian, Greek or even American with a vegan ranch sauce.

What’s your go to vegan salad or what do you want to learn to make next? Answer in the comments below!

International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Salads, Vegan

Light & Easy Hearts of Palm Ceviche

Posted on June. 2019June. 2019 by writinstuff

Sometimes, as a vegan, you want something that you didn’t even remember you liked. Enter ceviche. It’s not something I’ve ever eaten on a regular basis but on the rare occasions I’ve had it, I loved it. Then I came across hearts of palm.

It’s not something I’ve eaten on the regular basis, or ever really but I’m always on the lookout for fresh and refreshing dishes that cut down on my time in the kitchen when I need to spend extra time in the writing cave. So when I saw an actual ceviche dish that used scallops and hearts of palm I thought to myself, why not leave it as is minus the seafood?

Why not, indeed.

This recipe is actually pretty simple and only requires about ten minutes or so of prep work, most of that is chopping and tossing ingredients into a bowl. At this point you can pre-heat the oven for the chips if that’s how you choose to eat it and let me tell you that those hot, slightly greasy chips are a great companion to vegan ceviche.

Here’s what I used:

Hearts of palm (3)

Plum tomatoes, pulp removed & chopped finely

Scallions, sliced thinly

Cucumber, diced

Parsley

Jalapeno (only because I couldn’t find habanero)

Lime juice

Bell pepper (optional)

Chop everything and put it into a bowl and season it as you see fit. I added salt, pepper, garlic granules and lime juice with a pinch of smoky paprika to keep it simple. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to let the flavors blend and serve with hot chips.

This vegan ceviche is low in calories, about 200 calories per serving and that’s WITH the chips, so if you need something a little heartier put it on a bed of lettuce or do like I did and pair it with olives and peppers, antipasti style. Because it’s fresh, high fiber foods it’s actually pretty filling despite it’s low calorie density.

This works as a salad or an appetizer, so keep it in mind for a quick and easy dish to bring to a party, potluck or holiday meal.