'Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing' Recipe Review From The Whole Food Lab Blog

8/3/2013

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I won't lie...I've been missing a Caesar Salad ever since I went vegan.  I used to make the BEST Caesar Salads from scratch but they always contained animal products like egg yolk, anchovy paste, non-vegan Worcestershire (contains anchovies), and parmesan cheese.  I was baffled on how to recreate the dressing and make it taste the same until I came across this recipe on Pinterest!  This recipe is from Steph at the Whole Food Lab blog.  This recipe is a 5 star winner!  I was so impressed with how it tasted almost exactly like the Caesar Salad dressing that I used to make!  I did some add ins to make it more similar and I think it turned out perfectly!  I served up a big plate of this with some leftover Fettuccini Alfredo.  This salad was perfect!  Usually I make homemade croutons but I've just been so busy this last week with an irregular working schedule so I opted to get some vegan sesame salad nuggets.  I think next time I'll make my own croutons though!  Either way, this salad really satisfied my cravings!

What I Did Differently:

I thought this recipe was missing 2 ingredients...nutritional yeast & pepper.  I added in a heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast to simulate the taste of parmesan cheese and to give a vitamin B-12 kick.  I tossed the romaine lettuce with the dressing and then I added a lot of fresh cracked pepper on top and then tossed it in.  It turned out perfect!

Overall Thoughts:

I thought this recipe was a really interesting combination of ingredients!  I would have never thought of putting all these together for a Caesar Salad Dressing!  What a genius Steph is!  This will be my go to recipe for Caesar Salad from now on!  Thank you Steph!
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Green Bean Gemelli Pasta

7/8/2013

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This recipe is bound to knock you off of your feet because it's packed full of flavor!  This recipe is perfect for those hot summer days or when you're itching for Spring or Summer to come!  I adapted the original recipe from Myrecipes.com to make it vegan and I changed up a few things.  I used to make this recipe when I was not a vegan and I could never get enough of it!  So, when I went vegan I was determined to enjoy this dish and stick to my vegan diet without missing the flavors of the old recipe and it was a success!   I hope you enjoy! 

Ingredients:

8 ounces gemelli pasta
1 & 1/2 cup haricot verts, sliced into thirds (French beans; if you can't find them then you can substitute regular green beans)
2 tbs. fresh thyme, minced
Grated rind of one lemon (about 2 tbs.)
1 medium shallot, minced
2 tbs. champagne vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 tbs. nutritional yeast

How To:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.  While you're waiting for the water to boil whisk together the thyme, shallots, champagne vinegar, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  Set the sauce aside.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook per package instructions and add the haricot verts during the last 3 minutes of cooking (if you're using the regular green beans then add during the last 4 minutes of cooking).  Strain the pasta and green beans and rinse with cold water until completely cool and drain well.

Whisk the sauce once more and add the pasta and beans to the bowl.  Add the pistachios and sprinkle the nutritional yeast on top and toss well to coat evenly.  Place pasta in a serving bowl and serve with additional nutritional yeast to sprinkle on top if desired.
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Kristen's Vegan Greek Salad

7/4/2013

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I don't know about you but I LOVE Greek salads!  This recipe uses fresh ingredients without any fake "cheeses", it's ready in about 15 minutes, and the ingredients are simple!  This is a simple recipe that is perfect for picnics, summer cookouts, a great summer side dish, and it can stand as a meal on its own on those hot summer nights (it's great when served with some nice crusty vegan bread)!  I adapted this recipe from my Dad who is notorious for making some of the best Greek salads!  Although, my Dad makes his Greek salad with feta cheese I have found that avocado is an even trade for no cheese to make it vegan!  I have great memories of sitting out on the deck on hot summer nights and eating a refreshing Greek salad while sipping on some wine with my parents.  I hope you can create some great memories with this salad too!

Ingredients:

2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, sliced into 1/4" slices then quartered
1/2 of an English (seedless) cucumber, sliced into 1/4" slices then quartered
1/2 of a bell pepper, roughly chopped; red, orange or yellow peppers work best
1/4-1/2 cup red onion, chopped (amount to your preference)
1/2 avocado, diced
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbs. fresh thyme, minced
1 tbs. dried oregano
Salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of cracked pepper)

How To:

Place the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, avocado, and kalamata olives in a large bowl.  Pour lemon juice and olive oil on top.  Add the thyme, oregano, salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat.  You can add more lemon juice if you like your salad a bit more sour or you can add more olive oil if you like it less sour.  Place everything in a serving dish and it's ready to enjoy!
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5-Step Kale Salad Review From 'Healthy. Happy. Life' Blog

4/18/2013

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I give this recipe 4 stars!  This recipe is from Kathy at Healthy. Happy. Life. and I found it on Pinterest.  This salad is packed full of nutrients and antioxidants!  I absolutely loved the sweet and savory flavor of the salad dressing!  This is the first
raw kale salad that I have tried.  My husband didn't care for it too much because the texture of the kale was too chewy for him and I have to agree.  Although the recipe doesn't specify which type of kale to use for this salad I
think that dinosaur kale would work best for this recipe.  Unfortunately, my grocery store only had the curly kale available and it was too chewy for a raw kale salad!  I was hesitant in using the curly kale because I was weary on the chewy texture but I thought that I would be able to fix this by letting it marinate longer.  The recipe called for a
minimum of 1 hour and I let my salad marinate for 6 hours and it didn't help with the texture.  My husband and I were both missing the crunch and crispness of a salad.  I served this salad with an Asian Noodle Soup that is supposed to help fight a cold (check out my review on the Asian Noodle
Soup).  I loved the combination of these two dishes!  I
was looking for a nutrient-dense dinner to serve because my husband has been sick with an upper respiratory virus and I'm trying to fight it off!
 
What I Did Different
I added in some yellow bell pepper because I had some on hand and I let my salad marinate for 6 hours versus the one hour minimum.  I like my salads with enough dressing
to cover everything so I doubled the dressing, as suggested.

Overall Thoughts
I believe that I will be making this again but next time I will use dinosaur kale!  I think I will also add in some romaine lettuce to make it a more crisp salad!  Although, I would probably add the romaine lettuce just before serving so it
won't get soggy, and then toss it well to coat.  I would love to use this dressing on other salads because it's so good!
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