Tag: salad

Cauliflower Happiness + 3 Recipes

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I’m sure the cauliflower farmers are happy with all the new cauliflower products out there (pizza, buffalo tenders, tortillas) and the push to substitute this bland low carbohydrate vegetable for potatoes and rice. But we can be happy as well, because it is easy to prepare and is a nutritional powerhouse boasting high amounts of vitamin C and B6, calcium, magnesium phosphorus and potassium, antioxidants and fiber. All this leads to improving memory, inflammatory response, blood pressure, cardiovascular risk and cancer reduction.

I love it and use it as a base for cream sauces, frozen and added to smoothies, and as the star of a crunchy turmeric salad. If you try these recipes, please leave a comment.

Creamy White Sauce / Gravy 

  • 4 cups cauliflower, separated into florets
  • 1 cup yellow onion
  • 1-3 garlic cloves (how you like it)
  • 1/2 cup cashews
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup broth or plant milk
  • 1 T white miso
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning (or thyme, oregano, marjoram)
  • pinch cayenne or black pepper to taste
  • For Gravy: 1 lb mushrooms, sliced

Add the cauliflower, onion, garlic and water to a pot, bring to a boil and turn heat down to low, cover for 10 minutes until cauliflower is very tender. When done cooking, add the mixture to a blender along with the cashews, broth/milk, miso, and seasonings. Let cool a bit so the heat doesn’t blow the top off the blender. 🙂  Blend for a full minute, scrape down the sides of container and blend for another 30 seconds. It should be thick and creamy.  Use this as a white sauce for noodles, over root vegetables to make a scalloped casserole, in a squash lasagna or to make creamed greens.  For a gravy, slice and saute mushrooms and another cup of chopped onions, and pour this sauce into the pan once the mushrooms have cooked and lost most of their moisture. Use the gravy over grains, cooked with lentils, on top of veggie burgers or as a Rague with kale, chard and collard greens.

Cauliflower Berry Smoothie

  • 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower
  • 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1-2 cups spinach
  • 1 cup nut or oat milk
  • add in to your taste, some cinnamon & ginger, or maca & cacao

Blend everything until thick and smooth. Drink Up!

Turmeric Cauliflower Salad 

  • 4-5 cups cauliflower florets in bite size pieces
  • 2 T red onion, chopped
  • 1 rib celery, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chickpeas (optional)
  • 1/2 cup veganaise
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric,(more to taste)
  • 1 T rice or cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Break up the florets and add to a mixing bowl along with the onion, celery and chickpeas. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the veganaise, turmeric, vinegar, mustard and pepper. Taste this and see if you’d like more turmeric. Stir this into the cauliflower mixture, tossing to coat everything with the dressing. chill and serve. Keeps for 5 days.

Sprouts – Two Salads

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Sprouts are filled with vitamins, minerals and proteins and chlorophyll all necessary nutrients for building our red and white blood cells and easing inflammation.

Activated Almond Salad

  • 1 cup almonds, soaked 4-8 hours (sub sunflower or pumpkin seeds)
  • 1 Zucchini
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 1/4 cup red onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup celery, diced
  • 1/4 cup fermented pickle, diced
  • 3 T lemon juice
  • 1 T honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 T fresh dill weed or 1/2 T dry
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Lettuce or cabbage leaves

Add almonds or seeds to a food processor and pulse to break up into a flaky texture. Add chopped zucchini and pulse a couple times to chop and mix with the almonds.  Place this mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the chopped celery, diced onion, shredded carrot and chopped pickle. In a small cup or bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, honey or maple syrup and mustard. Stir in the dill and sea salt. Pour this dressing over the nut and vegetable mixture and stir well to incorporate and coat everything with dressing, Scoop this mixture onto lettuce or cabbage leaves or onto a slice of your favorite bread.

Crunchy Super Sprout Salad

  • 3 cups pea shoots or sunflower microgreens, chopped
  • 2 cups leafy green sprouts (salad mix, clover, alfalfa)
  • 1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cup shredded cabbage or slaw mix
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • oranges
  • 1 cup crunchy sprouts (mung bean, lentils, adzuki bean)

Combine all salad ingredients and toss with your favorite dressing or drizzle with the citrus vinaigrette below :

  • ¼ c orange or lemon juice
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 T honey
  • 1/2 tsp dijon
  • 1 tsp dried dill, oregano, basil or your favorite herb blend
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Holiday Recipes

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Roasted Sweet Potato Hash

  • Three sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into I inch cubes
  • 8 oz baby portabella mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered
  • 1 large red onion, peeled, halved and each half cut into quarters lengthwise and then cut crosswise in thirds, making chunks
  • 1 bunch kale or Swiss chard, washed, leaves removed and torn into pieces
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon Braggs or Coconut Aminos
  • 2 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1/2 Tsp smoked sea salt (optional)

Prepare vegetables. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes in a mixing bowl, sprinkle with a little oil and toss to coat. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and put potatoes into a single layer on pan. In the same bowl mix the onion and mushrooms. Sprinkle with a little oil to lightly coat and place on another lined sheet pan, spread out the vegetables into an even layer. Place pans in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, check onions and mushroom and remove if tender. Continue cooking sweet potatoes for another 10-15 minutes. Remove potatoes from oven when lightly browned and cooked through. In the mixing bowl massage the kale leaves with a little oil to coat. lay on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until crispy, but not charred. Remove and add all vegetables into a mixing bowl. Toss with the smoked sea salt or a good mineral salt (pink or grey). Whisk the oil, aminos and syrup together until slightly thickened and pour over vegetables. Serve and enjoy. This is actually good cold as well as warm right from the oven.

Thanksgiving Salad

  • 1 pound Brussel sprouts
  • 1 bunch lacinato kale
  • 1 delicate squash
  • 1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup apple juice or water
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and dry the squash. Cut lengthwise in half, clean out seeds and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch moons (the squash skin is edible). Toss with a little olive oil and then lay on a parchment lined sheet pan. Pour cranberries onto the sheet pan and spread out around the squash. Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes, check for doneness, cook a few minutes longer if needed.

Prepare the vinaigrette: combine the maple syrup, juice, vinegar, Dijon and salt in a small bowl and whisk to mix well.

Thinly slice the Brussel sprouts and kale, combine in a mixing bowl with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and toss well or massage to coat the greens. When squash and berries are done cooking, toss squash, cranberries and walnuts with the shredded greens and top with more vinaigrette.

Pumpkin Mousse

  • 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (cooked or raw)
  • 1/2 cup date paste (dates packed and blended smooth with a little water)
  • 1/2 cup nut or oat milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup powdered coconut sugar (grind your own into a fine powder) or 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice (1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp clove)
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

In a blender, combine the date paste, nut milk, vanilla and sweetener. Blend until smooth and completely combined. Add in the pumpkin puree and spices, blend again. Scrape down container sides and add the coconut oil. Blend until oil is incorporated and mixture is smooth, about 35 seconds. Pour into serving dishes or into a prepared crust or tart shell and chill for 4 hours.  Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!