Spinach Strawberry Salad

I LOVE Strawberry Salads!! This one is an excellent salad. It's strawberry season, so enjoy! I got the original recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. 

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh spinach 
2 cups sliced strawberries 
1 cored and diced apple
1-2 cups cooked white beans, rinsed 
3 tbsp walnuts

Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette 
¼ cup applesauce 
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 
pure maple syrup, to taste

Directions:
Vinaigrette 

1. Whisk together until well combined. 

Salad

1. Toss salad ingredients with Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette until well combined.

Notes:
You can make this as a side salad for dinner, or eat it as dinner, serving 2.
Per serving: 390 calories, 9.5g fat, 62.2g carbs, 18.1g fiber, 20.1g sugars, 18.2g protein

Caesar Taco Salad

This is an everybody-approved salad. It's delicious! I got the recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. This is a great salad as a side or main dish.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce 
2 tsp fresh lemon juice 
2 tbsp taco seasoning 
1.5 - 2 cups chickpeas  
2 corn tortillas 
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped 
5-oz cherry tomatoes, sliced 
2-oz guacamole

Caesar Dressing 
½ cup yogurt 
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
1 tbsp Dijon mustard 
1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce 
garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Make dressing by whisking all ingredients together until well combined, adding garlic powder to taste. 
3. Chill until using.
4. Combine soy sauce, lemon juice, taco seasoning and chickpeas, stir to coat.
5. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake 20-25 minutes, until crispy but not hard. 
6. During last 5-10 minutes, place tortillas right on the rack and bake until crispy. 
7. In a large mixing bowl, toss chickpeas with lettuce and cherry tomatoes. 
8. Pour dressing over top, and toss to coat. 
9. Crumble corn tortillas over the top. 
10. Top with guacamole.

Notes:

• Serves 2.
• Per serving: 418 calories, 8.6g fat, 63.4g carbs, 12.7g fiber, 9.1g sugars, 19.2g protein

Spring Grape Salad

This is a great fresh salad to serve as a side or even have as a dessert. It's improved by slightly sweeter grapes for the sweet-toothed, but if you have slightly tart grapes, the tart & sweet is also delish. I got the original recipe as a bonus with the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. 

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced red grapes
1 cup sliced green grapes
1/4 cup vanilla Silk soy yogurt
1 tbsp granola

Directions:

1. Toss grapes and yogurt together.
2. Chill for at east 30 minutes.

Notes:

• Serves 4
• You can also top with brown sugar, nuts, or ground cinnamon instead of the granola, or in addition to the granola.
• I also ate it for breakfast. 

Green Bean-Potato Salad

If you do Meatless Mondays, how about Salad Mondays? I am such a fan of Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor salads. I put salads as sides, because that's how many folks think of them, but this could be eaten as an entree, which is what I did.

Ingredients:
½ cup corn 
1½ cups fresh green beans, cut into 1” pieces 
½ cup dry couscous or 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cooked potatoes, diced 
1 tomato, diced 
½ cup fresh basil, chopped 
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped 

Lemon Dressing 
2 tbsp vegetable broth 
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
1 tbsp red wine vinegar 
garlic powder 
½ tsp agave nectar
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Make Dressing: Whisk ingredients together. Taste, adding more garlic as desired plus salt and black pepper.
2. Warm or thaw corn if frozen. Set aside. 
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and cook 5 minutes or until tender but still crisp. 
4. Pour ⅔-cup of the hot water over couscous in a mixing bowl and set aside. 
5. Drain green beans and immediately rinse under cold water, until they're cool.
6. After 5 minutes of soaking couscous in hot water, fluff couscous. 
7. In a large bowl, toss fluffed couscous with potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, corn, basil, and oregano. Toss with dressing until well mixed.

Notes:

• If serving as entree, serves 2.
• Per serving: 380 calories, 1.4g fat, 81.9g carbs, 11.3g fiber, 6.3g sugars, 12.8g protein
• Can add white beans or chickpeas. 

Bangkok Rice Salad

This salad was pretty awesome. I ate it as an entree. It is great as a side, too. I got this from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. 

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked brown rice 
1 carrot, shredded 
1 cup napa cabbage, sliced thin 
¼ cup frozen shelled edamame (thawed) 
3-oz mango, diced 
2 green onions, sliced

Bangkok Peanut Sauce 
2 tbsp peanut butter 
1½ tsp agave nectar 
1½ soy sauce 
1½ tsp rice vinegar 
2 tbsp warm water
ground ginger

Directions:
Bangkok Peanut Sauce 

1. Whisk peanut butter, agave, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a light dash of ground ginger together with warm water until well combined.

Salad

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine rice, carrot, cabbage, edamame and mango. 
2. Toss with Bangkok Peanut Sauce until evenly coated. 
3. Garnish with green onions and serve.

Notes:

• Serves 2
• Per serving: 393 calories, 10.5g fat, 65.6g carbs, 5.7g fiber, 15.6g sugars, 11.3g protein
• Could add cold chicken, chopped peanuts, or more veggies.

Blueberry Salad

I'm pretty sure I have my sister to thank for this recipe, that I first had it at her house. 

Ingredients:
16 oz baby spinach

1 cup pecans 

2 Tbsp sugar

1 pkg. Gorgonzola cheese

2 avocados, cubed

1 cup blueberries

Dressing:

¼ cup minced shallots

¾ cup vegetable or canola oil

¾ cup sugar

½ cup vinegar

¼ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. dry mustard

3 tbsp. Poppy seeds

Directions:

1. Brown the pecans in sugar.
2. Combine dressing in a jar or bottle. Shake until well mixed and the sugar is dissolved.
3. Dress the spinach.
4. Add pecans, cheese, avocados, and blueberries.
5. Toss and serve.

Notes:

• The vegan version has no cheese.

Watergate Salad

This was an absolute favorite of mine growing up. My mother served it at Holiday dinners. The husband says it was served at potlucks where he grew up. Much to my disappointment, neither the husband nor the kids like it. However, items that were favorites of one person get to go in the Codex even if no one else likes it. Who knows? Maybe it will grow on them. 

Ingredients:

2 pkg (4 serving size each) Pistachio flavor instant pudding & pie filling

2 cans (20 oz each) crushed pinapple in juice, undrained

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 cup chopped pecans

3 cups (8 oz tub) Cool Whip whipped topping

Directions:

1. Mix dry pudding mix, pineapple, marshmallows, and pecans in large bowl until well blended.  Gently stir in whipped topping; cover.  
2. Refrigerate 1 hr or until ready to serve.

Notes:

• Makes 16 servings of 1/2 cup each.  
• 195 Calories per serving.
• Prep 15 min.  
• Total 1 hr. 15 min (including refrigeration)
• The above recipe is doubled. If you read the recipe on the Jell-O Pistachio box, the ratios are half the ones given above.

This can be made vegan to a very good likeness. Above, you'll see I used Dandies Mini Marshmallows, and So Delicious CocoWhip for the two non-vegan items in the ingredients list. Everything else is the same. The CocoWhip gives a bit of a coconut flavor, but it is a really nice addition.

Grilled Steak and Vegetable Salad (with Vegan Option)

This is a fairly easy recipe to make on a warm day. It really did only take 45 minutes total (including adding a couple sides), so not too long to make. This has both the original recipe (not sure the original location) and a veganized version. I am a vegan living in an omnivore household, so two versions of many of our recipes get made and reported.

Ingredients:

Marinade

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salad

1 lb flat iron steak

1 medium yellow squash, slicedd 1/2-inch thick

1 medium onion, sliced 1/2-inch thick

1 red pepper, sliced 1/2-inch thick

8 cups salad lettuce mix

Directions:

1. Combine red wine, soy sauce, garlic rosemary, thyme and olive oil to make marinade sauce, then divide.  Marinate steaks with half of the red wine sauce for 30 minutes. While meat is marinating, wash and trim squash, onion, and pepper. Cut all vegetables into 1/2-inch thick slices.
2. Prepare grill (medium-high heat.) Grill steaks to desired doneness. Cut steaks crosswise into strips and set aside. Brush remaining sauce on sliced vegetables and grill until just cooked through, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes.
3. Serve steak and vegetables over salad lettuce mix and serve warm (in one dish or plated singly.) Alternate option: serve meat, veggies, and lettuce in separate dishes for everyone to serve themselves. 

Veganized:

Everything is the same, except use Field Roast or your favorite vegan meat instead of a flat iron steak. You can skip marinading the vegan meat. You can also skip the vegan meat altogether and do more veggies. More peppers, onions, squashes, or add zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes, or any other veggies you think would grill nicely. 

Notes:

• Prep: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Serves 4
• I served this with fresh French baguette and a pasta side, since veggies were in abundance. 
• Please note that anything that calls for options that could be vegan or not, the vegan option is preferred (such as red wine, butter, milk.)

Salad: Field Club's Strawberry Salad

My good friend Suzanne introduced me to this salad. It is a sweet, yummy, summer salad.

Ingredients:
1 pkg romaine
1 pkg spinach
1 cup seedless grapes, halved
1 large container sliced strawberries
½ cup pine nuts or toasted slivered almonds, whichever you prefer
1-4 oz pkg crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:
½ cup honey
¼ tsp Worcester
¾ cup salad oil
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
¼ tsp paprika
1 tbsp diced green onions

Directions:
For dressing, place ingredients in a screw top jar and shake. Add to salad when you are ready to serve.

Other Notes:
I don't know how many this feeds, but it's a great salad to bring to a potluck.

Side dish: Panko Crusted Cheese Appetizer

This is one of those recipes that I thought sounded good and I have no idea where I found the recipe. The recipe calls for goat cheese, which I used both times I made it. However, I think any malleable white cheese will do. We did have this appetizer with guests and it was well-received. This appetizer needs to be plated out individually and served, so it's best for a dinner party rather than a larger gathering.

Ingredients:
8 ounces maleable white cheese of your choice (recipe calls for plane goat cheese), cut into 6 disks
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg, slightly beaten
¾ cup panko
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 cups salad spinach

Directions:

1. Gently pat the cheese into 2” disks and transfer onto a plate. Place flour, egg and panko into 3 separate bowls. Dip each disk into the flour, then the egg and finally the panko.
2. Transfer each to the plate and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes. Heat the oil in a medium non-stick skillet (or cast iron) over medium heat. Place the disks into the hot oil and fry until golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate or rack lined with paper towels for draining.
3. Serve warm on a bed of spinach.

Other details:

• Serves 6 
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