Creamy Herb & Cucumber Rice Salad

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20140502-DSC_6623I have a delicious secret for you on this fine Friday afternoon. The perfect way to end the week. Prepare yourself, as I’m about to blow your mind. Okay…here it is…Did you know that adding a bit of tahini (sesame paste) to your dressing can yield a luscious and creamy dressing without any diary!? It’s true! Okay, maybe that’s not the most exciting news to end the week, but it’s a nifty trick that I wanted to share with you. As much as a love mayo and creamy mayo-based salads, they can sometimes be too heavy.

When I envisioned this salad, my goal was to make a refreshing rice dish with a light & creamy dressing with tons of fresh herbs. Mint and dill were my weapons of choice. I’m not sure anything is more refreshing than fresh mint! I opted to add some cooling cucumber along with some toasty walnuts for added texture. Some fresh lemon juice finishes off the salad nicely. This salad would be ideal for spring and summer BBQs and picnics. Feel free to add some chopped kale to up the nutrition factor for a healthy, filling week day lunch.

Have a brilliant weekend everyone! xo

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Creamy Herb & Cucumber Rice Salad

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

    For the Salad:
  • 1 cup of uncooked long-grain white rice such as Basmati
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 medium English cucumber, diced
  • 1 cup of walnut pieces
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh chopped dill
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh chopped mint
  • juice from 1/2 a lemon
    • For the Dressing:
  • 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of tahini
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon of pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, honey or agave
  • juice from 1/2 a lemon

Method

  1. Cook rice according to package instructions. Note: 1 cup of uncooked rice in two cups of water should yield 4 servings of cooked rice. Once rice has finished cooking, spread it onto a baking sheet and place in fridge for 10 minutes to cool.
  2. While the rice is cooking, heat a small frying pan over medium heat. No need to add oil, as a dry pan toasts nuts perfectly. Add walnuts. While stirring every so often, toast the walnuts until fragrant and warmed through (about 5 minutes). Put aside.
  3. To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, tahini paste, sugar, salt, pepper and juice from half a lemon. Whisk well until nice and creamy.
  4. In a large salad bowl, combine the cooled rice, toasted walnuts and diced cucumber. Sprinkle with fresh herbs. Drizzle salad with the dressing and mix well to combine. Finish the salad off by squeezing the other half of the lemon over the salad. Allow salad to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to allow salad flavours to develop.

Source: The Fig Tree

Crunchy Asian Coleslaw

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20140414-DSC_6114Growing up, I absolutely hated salads. To be honest, I hated almost all vegetables. My poor mom had her hands full when I declared at 15 that I was going to be a vegetarian. “What are you supposed to eat!?” she said. “You hate vegetables!” A few years later (and after way too many white starchy foods), I finally learned to love vegetables and started eating salads daily. This Crunchy Asian Coleslaw was one of the first salads that caught my fancy. Recently, I was reminded of this salad and asked my mom for the recipe.

The original recipe calls for a pack of instant ramen noodles. The dressing is made with the seasoning packet that comes inside. After looking through the ingredient list on the seasoning packet, I realized that a homemade spice mixture would yield a dressing much lower in sodium, without MSG and without any added meat flavouring. Almost all of the instant ramen noodle packs I could find had chicken, shrimp or beef flavour – not something a vegetarian cares to see on an ingredient list.

After a bit of trial and error, I was able to re-create the flavour of the seasoning packet without all of the preservatives and additives. I used ingredients that I already had in the cupboard such as garlic, onion and ginger powder. Whisk the spice mix with some soy sauce, canola oil, a splash of sesame and balsamic vinegar and you’ve got a delicious, simple mixture to dress up this coleslaw. Add in some crushed up dry ramen noodles, some pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds and sunflower seeds for some extra crunch. This salad brings back some great memories of BBQs and summer picnics with the family. I love how some foods can bring back such great childhood memories.

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Crunchy Asian Coleslaw

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of shredded cabbage
  • 1 cup of dry ramen noodles, broken into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup of sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds
  • 1/3 cup of canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
  • 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 tablespoon of white sugar, honey or agave
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 2 green onions, chopped

Method

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the canola oil, sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and spices. Set aside.
  2. In a large salad bowl, combine the shredded cabbage, dry ramen noodles, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.
  3. Drizzle salad with 1/2 of the dressing. Toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing as desired. Allow salad to sit for 10 minutes before serving to allow flavours to develop. Garnish with green onions.

Source: The Fig Tree

65 Healthy Vegetarian Snack Ideas

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20120707-DSC_7762-5(vegan tzatziki with veggies)

As much as I love cookies, cakes, chocolate and chips – those snacks just don’t leave me feeling very well. Healthy snacks, however, leave me feeling energized. I don’t feel bogged down with processed sugar, unhealthy fats or too much salt. As I transition to a plant-based diet void of processed sugars and refined grains, I am finding that I am craving fruits and veggies more and more. Whenever I have a craving these days, it’s for green juice or fresh mango slices with hemp seeds. Seriously. What’s happening to me!? *haha* My taste buds are changing and I’m okay with that. I feel great and that’s all that counts. In an effort to help me plan snacks throughout the week, I scoured the web to find some of the tastiest sounding healthy vegetarian snack ideas. Below you will find 65 great snack ideas that include a variety of roasted chickpeas, popcorn, healthy chips, fruit snacks, smoothies, veggies and dip options and some some sweet treats.

What are your favourite go-to snack foods?

Roasted Chickpeas

Pan-Fried Curried Chickpeas – Kitchen Treaty

Sea Salt + Vinegar Chickpeas – Oh She Glows

Spicy Chili Lime Roasted Chickpeas – Good Life Eats

Rosemary & Sea Salt Roasted Chickpeas – Kitchen Treaty

Roasted Thai Spice Chickpeas – Food & Wine Magazine

Lemon Roasted Chickpeas – Edible Perspective

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Eat Your Veggies

Thai Peanut Satay Celery Sticks

Buffalo-Style Celery Sticks – Martha Stewart

Veggies with Creamy Edamame and Pea Hummus – Just A Taste

Collard Wraps with Chickpea Walnut Meat – Dishing Up The Dirt

Veggies with Creamy Avocado Lemon Basil Dip – Garden Grazer

Cucumber Bites with Garlic Herb Filling – Annie’s Eats

Veggies with Everything White Bean Hummus – How Sweet Eats

Asparagus and Avocado Spring Rolls – The Roasted Root

Veggies with Lemon Artichoke Hummus – Vanilla & Spice

Loaded Sweet Potato Rounds – A Couple Cooks

Cajun White Bean Dip with Veggies

Vegan (Cashew) Tzatziki with Veggies 

 

 Smoothies

Almond Joy Chia Smoothie – The Curvy Carrot

Toasted Coconut Smoothie – Kitchen Treaty

Strawberry Banana Chia Smoothie – Peaches n Cream

Banana Almond Smoothie – Cookie & Kate

Hide Your Kale Smoothie – Minimalist Baker

Skinny Matcha Shake – Katy’s Kitchen

Pineapple Coconut Smoothie – Oh My Veggies

Apple Pie Smoothie 

Summer Berry Smoothie – Love & Lemons

Mango Banana Green Smoothie – Skinny Taste

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Nuts & Seeds

Chile Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted Trail Mix – Edible Perspective

Pumpkin Seeds & Dried Cherry Trail Mix – Food Network

Tropical Trail Mix – The Kitchn

Sugar & Spice Nuts – Smitten Kitchen

Curried Nuts with Raisins – Williams Sonoma

Rosemary and Smoked Sea Salt Roasted Almonds – Love & Olive Oil

 

Bars and Bites

Almond Joy Energy Bites – Gimme Some Oven

Pumpkin Spice Snack Bars – A Couple Cooks

Almond Butter Rice Crisp Treats – Oh She Glows

Bite Sized Brownies – Oh, Ladycakes

Trail Mix Energy Bites – Gimme Some Oven

Key Lime Coconut Energy Bites – Spoonful of Flavour

Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Lara Bars – Naturally Ella

Peanut Butter Stuffed No-Bake Cookie Bites – Minimalist Baked

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Clusters – A Couple Cooks

No Bake Carrot Cake Balls – Once Upon a Cutting Board

5 Ingredient Granola Bars – Minimalist Baker

Chocolate Banana Cookies – Graden Grazer

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Fruit

Mojito Fruit Salad

Apple Nachos – Vanila & Spice

Cinnamon Apple Chips – A Couple Cooks

Mango Fruit Leather – Oh My Veggies

Tropical Kiwi Strawberry Summer Rolls – How Sweet Eats

Fresh Fruit Salad with Ginger Lime Dressing – Southern Food

Frozen Chocolate Bananas – Love & Lemons

 

Healthy Chips & Popcorn

Baked Parmesan Kale Chips – Skinny Taste

Cheezy Sundried Tomato Kale Chips – Oh She Glows

Chipotle Kale Chips – A Couple Cooks

Baked Butternut Squash Chips – A Couple Cooks

Chili Lime Popcorn – Martha Stewart

Sweet Curry Popcorn – Love & Lemons

Cool Ranch Popcorn (Vegan) – Natural Chow

Thai Spiced Popcorn – All Recipes

Sweet & Spicy Wasabi Popcorn – Kitchen Confidante

Parmesan Thyme Popcorn – Annie’s Eats

Buffalo Popcorn – Average Betty

Toasted Coconut Popcorn – Shutterbean