Mediterranean Chopped Salad (Alkaline, GF, Vegan)

One of my favorite things to order at True Food Kitchen is the Mediterranean Chopped Salad (the other is their GF Kale & Roasted Garlic Pizza, but that recipe is a major work in progress), but I always put my vegan spin on it as well as my "Amber-spin". I've since been making my own version of the salad, and I thought it was time to share! The salad ingredients and portions are pretty flexible, I don't measure any of the stuff out.

Makes 4 entree salads

Lemon-Oregano Vinaigrette
2 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons stoneground mustard
3 little scoops of stevia powder (enough to equal 2 tsp)
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons hemp oil (or use olive oil if you don't have hemp)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Salad Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, cooked in 2 cups water
2 cups baby kale/spinach/chard/arugla (any combo)
2 cups watercress, chopped
1/2 english cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup marcona almonds
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 avocado, cut into small cubes

OPTIONAL:
bee pollen
sprouts
fresh green beans


For the salad dressing, put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, makes it so you can taste the oregano better. You CAN chop up all the ingredients and just whisk them together though, but the blender method tastes better (to me) and makes all of the tastes blend better.

Put all of the salad ingredients together however you see fit, and top with salad dressing as well as some fresh ground black pepper & (sea or Real) salt.

Black Forest Smoothie (GF, Vegan)

Thanks to those brilliant people at Vega, this smoothie is delicious. I used their Choc-o-lot smoothie mix as the protein powder. But you can use whatever kind you have/like. I saw a similar recipe on the thriveforward.com site from Vega. Those people are great! So I thought I would share my version.

Black Forest Smoothie
 Serves 1

1 cup vanilla [I used unsweetened] almond milk (or nondairy milk of choice)
1/2 banana
1 cup frozen cherries
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1/2 tablespoon cacao powder
1 teaspoon maca
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


If you have a high power blender, throw in all of the ingredients and blend. If you don't, blend the banana & cherries with the almond (or whatever milk you choose) milk and after it's blended then add the powdered ingredients and vanilla.

Macaroni and Cheese (GF, Vegan)

The basic recipe I got from VegNews's recipe club, there are a few edits that I put on it to make a couple of taste changes on their already fabulous recipe. I think you could easily use the sauce recipe as a cheeze fondue, or a sauce to go over nachos!! I made this for a potluck with 8 nonvegan friends and they thought it was great. My boyfriend says its the best vegan Mac & Cheese he's had. Dairy-free Mac n Cheese    Makes 6 large dinner servings 4 quarts water 1 tablespoon salt 1 16-ounce package of brown rice macaroni 1/3 cup non-hydrogenated dairy free butter/margarine. (I used Earth Balance Coconut Butter spread) 2 tablespoons shallots, peeled and chopped 1 1/3 cup red or yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped 1/3 cup carrots, peeled and chopped 1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped 1 cup water 1/3 cup raw cashews 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped 2 teaspoons salt 2 small garlic cloves 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed 1/2 tablespoon Bragg liquid aminos 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions: In a large pot, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add brown rice macaroni and cook until al dente. In a colander, drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion, and water, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft. In a blender, process the rest of the ingredients in the list. Add cooked vegetables and cooking water to the blender and process until perfectly smooth. Spread pasta into a 9 x 12 casserole dish, pour blended cheese mixture over the top and mix.. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling.