Real Simple Quinoa Salad – 12 Vegan Recipes Packed with Protein

Real Simple Quinoa Salad

I love me some real simple quinoa salad. It’s the perfect quick, yummy and nutritious weekday meal.

I’m lazy and so I need meals that are complete and packed with protein. Adopting mostly a plant-based lifestyle this isn’t always so easy and so I’m always on the look out for quick, delicious and complete meals. I’ve curated the best real simple quinoa salad recipes that are both vegan and are complete meals with protein.

See my roundup below for the the best real simple quinoa salad recipes.

All of the recipes are vegan but I have also indicated whether they are:

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Real Simple Quinoa Salad with chickpeas and…

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Tomato
Quinoa Salad Cilantro, Tomato, Cucumber | HappyGut.ca
Quinoa Salad Cilantro, Tomato, Cucumber | HappyGut.ca

By HappyGut

Ingredients: 11
Main items:
chickpeas,
tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this makes the cut: Full disclaimer, this is my recipe. 🙂 If you like zesty loaded with garlic and lemon, you will like this one! It’s one of my go-to staple weekday meals.  

Get recipe here.

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Cauliflower
Quinoa Salad | My Darling Lemon Thyme
Quinoa Salad | My Darling Lemon Thyme

By My Darling Lemon Thyme

Ingredients: 12
Main items:
chickpeas, cauliflower, almonds, jalapeno, lime

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Sugar free

Why this makes the cut: the combination of almonds, jalapeno and lime sounds so delectable!   

Get recipe here.

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Zucchini
Quinoa Salad | A Cedar Spoon
Quinoa Salad | A Cedar Spoon

By A Cedar Spoon

Ingredients: 10
Main items:
chickpeas,
zucchini, onion, parsley

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this makes the cut: with turmeric, cumin, zucchini and chickpeas, this sounds like the perfect weekday hearty meal. 

Get recipe here.

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Edamame
Quinoa Salad | The Girl Who Ate Everything
Quinoa Salad | The Girl Who Ate Everything

By The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients: 13
Main items:
chickpeas, edamame, corn, cranberry, bell pepper, almonds

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Sugar free

Why this makes the cut: An incredibly hearty and protein packed salad with beans and cranberries, a fabulous combination. 

Get recipe here.

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Real Simple Quinoa Salad with black beans and…

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Kale & Sweet Potato
Quinoa Salad | Cookie & Kate
Quinoa Salad | Cookie & Kate

By Cookie and Kate

Ingredients: 14
Main items:
black beans, sweet potato, avocado, jalapeno, pumpkin seeds

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this makes the cut: This nut free version of this southwestern style quinoa salad sounds so appetizing. 

Get recipe here.

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Kale & Red Onion
Quinoa Salad | The Glowing Fridge
Quinoa Salad | The Glowing Fridge

By The Glowing Fridge

Ingredients: 13
Main items:
black bean, kale, red onion, corn, cilantro, lime, hot sauce

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free (*has maple syrup)

Why this makes the cut: no quinoa salad round-up would be complete without a spicy version. 😛 Plus, it has kale! 

Get recipe here.

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Sweet Potato & Cashew
Quinoa Salad | Simply Quinoa
Quinoa Salad | Simply Quinoa

By Simply Quinoa

Ingredients: 16
Main items:
black beans, sweet potato, avocado, cashews, cilantro

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Sugar free

Why this makes the cut: Sweet potatoes with chilli powder and avocado cashew dressing? Yes please!!! 

Get recipe here.

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Orange & Bell Pepper
Quinoa Salad | Damn Delicious
Quinoa Salad | Damn Delicious

By Damn Delicious

Ingredients: 13
Main items:
black beans, orange, bell pepper, jalapeno, corn, onion

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free

Why this makes the cut: another zesty recipe with orange, orange juice and apple cider vinegar. 

Get recipe here.

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Real Simple Quinoa Salad with…

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White Bean
Quinoa Salad | Kelley & Cricket
Quinoa Salad | Kelley & Cricket

By Kelley & Cricket

Ingredients: 11
Main items:
white bean, tomato, red pepper, onion, basil

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this makes the cut: I’m always looking for ways to use white beans – this one looks delicious! 

Get recipe here.

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Kidney Beans
Quinoa Salad | Renee Clerkin
Quinoa Salad | Renee Clerkin

By Renee Clerkin

Ingredients: 12
Main items:
kidney beans, carrot, celery, corn, bell pepper

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this makes the cut: A hearty quinoa salad packed with so many veggies! 

Get recipe here.

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Three Bean
Quinoa Salad | Domesticate me
Quinoa Salad | Domesticate me

By Domesticate Me

Ingredients: 12
Main items:
chickpeas, black beans, edamame, red onions, lemon, garlic

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this makes the cut: An ultra simple and protein packed salad. 

Get recipe here.

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Tofu
Quinoa Salad | Craving Something Healthy
Quinoa Salad | Craving Something Healthy

By Craving Something Healthy

Ingredients: 20
Main items:
tofu, edamame, cabbage, carrots, tahini

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free (*has maple syrup)

Why this makes the cut: A delicious sweet and spicy tofu quinoa salad recipe. 

Get recipe here.

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Easy & Delicious Tandoori Tofu

Tandoori Tofu | Happygut.ca

This is by far the best tandoori tofu recipe. I have tried many over the years and this one takes the cake! (or tofu, hehe).

My aunt who is a fabulous cook uses this recipe for chicken, I just replaced the chicken for tofu and it was delicious! Not only that, but it was incredibly easy to make – the perfect quick weekday meal.

Ideally, you will want to prep this the night before.

Ingredients for Tandoori Tofu

  • 1 block extra firm tofu, sliced
  • 1 cup yogurt (use vegan yogurt if you’re vegan)
  • 2 tbsp fresh garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2-2 tsp red chilli powder (I use 2 but I like it spicy!)
  • 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions for Tandoori Tofu

  1. Combine all the ingredients, except the tofu, into a bowl
  2. Add tofu slices to the sauce mixture and ensure that all the tofu is covered with the sauce
  3. Marinade overnight in the fridge (or a couple of hours)
  4. Pre-heat oven to 400 on bake
  5. Oil a baking tray and place tofu onto tray (you will have excess sauce, use it as a dip if you please!)
  6. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for about 40 minutes
  7. Remove the foil paper and broil each side for about 5-10 minutes

Enjoy! 🙂

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Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu with Kale

Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu with Kale | happygut.ca

This spicy stir-fried tofu with kale is the perfect quick, spicy and delicious week day meal!

For a nut free option, omit the cashews.

Ingredients for Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu with Kale

  • 1 block firm or extra firm tofu (I use sprouted), drained and chopped into small cubes
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • 1-2 fresh chilis
  • 1/4 tsp salt (add more if you like to taste)
  • small bunch of kale
  • 2 tbsp olive oil for stir fry + 2 tbsp olive oil for kale
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp chopped green onions
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
  • 1/4 cup roasted cashews

Directions for Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu with Kale

  1. Drain tofu (I usually do this by placing it between 2 plates, putting something heavy on top, and letting it sit for about 10-20 minutes).
  2. Mix all of the spices in a small bowl and set aside.
  3. Add 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
  4. Add garlic and heat until the garlic is fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
  5. Add all of the spices and combine well with the garlic, add a little bit of water if necessary.
  6. Add the tofu and green onions and coat well with the spices.
  7. Cook for a couple of minutes over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
  8. Wash kale and chop into bite sized pieces. Steam kale for about 2-4 minutes. Remove from heat and drizzle with olive oil.
  9. Top the kale with the tofu and the cashews. Add the lemon juice and garnish with the fresh cilantro.

Enjoy!

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Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash Vegetarian – 10 Recipes

Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash Vegetarian

Baked stuffed acorn squash vegetarian, one of my personal favourites!

I love Fall, it is my third favourite season, after summer and spring. 🙂 Seriously though, Fall is amazing. I’ve lived in a few different parts of the world, and a couple of different provinces in Canada. What I’ve learned is that there are only a few places that that have a complete and beautiful fall. Fall is great because the weather is cold enough that you can wear a scarf (and who doesn’t love wearing scarfs?) but just warm enough that you can have a coffee (or in my case, a green tea) on a patio. The colours are absolutely breath-taking with bright reds, golden yellows, radiating oranges and sometimes even crimson purples. 🙂

Ever wondered why leaves change colour in Fall? Me too! This is why while writing this blog post I decided to call my genius 11 year old nephew, Faisal.

Here was our conversation:

Me: Hi Faisal, how’s it going?

Faisal: Good.

Me: I have a question for you, why do leaves change colour in Fall?

Faisal: Its because not enough chlorophyll gets through to the leaves and the other colour pigments take over.

Me: Why doesn’t enough chlorophyll get through?

Faisal: Because the days are shorter and there’s less sun.

Me: Oh, okay, that makes sense. Thanks Faisal!

Faisal: Okay bye!

Me: Bye!

My nephew Faisal is actually the smartest person I know!

So now you know why leaves change colour in the Fall. 🙂

Well, thank you chlorophyll for taking a backseat for a few months so that we can enjoy all the beauty that Fall has to offer. The beautiful changing leaf colours are my favourite thing about Fall. You want to know what my second favourite thing is? Acorn squash (see how I brought it back to the original theme of the blog post without you even noticing? Bam!). 🙂

Acorn squash is so cool! It actually looks like an acorn! Do you know of any other fruits that look like something that falls from a tree? I don’t!

Aside: I also learnt while writing this blog post that squash is a fruit and not a vegetable. Other sneaky vegetable lookalikes that are also fruit include avocado, pea pods, corn kernels, cucumbers, olives, peppers, pumpkin, and tomatoes.

Along with being a vegetable look-alike, acorn squash is also a good source of fiber and potassium, and has small amounts of vitamin B, C and magnesium.

Who would’ve thought this blog post would be so educational? I certainly didn’t when I started writing this post. 🙂

Though my love for acorn squash is all year round, it definitely intensifies in the winter.

My friend Zehra was coming over dinner and I knew I wanted to make something with acorn squash. After doing some quick googling, I decided to make a stuffed acorn squash as I’m a sucker for foods that can be used as bowls. 😛 Zehra is also a vegetarian (and has actually turned vegan, you go girl!) and so I was on a hunt  for a baked stuffed acorn squash vegetarian recipe. Though in the end I decided to come up with my own recipe (a warm quinoa salad with roasted butternut squash), I discovered many other delicious recipes that are on my to-make-soon-list.

Here is my curated list for the best recipes for baked acorn squash vegetarian. All of them are made with healthy whole foods with items you are (likely) to find in your kitchen already. They are all vegetarian, as the name implies, with many vegan options that will cater to all diets (I hope!).

You will find many gluten free, grain free, nut free, soy free and sugar free options. Let me know what you think of my baked stuffed acorn squash vegetarian list, and if you find any other recipes that I have missed!

Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash Vegetarian
with Quinoa and…

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Tofurky&
Leek
Stuffed Acorn Squash | veganyackattack.com
Stuffed Acorn Squash | veganyackattack.com

By Veganyattack

Filling ingredients: 12
Main ingredients: quinoa, leek, broccolini, red pepper, tofurky

✓ Gluten free
✓ Vegan
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this recipe rocks: An easy and fabulous protein rich meal with a novel way to use that Tofurky that’s been lying in your fridge. 

Get recipe here.

 

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Almond &
Feta
Stuffed Acorn Squash | marinmamacooks.com
Stuffed Acorn Squash | marinmamacooks.com

By Marin Mama Cooks

Filling ingredients: 9
Main ingredients: quinoa, parsley, feta, almonds

✓ Gluten free
✓ Soy free
✓ Sugar free
✓ Nightshade free

Why this recipe rocks: The combination of parsley, almonds and red-wine vinegar sounds so very appetizing! 

Get recipe here.

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Almond &
Raisin
Stuffed Acorn Quiona | init4thelongrun.com
Stuffed Acorn | init4thelongrun

By In It 4 The Long Run

Filling ingredients: 8
Main ingredients: quinoa, basil, raisins, almonds

✓ Gluten free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Sugar free
✓ Nightshade free

Why this recipe rocks: Raisins and almonds as part of the main meal? Yes please!

 

Get recipe here.

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Mushroom &
Cranberry
Squah Stuffed Quinoa | rhubarbarians.com
Squash Stuffed Quinoa | rhubarbarians.com

By Rhubarbians

Filling ingredients: 11
Main ingredients: brussels sprouts, mushrooms, cranberries, pecans

✓ Gluten free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Sugar free
✓ Nightshade free

Why this recipe rocks: I’m all over any recipe that uses brussels sprouts and makes it sound amazing.  Though this is not an acorn squash, I couldn’t resist sharing the recipe! 

 

Get recipe here.

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Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash Vegetarian
with Quinoa and…

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Chickpea & Cilantro
Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash
Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash | happygut.ca

By HappyGut

Filling ingredients: 14
Main ingredients: quinoa, chickpeas, cilantro

✓ Gluten free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this recipe rocks: Full disclaimer, this is my recipe. 🙂 If you like spicy and lemony, this one won’t disappoint.

Get recipe here.

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Chickpea & Kale
Stuffed Acorn Squash | lesliedurso.com
Stuffed Acorn Squash | lesliedurso.com

By Leslie Durso

Filling ingredients: 11
Main ingredients: kale, chickpeas, quinoa, apple, walnuts

✓ Gluten free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Sugar free
✓ Nightshade free

Why this recipe rocks: Kale. This recipe has kale. Kale is awesome. Plus, it has apple and walnuts. A perfect fancy meal for entertaining. 

 

Get recipe here.

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Black Bean & Avo
Acorn Stuffed Squash | loveandlemons.com
Acorn Stuffed Squash | loveandlemons.com

By Love and Lemons

Filling ingredients: 15
Main ingredients: quinoa, avocado, pepitas, black beans

✓ Gluten free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this recipe rocks: With green chillies, cumin and coriander, I suspect this recipe will have a lovely indian-style flavour. I can’t wait to test it out!

 

Get recipe here.

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Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash Vegetarian with 

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Brown Rice & Black Bean
Stuffed Acorn Squash | thevietvegan.com
Stuffed Acorn Squash | thevietvegan.com

By The Viet Vegan

Filling ingredients: 9
Main ingredients: brown rice, blacked beans

✓ Gluten free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this recipe rocks: A super simple and yummy meal packed with protein. The perfect week-day meal. 

 

Get recipe here.

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Zucchini & Bell Pepper
Stuffed Acorn Squash | detoxinista.com
Stuffed Acorn Squash |           detoxinista.com

By Detoxinista

Filling ingredients: 7
Main ingredients: zucchini, red onion, bell pepper

✓ Gluten free
✓ Grain free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this recipe rocks: A simple grain free meal that makes for a great side meal. Or, throw in some protein (beans, lentils, tofu, etc.) to make a complete meal. 

 

Get recipe here.

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Roasted Veggies & Kale
Stuffed Acorn Squash | panningtheglobe.com
Stuffed Acorn Squash | panningtheglobe.com

By Panning the Globe

Filling ingredients: 12
Main ingredients: brussels sprouts, bell peppers, onions, kale

✓ Gluten free
✓ Grain free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free

Why this recipe rocks: A simple grain free meal with roasted veggies and molasses! A delightful side or add  in some protein (beans, lentils, tofu, etc.) to make a complete meal. 

 

Get recipe here.

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Dancing Vegan Tempeh Sandwich

Vegan Tempeh Sandwich

This is just not a vegan tempeh sandwich, friends. This is the “dancing vegan sandwich” as my friend Paul describes. Why dancing you ask? Well, let me paint you a picture. Our friends Paul and Kajal came over yesterday for dinner. You see, Paul is a meat eater. The tempeh is vegan.

I’m always curious about how meat eaters respond to vegan meals. Well, Paul fit that description perfectly, and so I wanted to investigate his reaction. Usually when people take a bite out of something I make, especially when they come over for dinner, they say, “Mmmm, this is so good!” This is the polite thing to do 🙂

I watched closely as Paul took the first bit of his sandwich.

As predicted, he said, “Mmmm, this is so good!” But, that remark didn’t really tell me anything. How I knew that he genuinely liked the sandwich was because he got seconds. And not only did he get seconds, but he danced his way to seconds. And then my friends, the dancing vegan tempeh sandwich was born 🙂

Check Paul out:

via GIPHY

Ingredients for Dancing Vegan Tempeh Sandwich

Directions for Dancing Vegan Tempeh Sandwich

It was probably unnecessary to have a title on directions, as I assume if you are on a recipe blog you know how to make a sandwich. But always best not to assume. As my teacher in grade 10 used to say, assuming makes an “arse” of you and me 🙂

And so the directions:

  • Place all of the ingredients between 2 pieces of bread and enjoy 🙂

 

 

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Mung Bean Salad Indian Style

Mung Bean Salad Indian Style

The mung bean salad indian style is so delicious and super quick. The perfect weekday meal with such few ingredients. I’m always looking for fast protein packed meals that are yummy. I basically used the same ingredients for my Quinoa Salad with Cilantro, Tomato, & Cucumber but with an indian twist.

I made this one with mung beans but feel free to use the beans of your choice. I try to use dry beans over canned beans when possible (for the advantages of using dried beans over canned beans see Dry Beans Vs. Canned Beans). The problem with using dry beans though is the soak time. Dry beans usually require 8-12 hours of soak time. I can sometimes bypass at least some of the soak time by using my pressure cooker. I often opt for mung beans as they require less soak time and they better for the tummy (see here for more info). Make sure to not overcook the beans, as even a few minutes too long will cause them to go mushy.

Mung Bean Salad Indian Style
Mung Bean Salad Indian Style | happygut.ca
Mung Bean Salad Indian Style
Mung Bean Salad Indian Style | happygut.ca

Ingredients for Mung Bean Salad Indian Style

  • 2 cups dry mung beans (or another type of beans, can also use 3 cans of beans)
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • half a small red onion or 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped cucumber
  • 1 avocado, chopped
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • juice from one lemon
  • 1-2 fresh chillies chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions for Mung Bean Salad Indian Style

  1. For cooking dry beans: wash beans and soak overnight/8-12 hours (can soak for less time but just know that it will require more cooking time). Place beans in a pot or pressure cooker with 6 cups of water. If using a pressure cooker, cook beans for about 10-15 minutes, checking frequently. If using a regular pot, cook for 40-50 minutes, checking frequently.
  2. Combine cooked or canned beans with the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Adjust spices to taste and enjoy 🙂
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Tempeh Bacon Marinade – Quick & Yummy

Tempeh Bacon Marinade | HappyGut.ca

This tempeh bacon marinade was da bomb! (Is that still a cool thing to say? I don’t know, I feel old all of a sudden :S). I’ve never been a huge fan fake bacon (probably because I’ve never been a fan or real bacon) so I never did care much. BUT, Irfan (my partner in crime and life) loves it and so I made it. Sigh, the things we do for our partners in crime….. 😉

I used the tempeh bacon marinade to make a tempeh bacon salad, but you could use it for whatever your heart desires. Go nuts, and let me know how it goes 🙂

Serves 2-4

Ingredients for Tempeh Bacon Marinade

  • 1 block tempeh
  • 2 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup tamari
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup oil (I used sunflower)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions for Tempeh Bacon Marinade

  1. Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix well
  2. Slice tempeh thinly
  3. Add tempeh into the marinade and let sit for at least 2 hours, or up to a few days in the fridge (I usually marinade it over night).

To Serve Directions

  1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add tempeh slices to the pan and cook, flipping to brown both sides, until  crispy.
    or to bake, preheat oven to 350, place tempeh on baking sheet and bake until browned and starting to crisp, about 15 minutes.I’ve also included my ingredients for the salad and dressing I used with the tempeh bacon marinade recipe.

Salad Ingredients

  • 4 cups mixed greens
  • 2 tbsp chopped nuts
  • 1 tbsp raisons (and any other toppings you wish)
  • 2 tbsp dressing (see below)
  • 3-6 slices cooked Tempeh Bacon (see below)
  • 4 tbsp soft goat cheese

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 3/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3/4 tsp tamari
  • 1/4 tsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp  mustard
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 cup olive oil

Directions

1. In a blender, puree all ingredients except oils
2. With blender running, slowly add oil

Adapted from Fresh Cookbook

 

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Quinoa Salad with Cilantro, Tomato, & Cucumber

Quinoa Salad Cilantro, Tomato, Cucumber

I’m always in the search for healthy and super quick weekday meals. This quinoa salad with cilantro, tomato, & cucumber makes the cut with flying colours!

My body loves cooked food though I would like to eat more raw food. I have friends who are on the raw food thang and swear by it! According to WebMD, “You’ll also get nutritional perks (from the raw food diet). Most of what you eat are plant based foods that are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals. And it’s true that cooking can zap some water soluble vitamins like vitamins B and C. Eating lots of veggies and fruits is good for you.”

Anywho, quinoa salad with cilantro, tomato, & cucumber is my regular raw-food-ish kind of meal. Though I cook the quinoa, I leave all the other veggies fresh. It’s the perfect balanced of cooked and raw which makes is so delicious.

This meal probably takes a total of 20 minutes to make and start eating, including cooking the quinoa! Feel free to adjust the vegetables to whatever you have available. Basically the combination of garlic and lemon can make anything taste zesty and yummy 🙂

This recipe makes enough for 2 hungry people or 4 if you’re using as a side. For the two of us, it usually makes enough for leftovers for lunch the next day as well 😉

Serves:  2-4

Ingredients for Quinoa Salad with Cilantro, Tomato, & Cucumber

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 can chickpeas or black beans, or any other bean you fancy! (or one cup beans soaked and cooked)
  • 4 green onions, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1/2 cup baby tomatoes, halved (optional if avoiding nightshades)
  • 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1/2 cup diced cucumber
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 avocado diced
  • 1/4 cup feta crumbled, optional
  • 3 hard boiled eggs, optional
  • 1-2 lemons juiced (to taste)
  • salt & pepper to taste

Directions for Quinoa Salad with Cilantro, Tomato, & Cucumber

  • Throw all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy! It’s that easy (and super delicious)!
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Ginger Miso Tofu Recipe

Ginger Miso Tofu Recipe

This Ginger Miso Tofu Recipe is a great quick week day meal. Add a side of greens and roasted veggies and it turns out to be incredibly satisfying!

I should warn you though that this is very gingery and not for the faint of heart. It’s a great recipe for when your sick though. Growing up in a South Asian household, ginger was given for a remedy for basically anything. But it works!

According to Home Remedies, “Research has shown that ginger has numerous health benefits including antioxidant, anti-viral, anti-inflammation, and anti-tumor effects. Therefore, it can help treat many everyday problems such as digestive ailments, nausea, motion sickness, stomach cramps, fevers, and colds as well as major illnesses such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and possibly even cancerous tumors.”

I always use ginger when my tummy is touchy (and it’s touchy often friends). Ginger is my go-to for nausea, diarrhea (that’s right, I just said diarrhea in a food blog post!) and everything cold and flu related.

I love me some ginger!

Serves 1-2

Ingredients for Ginger Miso Tofu Recipe

  • 1 (14-ounce) block extra firm tofu
  • 1 tablespoon white miso
  • 6 tablespoons warm water
  • 3 tablespoons finely grated ginger
  • Oil for frying
  • Braggs or soya sauce (optional)
  • Scallions and sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
  • Salt and pepper (optional) to taste

Directions  for Ginger Miso Tofu Recipe

  1. Drain tofu (I usually do this by placing it between 2 plates and letting it sit for about 10-20 minutes)
  2. Cut tofu into pieces.
  3. In a bowl, mix together miso, water, and ginger.
  4. Heat one tablespoon in skillet or frying pan. Fry tofu until brown/golden on all sides. Reduce heat to low.
  5. Pour miso mixture over and between tofu slices and cook until sizzling.
  6. Just before serving, garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

Enjoy 🙂

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Miso tahini tempeh

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So there is so much conflicting information on soy products. Most of them are not so positive. This is what I think, anything processed is (mostly) bad. Hence, any processed soy is (mostly) bad.

Fermented and sprouted is better than not. When I do eat soy, we try to have it sprouted (most of the tofu I buy is sprouted) and fermented (fermented tofu is called tempeh).

So tempeh seems to be a better “regular soy”. The problem is though that tempeh has such a strong taste! And not incredibly pleasant if you ask me 😛

BUT, no need to fear happygut warriors, I have discovered a secret! You basically need to eat tempeh with a super awesome flavourful sauce.

This sauce makes the cut times a billion! So tasty!

Here she is!

Ingredients
4 T red miso paste
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup tahini
*1 t herbes de Provence (you can also make your own – see below)
1 green chilli
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp lemon or apple cider vinegar

Directions
1. Crush green chilli and garlic gloves together
2. Whisk all ingredients together, adding water a little bit at a time if you feel like it’s too thick.

You can add the sauce you your grilled or baked tempeh! I like to whatever veggies I have handy (carrots, beets, leeks, chard) and bake it with the tempeh for about 20 minutes and then add the sauce on top (I even add avos sometimes!).     DE-LIC-IOUS!!

Herbes de Provence recipe
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried savory
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried lavender
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
1 crushed bay leaf

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