Pistachio Pear Salad

I haven’t had greens in a while.

<GASP>

I know, it’s so wrong. Especially when you eat a vegan diet.

So after I realized this, I thought I should whip up a big salad that’s been long overdue. I saw a bag of pistachios to my left and a couple of ripe pears to my right… and good things happened. I had only this for dinner and it seriously filled me right up. Thank God I made extra salad dressing because I’ve got to make this again! and again, and again and again…

Next time, I think pear slices would make this salad top notch, but I only had 1 pear to make the dressing. (You might notice I ate all the tomatoes on my plate before I remembered to take a picture, but you get the idea, right?) I wouldn’t recommend substituting the Pistachios for another nut, because I really think the tangy dressing and pistachios balance each other perfectly.

Dressing Ingredients:

1 ripe pear, peeled and chopped
freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
3 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 ripe pear, peeled and chopped
juice from 1/2 lemon
2.5 tbsp white wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Salad Ingredients:

2 cups mixed greens
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
handful of pistachios, shelled
1 pear, peeled and sliced

Blend the salad dressing ingredients together. Use less vinegar if you prefer, but I find that the tangy flavor balances out well with the pistachios.

Salad dressing makes almost 1 cups, about 8 servings (2tbsp/serv).

Omit the salt in the salad dressing to make this recipe fit for an Ekadasi fast.

Nutrition Info: Calories: 497; Fat: 33.1; Sodium: 375mg; Potassium: 451mg; Carb: 47.8; Fiber: 10.2g; Sugar: 9.4; Protein: 8.4g

Highest Vitamins/Minerals:   Vitamin A: 138.9%; Vitamin C: 72.7%; Iron: 15.1%

—-

Salad Dressing (per 2tbsp):  Calories: 219; Fat: 22g; Sodium: 203mg; Potassium: 44.2mg; Carb: 6.2g; Fiber: 0.8g; Sugar: 1.5g; Protein: 0.2g

Entire Salad: Calories: 278; Fat: 11.1g; Sodium: 172mg; Potassium: 407mg; Carb: 41.6g; Fiber: 9.4g; Sugar: 7.9g; Protein: 8.2g

Raw Chai Berry Cobbler

Personally, I rarely enjoy nuts in their natural form. I need them to be jazzed up in something in order for me to really like them. So raw vegan recipes are one of my favorite ways to get in my serving of nuts, and it’s a great excuse for me to avoid cooking too.

I like to have some raw vegan dishes every so often because cooking food destroys the complex balance of micronutrients. Heat interacts with fat, protein and carbohydrates and produces a different chemical reaction (that some say is not really healthy) and cuts out some of the nutritional value in the food. What a bummer, right? So all those healthy vegetable dishes could be healthier if they weren’t cooked. But cooked food is just so darn yummy!

So I try to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Like throwing in nutritional powerhouses like this cobbler! Honestly, this is my favorite cobbler ever… even compared to the baked ones! And this still contains all the nutrients of the fruit and nuts in their natural form. How cool is that? What makes it even better is that it’s as easy as a snap to put together. You just toss the ingredients in a food processor and presto. Layer up that bad boy and you’re down to chomp in just a matter of minutes! My dad gave this 5 stars out of 5 stars, so you know he’s serious.

On a separate note, this is a great pre-workout snack too. Dates are my staple energy boost before a run because they’re dense in carbohydrates and sugar. Almonds are a great source of protein and calcium. Then you’ve got antioxidant-rich berries coated with energy-supporting agave nectar. With all these nutrients and natural sugar, chia seeds can make your absorption more efficient for a workout because they gel in the stomach, creating a physical barrier between carbohydrates and the digestive enzymes that break them down. The result? It slows down the conversion of carbs into sugar. So it extends your energy over a longer period of time. Neat trick, huh?

Ingredients:

1 cup dry almonds
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dried dates (any kind as long as they’re soft)
1 fig (optional)
2 cups strawberries, chopped
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

Instructions:

1. Toss the almonds into the food processor to chop them up well. Then add nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, dates and fig. Process through until you get a yummy chunky chai result.
2. In a bowl, coat the blueberries and strawberries with agave nectar.
3. Layer the cobbler by spreading 1/2 of the nutty chai mixture on the bottom of your pan. Press down to evently distribute.
4. Pour your berry mixture in, then top it off with the rest of the nutty chai mix on top. Try to crumble and sprinkle to evenly distribute.
5. Sprinkle the chia seeds on top and enjoy

Makes roughly 5 servings, 1 cup each. Stays fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition Info– Calories: 301; Fat: 15.3g; Sodium: 237mg; Potassium: 372.5; Carb: 25.7g; Fiber: 8.9; Sugar: 17g; Protein: 7.1

Highest Vitamins & Nutrients– Vitamin C: 75.5%; Manganese: 58.2%; Vitamin E: 40.4%; Magnesium: 22.2%; Copper: 19.4%; Riboflavin: 17.9%; Phosphorus: 15.5%

Neapolitan Breakfast Parfaits

I’ve been trying to switch up my breakfasts, but I didn’t want anything that would take up too much of my time in the morning. And I wanted something made out of simple, plant-based ingredients. Oh, and of course it had to be pretty too. Ha.

My family couldn’t believe that the simple ingredients in this gorgeous little thing could make something so sweet and tasty. What I love about this recipe is that you can prep it overnight and blend the fresh ingredients in the morning right before munching down! Not only is it a great wake-up call to your palate before you run off to work, but it’s kid-approved too! My 1-year old nephew kept screeching for more. :)

This recipe makes 3 servings of parfait for your morning, but creates double the amount of overnight Chocolate Oats so you can re-create another parfait the next day.

Ingredients (3 Servings):

1/3 cup Quaker Oats
2 tbsp Chia Seeds
1 1/2 cups nondairy milk (I used unsweetened coconut milk)
1.5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 chopped bananas
1 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
5 tbsp agave nectar, or to taste

“Night-before” Instructions:

1. Mix together the quaker oats, chia seeds, cocoa powder and nondairy milk of your preference. Set in the fridge overnight, to make your “Chocolate Oats” for tomorrow.
   
2. Put the chopped bananas and strawberries in separate plastic bags and leave in the freezer overnight.

“Day-Of” Instructions:

1. Blend the frozen banana in a food processor for about 5 minutes, pausing periodically to scrape the sides down, until it looks like soft serve ice cream. Add agave nectar to sweeten to your liking. (I used 2 tbsp)
   
2. Take out 3/4 of your banana soft serve ice cream and set aside. Add the frozen strawberries to the remaining 1/4 of the banana to create a strawberry soft serve. Add agave nectar to sweeten to your liking. (I didn’t use any.)
   
3. Remove the Chocolate Oats from the fridge and add agave nectar to sweeten (I used 3 tbsp).
   
4. Layer your Neapolitan and serve! Garnish with strawberries and banana if you like!