BEST Lite Goddess Salad Dressings (Oil-Free)

April 12, 2012 by aprilcball

I LOVE Dr. Joel Fuhrman and really respect what he has to say when it comes to nutrition and how to take care of your body. If you’re looking for a really great book to read, try “Eat To Live” or his other book “Disease Proof Your Child“… I HIGHLY recommend both! Our family takes his vitamins, DHA and EPA supplements too… you can purchase them from his site. All of his supplements are legit, I can attest to that. I’ve never felt better!

Dr. Fuhrman recommends everyone eat a LARGE salad for one of their daily meals since raw, uncooked veggies and fruits offer the most powerful protection against disease. Raw foods contain enzymes, some of which can survive the digestive process in the stomach and pass into the small intestines. In other words, they keep things moving the way they should be! 😉

Since I try to eat a large salad everyday for lunch I’m always on the lookout for new oil-free salad dressings. These two are our favorites! They are much less fattening than the bottled versions and are super easy to make. I make a double batch every week. I also LOVE topping our salads with Goaty Cashew Cheese… YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!

If you like oil-free dressings, you’ll also have to try Oil-Free Raspberry Vinaigrette!

Lite Green Goddess Dressing

Another delicious salad with Goddess Dressing!!

This first one is from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, one of my all-time favorite vegan food blogs. If you haven’t checked out her site yet, I suggest you do. Be prepared to spend some serious time bookmarking recipes though!! I cook her recipes on a regular basis and we really enjoy them! What’s awesome about her site is she’s almost oil-free, low salt and no processed foods… right up our alley!

Susan’s Lite Goddess Dressing

6 ounces lite firm silken tofu (1/2 pkg. of Mori-Nu) – I’ve made this without tofu and it’s just as good
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon tahini
2 green onions, white parts removed, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, packed
1 large clove garlic

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. (The Magic Bullet worked well for this.)

Makes 10 servings of 2 tbsp. each. Per serving: 19 Calories (kcal); 1 g Total Fat; (45% calories from fat); 1 g Protein; 1 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 164 mg Sodium

Magic Bullet works great for this!

Takes me about 10 minutes to make

Lite Goddess Dressing... THE BEST!!!

Here’s another version of Goddess Dressing, this one uses chia seeds as a thickener.

Recipe from Melomeals!

Goddess Dressing

3 T Tahini
2 T Apple Cider Vinegar
2 T Braggs or Soy Sauce
2 Green Onion
2 Cloves garlic
1 tsp fresh ginger
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t lemon pepper
1 c veg stock
2 t chia seeds
2 dates
1 T fresh parsley

Again... use your Magic Bullet!

Yummy!

BEST Lite Goddess Salad Dressings (Oil-Free) (kidtestedfirefighterapproved.com)

Loaded Veggie Spicy Noodles

January 24, 2012 by aprilcball

This was SO GOOD! My hubby and I both devoured the leftovers too… so did our toddler!

Loaded Veggie Spicy Noodles

Toddler Approved!

This is made from a few other recipes – GREAT way to use up leftovers! I’m sure you could use any variation of this recipe with great success.

This is another awesome recipe from Melomeals!! She rocks! I changed the original recipe and added more veggies. I have to add kale to everything! I keep shredded carrots on hand for salads and wraps so I dumped some of those in too.

Loaded Veggie Spicy Noodles

1 box whole wheat pasta – I used regular
1 c pasta cooking water
1/2 cup Chipotle Hummus (leftover from a batch I made the day before – used the other half to make the Chipotle Broccoli Quinoa Soup)
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic
3 T Ketchup
2 T Siracha
1 T Toasted Sesame Oil
2 T Apple Cider Vinegar or Lime Juice – I used lime juice
cooked tofu & leftover veggies – I used my batch of Gingered Tofu & Zucchini
1 32oz package of baby portobello mushrooms, sliced (Costco)
1 bunch Lacinato kale, destemmed and chopped
1 bunch of collard greens, chopped (you could use anything here, really)
1 large onion
1 large green pepper
2-3 cups shredded carrots
Cilantro/Peanuts for garnish
Soy Sauce/Pepper to taste

Method:

Cook pasta, reserve water
Saute green peppers, onions and garlic until soft
Add mushrooms, saute until soft, add water if needed to prevent sticking
Add kale and collards, cook until wilted
Add shredded carrots and stir, allow carrots to heat
Mix together ketchup, hummus, sesame oil, ginger, sriracha (if using – or add at the end), Apple Cider Vinegar or Lime Juice and stir until smooth
In a skillet, add the pasta, sauce ingredients , Gingered Tofu & Zucchini, mushroom/kale/carrot/veggie mix and thin out with the pasta water as needed.
Heat through and add the cilantro/soy sauce and pepper to taste

Saute green peppers, onions and garlic... add mushrooms and saute until soft

Add kale and collards, cook until wilted. Add carrots and stir, allow to heat

Mix ketchup, ginger, sesame oil, lime juice together

Add hummus and stir to combine

Drain pasta, add sauce mixture and toss well

Add veggie mixture and Gingered Tofu & Zucchini and toss well

YUMMY!

Top with cilantro and soy sauce (if desired)

Kool Ranch Kale Chips

November 29, 2011 by aprilcball

WOW these are good! I’ve made a ton of kale chips in the past but these are my new favorite!! I used my dehydrator to make these but you can use a regular cookie sheet lined with parchment paper if you don’t have one.

Kool Ranch Kale Chips

Kool Ranch Kale Chips

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 1 hour to soften

-1 bunch of kale – I used lacinato/dinosaur kale but it would be good with any kind

-1/8 – 1/4 cup water

-1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

-1 Tbsp nutritional yeast

-1 tsp dried parsley

-1/4 tsp garlic powder

-1/4 tsp dried dill

– 1/4 tsp onion powder

– 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

-1/4 tsp sea salt

-1/4 red onion, chopped

-paprika and extra sea salt for pre-dehydration sprinkling

1.) Blend (great in a VitaMix!) the cashews, water and seasonings in a blender until smooth. Place mixture in the bottom of a large mixing bowl and add the chopped onions.

2.) Wash the kale and remove the stems. Tear off chip-sized pieces of the kale and add to the bowl. Using your hands, massage the mixture onto the kale bites so that each piece is well coated.

3.) Transfer the kale to your dehydrator or parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with paprika and additional sea salt.

4.) Dehydrate for 5-8 hours at 115 degrees – my dehydrator took about 5 hours

** If you use the oven method, spread kale chips on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven until crisp, on the lowest setting with the door slightly ajar.

Blend cashews, seasoning and water

Add to bowl with onions

Wash kale, remove stems, tear into chip pieces and add to bowl

Massage mixture into each piece and transfer to baking sheet or dehydrator, top with salt & paprika

Dehydrate for 5-8 hours at 115 degrees

Yummy!

Bet you can't eat just one!

Original recipe from The Kurious Kale website.

Simple Coconut, Ginger, Carrot Breakfast Bread (Sugar, Soy & Wheat Free)

November 10, 2011 by aprilcball

Since both my kids decided to nap at the same time today, I had a chance to make this breakfast bread recipe I’ve had my eye on for a few weeks. I’m always on the lookout for healthy but fast breakfast options for busy mornings and this works perfectly! I had leftover shredded carrots from making the Healthy Veggie Muffins a couple of days ago and Chipotle Split Pea Soup last night so this was a perfect way to use them up!

Breakfast bread with peanut butter, orange slices and a glass of almond milk… Yummy!! Toddler and hubby loved this and ate it throughout the day!

The original recipe is from… you guessed it! Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day, my all-time favorite recipe source and vegan food blog. I changed it up a bit over the past year, I make it often because it’s really good! If you haven’t explored her blog, PLEASE do so!!!

2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon Kal Stevia Powder (I use 1/4 tsp)
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons fresh ginger
¾ cup dried unsweetened coconut
2 large carrots
1 – 15 oz can of white beans and their liquid
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce – I like to use cinnamon
1 tablespoon vinegar – I used apple cider vinegar

Pre-heat Oven to 375

1. In a food processor, process oats into flour; place in mixing bowl with the rest of the dry ingredients.

2. Next, pulse the ginger and carrots in the food processor until really broken up

3. Add the beans, water, psyllium, applesauce and vinegar and puree until smooth

4. Add to the dry ingredients

5. Grease an 8 by 8 square pan and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

6. Let cool completely before serving

: Oat “Flour”

: Ginger & Carrots

: Dry Mix

: Putting it all together

: Add wet to dry

: Pour into pan and flatten

Easy Breakfast Bread!

Raw Collard & Apple Salad

October 4, 2011 by aprilcball

I love my greens! I enjoy hearty meal-type salads and I’ve been making a few lately that we really enjoy! Kale is my go-to salad green but I’ve been trying to venture out. I came across this Raw Collard and Apple Salad from my latest favorite vegan food blog MELOMEALS: Vegan for $3.33 A Day. You can use collard greens or kale – I used collard greens. I love the spiciness of the dijon mustard with the sweetness of the raisins! I’ve been eating this with my collard wraps for lunch, it’s just so awesome that it keeps in the fridge and doesn’t wilt and sog like regular salad!