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Soy-free – Page 27 – surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

Tag: Soy-free

Contains no soy.

Baked Eggplant and Zucchini Fries with Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce
Baked Eggplant and Zucchini Fries with Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce

So my friend Mary, the kale whisper, managed to procure about 5 pounds of eggplants for me, or, in other words, a crap ton of eggplants, from her neighbor’s garden. Because she’s just that awesome and cool. So I made and canned 5 pints of Eggplant Caponata and 6 quarts of a version of Ratatouille, but I still had some eggplant and zucchini left. So I decided to try this recipe from the Gourmande in the Kitchen, but make it dairy, egg, and almond free too, since I’m allergic to all those things, and use up the zucchini.

Baked Eggplant and Zucchini Fries with Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce
- 1 small eggplant about 7 inches long, sliced into pieces about 3 inches long and about 1/3 of an inch thick
- 1 small zucchini about 7 inches long, sliced into pieces about 3 inches long and about 1/3 of an inch thick
First dry dredge:
- 1/2 cup of arrowroot starch (you could also use tapioca or corn starch, but corn is out for me, since I’m allergic to it)
Second wet dredge:
- 2 Tablespoons of safe Adobo seasoning (If you don’t have Adobo seasoning, mix 1/8 cup of paprika, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of ground black pepper, 1 Tablespoon of onion powder, 1 Tablespoon of dried oregano, 1 Tablespoon of ground cumin, 1/2 Tablespoon of ground chipotle, and 1/2 Tablespoon of garlic powder, this makes half a cup of seasoning).
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1/3 of a cup of arrowroot starch
- 1/3 of a cup of olive oil
- 2/3 of a cup of water
Third dry dredge:
- 2 cups of gluten free bread crumbs
Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce:
- 1/2 cup of Earth Balance Mindful Mayo (or other mayo that’s safe for you)
- 1 Tablespoon of Sriracha, or your other favorite hot sauce
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and use an oil mister to spray the parchment paper. You can skip the parchment paper, and just spray oil on the baking sheet, but it will be easier to clean up.

Wash, trim and slice your zucchini and eggplant into pieces about 3 inches long and about a 1/3 of an inch thick.

Sliced Zucchini

Sliced Eggplants

Place the arrowroot starch for the first dry dredge in a flat bottomed container with enough room to move the pieces around to coat.

Arrowroot Starch – first dry dredge

Place the ingredients for the second wet dredge in a shallow bottomed bowl and whisk them together. Make sure the bowl has enough room to move the pieces around to coat them.

Wet mixture – second dredge

Place the bread crumbs for the third dry dredge in a container with enough room to move the pieces around to coat.

Dip each piece of zucchini or eggplant in the first dry dredge (arrowroot starch), then in the second wet dredge (arrowroot, water, oil and spices mix), then in the third dry dredge (the bread crumbs) and place them on the baking sheet.

First Dredge

Second Dredge

Third Dredge

Once all the pieces are coated, place baking sheet in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until crispy.

Fries after baking

While your fries are baking, mix Earth Balance Mindful Mayo and your favorite hot sauce in a dipping bowl.

Baked Eggplant and Zucchini Fries with Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce

Enjoy!
October 14, 2013
Squash and Sprout Rice Platter
Squash and Sprout Rice Platter. Photo by J. Andrews

I started working on this particular dish about a year ago when I discovered this branch of Brussels sprouts at a Trader Joe’s and had to buy it. How do you not buy that?

Sprouts!

I made a lot of different Brussels sprouts recipes to use them all up, but most of them involved roasting the sprouts. There is no better way. Roasting is also really the only way to cook butternut squash, and I thought maybe these things would go together well, maybe with some rice and a sauce. I made a dressing using a magical mustard I’d brought back from Paris that was curried apricot mustard, and I’ve been trying to reproduce that flavor since. It took more than a few tries, but it was still cheaper than going back to Paris (where, I need to tell you, there is a whole store that just sells mustard. They have mustard on tap. That was absolutely a highlight of my trip.)

I wanted to call this a pilaf, but apparently a pilaf requires the rice to be cooked in a flavored broth. This dish calls for brown rice cooked in very exciting water, but the dressing you toss everything with at the end adds plenty of flavor, and the vegetables have their own flavors — plus carmelization (i.e. oxidization of the sugars) because of the roasting. Tasty.

Squash and Sprout Rice Platter

Preheat oven to 450F.
- 3/4 cup brown rice
- 1/4 cup wild rice
- 2 1/4 cups water
OR
- 1 cup brown rice
- 2 1/4 cups water
Cook rice however you normally cook rice. I throw it in my rice cooker. This takes about 40 minutes, and so will your vegetables, so start the rice first and then move on.

Butternut Squash

Brussels Sprouts

Walnuts
- 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled* and cut into 1/2 inch cubes — about the size of playing dice
- 1/2 lb. Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed off and any weird outer leaves removed, halved or quartered depending on your preference — make them bite-sized
- 1 cup raw walnut halves or pieces (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons to 1/4 cup oil of your choice (I use olive oil or safflower oil)
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (I use a spicy seasoned salt, but you can use regular — whatever is your favorite)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Line three separate baking sheets with parchment paper (or don’t, but this makes clean up easier).

Toss the squash with 1-2 Tablespoons of oil, lay out in a single layer on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with either salt, seasoned salt, or spicy seasoned salt. I prefer the latter. Throw them in the oven and set the time for 25 minutes.

Toss the sprouts with another 1 Tablespoon of oil, lay out on the second sheet, and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon salt. When the time goes off for the squash, throw the sprouts in (don’t remove the squash!) and reset the timer for 10 minutes.

Spread the walnuts out on the third sheet. When the time goes off again, add the walnut pan to the oven and check the sprouts — remove if necessary. Set the timer for 5 minutes.

A note for the nut allergic: The walnuts are optional in this dish! If you aren’t allergic but just don’t like whole walnuts, chop them up some, as they do add a great flavor to this dish.

Your total cooking time is 45 minutes. The squash gets the full amount, the sprouts about 15, and the walnuts 5. This works out perfectly in my oven, but keep an eye out, especially for the nuts.

For the sauce:
- 4 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon molasses
- 2 teaspoons apricot jam
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder (again, if you like the spice, get the spicy one)
- 3 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard — grainy if you wish, but smooth works best here
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons high-quality olive oil
Whisk all ingredients together.

Plate the rice, add the veggies, drizzle on the sauce, and sprinkle walnuts over the top. Dig in and enjoy.

Squash and Sprout Rice Platter. Photo by J. Andrews
October 7, 2013
End-of-Summer Garbanzo Chili
End of Summer Chili

Yes, I know, it’s about a week late for the end of summer, but then, the zucchini is still around, isn’t it? The zucchini lasts through the end of summer, garbanzo beans always remind me of summer salads and hummus, and the adobo seasoning and fire-roasted tomatoes taste of grilling season. This quick hot meal has some of the great flavors of summer, but is warm and filling (and made indoors).

Adobo seasoning is one of my recent favorites, as there is a ton of flavor in it, but it’s not really spicy. There are varieties of adobo, but the one I’m referring to appears to be Puerto Rican in origin — a dry spice mix, often used to rub on meats, that consists of onion, garlic, Tellicherry black pepper, Mexican oregano, cumin, and cayenne pepper. My version is from Penzey’s Spices, but I have seen it at the grocery store, so I’m assuming it’s not too hard to find in the US. It makes almost everything better.

End-of-Summer Garbanzo Chili

Makes 3-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are.
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 3 Tablespoons chopped onion
- 2 small zucchini, grated (“small” being about 6 inches long, 1 inch diameter — the most common size found in your average US grocery store. Honestly, a little more or less won’t hurt here.)
- 2 oz. (1/2 half a small can) of diced jalapeños OR one fresh, diced jalapeño pepper OR a small can of green chiles (or if you’re Denise, all of the above, possibly)
- 1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes, fire-roasted if you wish
- 1 Tablespoon adobo seasoning
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons millet
- 3 Tablespoons water
- salt to taste
Zucchini and Beans

In a pan heated over medium-low heat, add your oil to the warmed pan. When it shimmers, add the onions. I always chop whole onions, even when I need only half for a recipe, and the rest goes into a bag in the freezer just for meals like this. Add it straight from the freezer to the hot oil, but be careful of the splatters.

Cook onion until translucent, then add the zucchini and stir until fully coated with oil and integrated with onions, a minute or two. Then add the beans, tomatoes, and adobo, stirring each into the dish. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes uncovered.

Add the millet and water, and cover, simmering another 20 minutes, covered. Check the millet to see if it’s done, and if needed, add a bit more water (go 1 Tablespoon at a time) and time (say, 5 minutes at a go). Millet should be firm, but not crunchy, when done.

This is also good with a sprinkle of shredded Daiya mozarella on top, if you have it, but you don’t need it.

End of Summer Chili
September 30, 2013
Meatball Sub Meatballs
Meatball Sub Meatballs in Marinara Sauce over Penne

As I stated a week ago in my Quick-ish Marinara Sauce post, I really miss meatball subs. Although I don’t have a safe bread or cheese, this meatball recipe gets me at least part way there.

Meatball Sub Meatballs

Makes about 24 large meatballs, about the size of golf balls or ping pong balls.
- 1 pound of 80/20 ground pork
- 1 pound of ground beef (I prefer a higher fat content for the beef as well, but that’s up to you)
- 1 Tablespoon of ground chia seed
- 3 Tablespoons of water
- 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 medium onion minced very finely
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon of basil
- 1/2 teaspoon of thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 3/4 cup of gluten-free bread crumbs
- a small amount of olive oil for greasing the baking sheet.
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Take ground pork and ground beef and crumble it into a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, mix chia seed, water, and olive oil together to make a chia egg. Set it aside.

Mince onion and add it to the bowl with the ground pork and ground beef.

Add the salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, and garlic power to the bowl, sprinkling them evenly over the beef and pork (it’ll be easier to mix it in).

Add your bread crumbs and the chia egg, and use your hands to knead the mixture until it is thoroughly combined.

Meatball mix after all ingredients combined

Grease your baking sheet. Form meatballs about the size golf balls. I used a large scoop from Pampered Chef to form my meatballs, but you can use your hands instead. Place them on the baking sheet, spaced out evenly, and put them in the oven.

Meatballs before cooking

Bake them for 30 minutes. Once they are done (internal temp of 161°F) you can add them to sauce, or you can freeze some of them to use later.

Meatballs after cooking

Enjoy, and if you’ve got ideas for dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, corn-free bread recipes, I want to hear about them!

Meatball Sub Meatballs
September 23, 2013
Quick-ish Marinara Sauce
Quick-ish Marinara with Meatballs and Gluten Free Penne

One of the things I really miss is a great meatball sub with gobs of cheese. Since I’m allergic to dairy, wheat, and eggs (in addition to what feels like 50 million other things) that’s a little hard. I haven’t totally figured it out yet, because there isn’t a vegan cheese that works for me because of my coconut, almond, and corn allergies. I’m also missing a sub roll, as I’m still trying to figure out gluten-free, corn-free, dairy-free, and egg-free bread, but I’ve gotten two steps on the way. This week I’ll be posting a marinara sauce you can use for meatball subs, pasta, or for anything else that you need tomato sauce. In two weeks, I’ll be posting a recipe for meatballs. For those of you that have a safe bread and a safe cheese you can use, you’ll have everything you need for a meatball sub. I’m totally jealous of all of you, and while I’m working on it, I’m just going to eat the meatballs and sauce over pasta, which isn’t bad either.

The reason that this is a quick-ish marinara sauce is that I’m using crushed canned tomatoes and canned tomato paste (Cento brand – no citric acid in crushed, tomato puree or paste, but watch out as other Cento canned tomato varieties do have citric acid, which can be corn derived), rather than starting from tomatoes. It still takes some time to simmer, making it a weekend dish, but you can freeze the leftovers and use it for a meal or two during the week with little to no prep.

Quick-ish Marinara Sauce
- 1 large onion, diced very finely
- 3 stalks of celery, diced finely
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 carrot (use a vegetable peeler or a micro planer to peel or zest until the carrot’s just a pile of peels or zest)
- 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 – 8 ounce can of tomato paste
- 2 – 28 cans of crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
- 1 cup of vegetable stock or water
- 1/2 cup of white or red wine (your preference, I used white becuse my tomatoes needed brightening) or use additional vegetable stock or water
- 1/4 teaspoon of oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon of marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon of thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil (if not using fresh basil below, double the amount)
- 1/4 teaspoon of rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 10 fresh leaves of basil, chopped
- salt to taste (I used about a teaspoon this time to get it where I like it)
Dice your onions and celery, mince your garlic, and zest or peel your carrot.

Diced Onions

Diced Celery

In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add your onions, celery, garlic and carrots. Saute them until the onions and celery are somewhat translucent.

Onions, celery, garlic, and carrots being sauted

Add the contents of the can of tomato paste and stir it into the vegetables so it is equally distributed throughout. Then add your cans of crushed tomatoes, the vegetable stock, and the white wine. Stir thoroughly. Reduce the heat to medium low (about 3-4 on my burner dial).

Add your oregano, marjoram, thyme, dried basil, rosemary and black pepper to the sauce and stir to incorporate the spices into the sauce. Chop your basil if you have not already, and add it to the sauce, again stirring thoroughly.

Marinara simmering

Continue to simmer your sauce on medium low until the carrot has dissolved completely into the sauce and the sauce is the consistency you prefer (for me, this is about an hour or so). Once you have reached that point, taste your sauce to see if it needs any salt and add it at that time. I found that I needed about 1/2 of a teaspoon. If you find that your sauce is too acidic, sometimes I will add about a teaspoon of brown sugar and that helps.

Stay tuned for the meatball recipe to be posted in two weeks!

Yummy Quick-ish Marinara
September 16, 2013
Pasta e Fagioli
pasta e fagioli, photo by j.andrews

Growing up, we didn’t eat a lot of pasta. Every few months, there was spaghetti and meatballs, but mostly, we had potatoes. It turns out, the rest of my cohort were eating a lot more pasta than I was, and it seems to be something of a comfort food for many people. Personally, I like it because it’s easy.

We served a pasta e fagioli soup at a sandwich restaurant I worked at, but years ago, someone gave me a recipe for a pasta dish, not soup, that was mostly a can each of beans and tomatoes. It was easy, but kind of boring, and it seemed like something that could take on a ton more vegetables, both for health and nutrition and for color. So I started tinkering. I’ve put off putting this up on the blog since last fall, primarily because I’m still tinkering. Because of that, I’m going to give you some options and ranges on amounts of ingredients. But as we move into cooler weather (well, in New England — I guess it was 90-something in Bismarck on Friday), I am thinking of heartier meals that are still quick and make enough for leftovers.

So here you go. If you have dried pasta, a can of beans, and a can of tomatoes, and garlic, you can make a version of this happen in about 40 minutes. The longer cooking time is because the beans begin to break down and make the sauce creamy. If you make the sauce a day or so ahead, you have an even quicker meal with a creamier sauce. If you come up with a variation you like, please share it in the comments!

simmering bean sauce, photo by j.andrews

Pasta e fagioli
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, cooking grade (generally not extra virgin)
- 1 teaspoon (2 cloves) minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons chopped sweet onion (optional)
- 2-4 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/4-1/2 of a bell pepper chopped finely (optional)
- 1 8 oz. package of white button mushrooms, washed and broken (optional, I guess)
- 1 8 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups of canned tomatoes, diced or roughly chopped, and their juice
- 5-8 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped (optional, but really good in this)
- 1-3 Tablespoons good quality olive oil (the fancier kind you’d use for salad dressing, if you have it)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Pasta of your choice (I used Ancient Harvest quinoa and corn shells)
In a large skillet, heat up your first 2 T of olive oil over medium heat. When it is shimmering hot, add the garlic and the onion (if using). Stir frequently.

As those aromatics become translucent, add the celery and bell pepper. Stir to completely coat with oil, then add the mushrooms. You’ve broken instead of chopping the mushrooms because they hold their shape and shrink less, and this gives them more texture. Yes, I suppose these are optional, too, if you really hate mushrooms. I just find that hard to imagine (sorry, Denise).

When the mushrooms are thoroughly wilted (that’s what they will look like), add the beans and the tomatoes, but reserve most of the tomato juice. I just scoop the tomatoes out with a slotted spoon. Stir these in will, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook this for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the tomato juice, and cook another 15-20 minutes. The beans will start to break down, and this gives the “sauce” a great texture — it is very thick and chunky at this stage.

Assuming your pasta takes about 10 minutes, start it now. Cook according to package directions, making sure to reserve some of the water when you drain it for the step below.

At this point, add the spinach to the bean mixture, and cook until all the spinach is wilted. Decide if you want your sauce a bit thinner at this stage. If so, add from 1T to 1/4 cup of your pasta water, adding slowly and stirring until you get the desired consistency. If not, go directly to adding another 1-3 Tablespoons of good quality olive oil (the more you add, the richer it gets, just like hummus), stirring it in thoroughly. Taste your sauce and add salt (if needed) and a bit of fresh ground pepper.

Serve sauce over pasta.

pasta e fagioli, photo by j.andrews
September 9, 2013
DIY Spice Mix Day – Montreal Steak, Creamy Peppercorn, Singapore, and Full of Flavor Herb Mix
Full of Flavor Herb Mix

DIY Singapore Seasoning

DIY Creamy Peppercorn Dressing Mix

DIY Montreal Steak Seasoning

So one of the more recent traumatic events (okay, not really traumatic, but annoying certainly) was the purging of my spice cabinet of things I can’t use any more as a result of the corn and wheat allergies. If you know me in real life, I’m a tad obsessive about my spices. I have a four-shelf stand-alone cabinet in the kitchen that contains nothing but spices, spice mixes, and vinegar and oils. There may or may not be an inventory spreadsheet on my Google drive with 157 items on it so that I can get to it on my phone while I am grocery shopping. I’m also frankly surprised and disappointed that I haven’t made it on some platinum frequent order program with Penzey’s spices, given my order volume (tongue firmly in cheek, I love them). But in any case, I had to get rid of a few of my favorite mixes, Penzey’s or otherwise, mostly because they contained citric acid or other problematic ingredients for me. So I played around, did some Google-fu, and experimented and came up with the following mixes that make me happy.

DIY Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 4 Tablespoons of Kosher Salt
- 1 Tablespoon of black peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon of dried minced onion
- 1 Tablespoon of dried thyme
- 1 Tablespoon of dried rosemary
- ½ Tablespoon of dried minced garlic
- ½ Tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons of fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon of dill seed
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
Put this in a blender or spice/coffee grinder, or use my trick where you take a pint mason canning jar, put all the spices in the jar and screw the blender blade assembly to the jar and put it on blender. Using any and all methods, blend until fairly well ground as shown below and put in a spice jar and store. I use this as a rub for beef, pork and chicken.

DIY Montreal Steak Seasoning

DIY Creamy Peppercorn Dressing Mix
- ¼ cup of black peppercorns ground coarsely (in a blender or spice/coffee grinder, or use my trick where you take a pint mason canning jar, put the spices in the jar and screw the blender blade assembly to the jar and put it on blender)
- ⅛ cup of sugar
- ⅛ cup of dried minced garlic
- ⅛ cup of dried thyme
- ⅛ cup of dried parsley.
- 2 ½ Tablespoons of salt
DIY Creamy Peppercorn Dressing Mix

Put all ingredients in a bowl spices in a bowl and whisk together thoroughly. Put in a spice jar to store. To use, mix 1 Tablespoon of Creamy Peppercorn Dressing Mix in 2 Tablespoons of water and let stand five minutes. Mix in ½ cup Earth Balance Mindful Mayo and enjoy. If you can have dairy and eggs, use 1/4 cup of mayo and 1/4 cup of sour cream 🙂

Creamy Peppercorn Dressing using Earth Balance Mindful Mayo

DIY Singapore Seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons of lemon peel powder (you can get this from Penzey’s or grind up dried lemon peel in your spice/coffee grinder)
- ½ Tablespoon of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of tumeric
- ½ teaspoon of ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon of ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon of ground fennel
- ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon of ground fenugreek
- ⅛ teaspoon of ground white pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon of ground cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon of ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon of ground cayenne red pepper
Put all ingredients in a bowl spices in a bowl and whisk together thoroughly. Put in a spice jar to store. You can use this as a spice rub for chicken or pork or to flavor rice noodles.

DIY Singapore Seasoning

Full of Flavor Herb Mix

Penzey’s has a Mural of Flavor spice mix that I love, but it has citric acid (corn) in it, so it’s out for me now. I came up with the following mix to replace it.
- 1 ½ Tablespoons of dried minced shallots
- 1 teaspoon of thyme
- 1 teaspoon of rosemary
- 1 teaspoon of basil
- 1 teaspoon of chives
- ½ teaspoon of onion powder
- ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon of lemon peel
- ¼ teaspoon of ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon of green peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon of dill weed
- ¼ teaspoon of lemon peel powder (you can get this from Penzey’s or grind up dried lemon peel in your spice/coffee grinder)
- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon of orange peel
Put this in a blender or spice/coffee grinder, or use my trick where you take a pint mason canning jar, put all the spices in the jar and screw the blender blade assembly to the jar and put it on blender. Using any and all method, blend until it is ground to a coarse consistency (not powder) as shown below and put in a spice jar and store. I use this on vegetables, in soups, on beef, pork, chicken and fish. It’s a great all-purpose spice blend.

Full of Flavor Herb Mix

Hope you guys enjoy these spice mixes. If you’ve got some of your own, please share!
September 2, 2013
Moveable Feast — the week-long salad
Salad, weekend iteration

This summer hasn’t been brilliant for me and cooking. Let’s be honest — it was brutally hot and often humid, and I’ve been busy. But hey, since when is that just a summer thing? Here’s a second “idea” recipe of the summer — the “idea” part being that you can change up almost all of the ingredients and the concept will still work. Actually, that’s also the whole point of this recipe.

You know those weeks where you have a lot of random leftovers around? Or ingredients you didn’t use quite all of? Last week, that was me — a fridge full of random, and a planned long weekend vacation at the end of the week. So I shopped strategically and left my empty fridge alone over the weekend.

With half a bag of shredded carrots, most of a cucumber, some broccoli, leftover brown rice pasta, half an avocado, and a packet of tuna, I managed four meals by adding one key ingredient — ranch dressing (check out our cashew-based recipe, but you can also try the Earth Balance mayo version). I know that you likely come here for new and fresh recipes, and this isn’t exactly a recipe. But occasionally, I need a reminder that good, healthy, tasty food is not hard and does not need to take forever to make.

This kind of salad is one of my favorite things to eat for lunches, but I make a few, get a bit tired of them, and then seem to forget that they exist. Does anyone else do that?

Meal The First

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 cucumber, sliced in half and thinly sliced

1/2 bag of shredded carrots

2 cups of broccoli florets, broken into smaller florets

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Cashew ranch, to your level of dressing needs
- Feeds two or makes two meals, with leftovers, so plate and then put the dressing on your servings
Salad, version 2

Meal the Second

To the leftover vegetables, and with the leftover ranch, add:

1 packet of tuna, drained

1/2 avocado, cubed

1 small tomato, sliced

1 cup of leftover pasta
- Again, feeds two or makes two meals
Other Possible Additions

Leftover chicken/canned chicken

Canned beans

Any other vegetables you may have around

Leftover rice or other grains

Do you make salads like this? If so, what would you add? Any good ideas for exciting or unexpected ingredients?
August 26, 2013