There’s a terrible rumor out there that vegans eat only salads. This comes from a time when there were zero to no vegan options in your standard American restaurant and so, yes, salads were sometimes the only options.
What a terrible time. Vegans need substantial sustenance (try saying that 5 times fast) too!
Also, there may be vegans among us (ahem) who do NOT love a salad. (Can you be a vegan who agrees that a meal mostly made of raw greens is rabbit food?)
What you will find is that every vegan loves a good bowl. Noodles + peanut sauce + veggies + chickpeas OR rice + soy sauce + veggies + maybe some tofu – the possibilities and ease of assembly (and eating, for that matter) are so appealing.
Enter: the salad bowl.
Made mostly of hearty stuff instead of primarily romaine, you can barely even call it a salad (save for the fact that it is mostly raw ingredients and can have greens in it). This is a go-to for work lunches or fast, healthy meals with a crowd.
Disclaimer: this salad does involve massaging kale. Yes, that is VERY vegan and does seem involved, but, of course, it can be skipped. You can either add un-massaged kale, use another, less tough green or skip the green all together.
It’s nice that now vegans get to eat salads voluntarily!
- Lemon (preferred) or Lime Juice
- Shallots (preferred) or Garlic
- Salt
- Olive Oil
- Quinoa
- Canned Beans - choose your favorite
- Kale (preferred)
- Spinach
- Mixed Greens
- Other of Your Choosing
- Cucumber
- Avocado
- Tomato
- Whatever Else You Like
- Chia Seeds
- Hemp Seeds
- Nutritional Yeast
- Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the salad, while it cooks (quinoa only takes 15 mins to cook, typically). Set aside when cooked to cool.
- Chop up the shallots (or garlic, if using) for the dressing. Add to a big mixing bowl.
- Use a fork to whisk the shallots (or garlic) together with lemon (or lime) juice, olive oil and salt. Decide what proportions look good to you or are to your taste.
- (Skip this step if using spinach or other greens) Wash and tear/cut the kale into bite-sized shreds. Add the kale to the bowl with the dressing and use your hands to massage the kale. This means you are basically working the kale like you would knead dough. You're looking to see the kale break down and take up much less space - similar to spinach when you cook it. Yes, your hands will get oil all over them.
- Chop up all other veggies while the kale rests and the quinoa cooks. Add them to the bowl.
- Drain and rinse the canned beans. Add them to the bowl.
- Add the cooked quinoa to the bowl.
- Top with chia seeds, hemp hearts and/or nutritional yeast - to taste and according to how much nutritional boosting you want. Also, nutritional yeast will add a bit of cheese flavor, which many vegans love.
- Mix it up and eat it up! If you want, you can sprinkle with a bit of salt and some more olive oil.
WANT HELP GETTING STARTED?
Download a vegan grocery list for beginners.
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