Cauliflower Quiona Salad

Last week at work I attended a retirement lunch.  The lunch was held at White Spot. TRAUMA.  The invite email had a link to their menu and I discovered they had some interesting salads, so I thought maybe this won’t be too bad.

IT WAS BAD. REAL BAD. The cauliflower on the salad tasted like they didn’t know how to defrost frozen vegetables.

However, the traumatizing experience of eating White Spot salad inspired me to get creative with salads at home (mostly just to burn the flavour of white spot food out of my mouth forever).

I made a cauliflower, quinoa salad with leafy greens, and it was lovely. My cauliflower was well cooked and did not send shivers down the person ingesting its spine (I’m looking at you White Spot).  Usually, when I have had quinoa salad the ratio of quinoa to vegetables has been equal, but in this salad the quinoa is more of a top garnish which is actually a really nice way to use it!

Salad

• 1/3 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup edamame (I used frozen)
• 1 pack leafy greens
• 2 TB chopped almonds
• 1 cup chopped cauliflower
• 1/4 tsp tumeric, paprika  and salt

Dressing

• 1/4 balsamic vinegar
• 2 TB honey mustard
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Steam the heads of cauliflower for around 5 minutes, you don’t want it to become to mushy.
2. Fry the cauliflower in 1/2 TB coconut oil with the tumeric, paprika and salt. Add your chopped almonds, and cook until nicely toasted. Set aside to cool.
3. Bring 1/3 cup of quinoa with 2/3 cups of water to a boil, and then let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
4. Cook your edamame according to package.
5. Mix all the ingredients of the dressing together and adjust flavours to please your taste buds
6. In a salad bowl prepare the greens, then add the quinoa, edamame, and cauliflower mix. Add the dressing to taste.

 

 

 

 

 

Brussels Sprout with Roasted Tamari Pumpkin Seeds

This week I started working after being unemployed for a period of time (it was a long time no judgement ok).  Now I’m going to be working straight for around 17 (you should probably kill me).  I just want to stay home and cook all day! Ugh, life be like.  One thing working has made me realize is I need to be really organized about with preparing my meals.  Some people are chill to just pick up some food where ever they are, but when you are a health freak in today’s prepackaged, zero nutritional value world that is not really an option.  Since thinking about what I’m going to eat for lunch is one of the only things that keeps me going through a morning of work; I need to make sure it’s really delicious.  So the other day I made brussel sprout salad with tamari roasted pumpkin seeds, and it actually made my morning go by so slowly because all I could think about was when I would get to eat.

My favourite way to enjoy brussel sprouts is to roast them, because boiled brussels are straight up gross, as a kid I wouldn’t even look at brussel sprouts at Christmas I was like potatoes come at me but nowwww I want them both. 

• 2 cups brussels halved
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil + 1 teaspoon for the pumpkin seeds
• sprinkle of salt or red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon tamari (Tamari is a type of soy sauce in case you were wondering, you can use normal soy sauce instead but I find the flavour of tamari to be the best.)
• alfalfa sprouts (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 400F (200C)
2. Cut your brussels in half, and combine with coconut oil and salt. Roast for 30-40 minutes.
3. Heat a pan with coconut oil, when it is hot add pumpkin seeds and tamari. Cook for around 5 minutes or until the seeds are golden
4. When the brussels are cooked combine with the pumpkin seeds and alfalfa sprouts!
5. Eat lunch and make everyone who work with jealous

This recipe is really, really easy as obviously evident from reading it, but it is a definite winner.