Vegan Kale and Chickpea Salad

I'm  neither vegetarian nor vegan, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying my veggies. When I feel like I've gone a bit overboard on the wine drinking or diet, I like to clean things up with this salad. It's made from fresh, cleansing ingredients, has tons of vitamins and tastes amazing too. This is great for a packed lunch, keeps well in the fridge for a day or so and well, folks seem to have a love affair with kale these days, don't they?

Kale and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of kale, stems and ribs removed, cut into tiny strips or chiffonade
1/2 cup of canned chickpeas, rinsed
1 roasted red pepper, diced
5 cherry or grape tomatoes halved
1/4 cup of diced red onion
a handful of shredded carrots (I like to keep a bag of pre-shredded carrots around to throw in random meals)
1-2 tbs of sunflower seeds or pine nuts

For the dressing:

1 tbs of good olive oil
1 tbs of apple cider vinegar
1 tbs of a good mustard (i used a spicy garlic but you can just use dijon)
1 tbs of honey or agave nectar
1 clove of garlic crushed
dash of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
chopped green onion (optional)

The How-To:

Rinse and spin dry the kale. Massage the kale with your hands for 1-2 minutes. Don't look at me like I'm crazy. This is key! Instead of cooking my kale or having raw, uber hard strips to chomp on, I massage it. It reduces the volume a bit and makes the leaves much easier to chew and digest because it's softer. Throw it in a bowl along with other veggies.

In a small bowl, whisk together (or shake up in a small jar) the dressing ingredients. Throw in with the veggies and kale, toss to combine and serve. It was even good the next day -- I go fairly light on the dressing.

Asparagus and Mushroom Soup

Sometimes, I'm just in a soup mood. I think a savory, creamy soup is a great, filling way to stay within a healthy diet--if made properly. The addition of mushrooms to this soup adds B vitamins and a few grams of protein. Did you know mushrooms are also the only non-fortified dietary source of vitamin D? Sneaky taters also thicken the pot without adding a ton of carbs!

Asparagus and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

2 pounds of asparagus (chopped, use the tips and half the stalks)
1 large yellow onion sliced
1 container of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 large russet potato chopped
2 garlic gloves chopped
2 tbs of Earth Balance butter
2-3 cups of vegetarian stock (depending on how thick you like it)
salt/pepper to taste
splash of sherry

The How To:

In a large pan, saute the mushrooms with a tablespoon of butter, some salt & pepper. When they are browned, splash a bit of sherry in the pan, stir until it evaporates. Let the mushrooms cool, set aside until you're ready to incorporate them into the soup.

In a large pot, saute the onions in butter til translucent. Add the chopped asparagus, potato and garlic. Stir until everything mingles nicely. Add a bit of salt and pepper but not too much if your stock is salted.

Add the stock, bring to boil, then lower heat to a simmer with the lid on. It should take about 20-30 minutes for everything to soften and cook through. Add in half the mushrooms and their liquid and use a hand blender to blend the soup smooth. You can add the remaining mushrooms for texture, or just dump them all in before you blend. (You can also leave them out altogether if the fungus scares you.)

Pour into a bowl (serves about 4) and garnish however you please. Super easy and dairy free since the potato acts a nice thickener and the Earth Balance is vegan.