Even though I eat plenty of them, I never really post salads on here because they don’t necessarily feel like “recipes” to me – more of a “throw things in a bowl” type of meal.  But perhaps in the future I will consider posting some of the more interesting or unusual flavor combinations.

While I do have a few emergency bottles of salad dressing in my fridge, most of the time I end up making my own.  Condiments – salad dressings included – are one of those sneaky food groups (yes I just called them a food group) where if you aren’t a careful label-checker, you can end up with a lot of fake and undesirable ingredients.  To help you avoid that, I give you this…

My Favorite Homemade Salad Dressing

Ingredients:  (makes 3/4 cup)

• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1.5 tbsp coarse grain mustard
• 4 tbsp water
• salt (if needed)

To Prepare:  First, a word on nutritional yeast, and the most common questions I get about this flaky nutritional powerhouse… 

Where can I buy it?

Let me save you a trip right now – Trader Joe’s does NOT carry it (don’t know why).  Most Whole Foods sell it in their bulk section.  Before you write off Whole Foods as being too expensive, nutritional yeast is pretty much the consistency of fish food, and weighs next to nothing, so when you pay by the pound – it’s pretty affordable.  If you can’t find it at your local health food store, you can also buy it online.

What can I use as a non-vegan substitute?

I have to start by saying that you don’t have to be vegetarian or vegan to try some fun new ingredients!  Nutritional yeast is kind of its own unique thing, and therefore hard to come up with an equivalent.  If I had to pick one though, I’d say ground parmesan.

I hope that helps for the nutritional yeast newbies!  Moving right along, combine the yeast, mustard, liquid aminos, grapeseed oil, and water in a small bowl or jar.  Make sure you use the potent whole grain mustard – that stuff packs a punch!

Once you have it in a jar or small container, make sure your lid is very secure…

And then SHAKE!  Put some muscle into it.

Salt to taste if needed (but not likely), and then drizzle over your favorite salad fixings!

Today’s bowl was a mix of arugula, butter lettuce, radicchio, snap peas, avocado, and leftover cinnamon-spiced quinoa.  Deeeelicious!

If you tend to always gravitate towards the store-bought dressings, consider making your own!  It will likely save you money, and you can feel good knowing you saved on packaging and helped our planet.

Enjoy!

One of my absolute favorite things in this world is SOUP!  Any season, any day, any hour – I will eat soup.  We got married in May, and even though it wasn’t necessarily soup season, I still found a way to incorporate my favorite liquid meal into our special day.  Cold tomato gazpacho served in shot classes, with mini grilled cheese bites perches on the edges…

Come on, is that not completely awesome?  However, that’s not what we’re making today.  Today, it’s 36 degrees outside in Virginia, which means it’s definitely chowder weather.  But not just any chowder – this one is high in protein, incredibly healthy, and bursting with all the flavor and creaminess that you expect from a chowder…

Quinoa & Bean Corn Chowder

(Loosely adapted from Vegetarian Times)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry red quinoa
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 medium carrots, diced
• 1 cup white corn kernels
• 1.5 cups roasted corn kernels
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup bell pepper, diced
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• salt to taste

To Prepare:  If you prefer traditional white quinoa, that’s fine to use too, but I find the red quinoa to be a little nuttier and heartier, giving the soup a little more texture.  Plus it makes it so much prettier!  Start by toasting the quinoa and cumin seeds in a small skillet, stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes so that the seeds don’t burn.

Once the quinoa and cumin are toasted, set the pan aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  For the corn, I used a mixture of (frozen) white corn and roasted corn kernels (from Trader Joe’s).  The roasted corn definitely gives a little extra flavor, but if you can’t find it just sub in traditional yellow corn. 

In a large Dutch oven, add a drizzle of olive oil and turn to medium high heat.  Then add the diced carrots and corn, and sauté for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften. 

(Note: Dutch ovens are KEY for making soups, stews, chili, and more.  The heavy bottom prevents food from burning, and the ceramic material conducts heat well for soup-type applications.  Some of the fancier brand names can be insanely expensive, but I use a very moderately priced version by Mario Batali.)

Once the carrots and corn have cooked for 5 minutes, add the garlic and bell pepper (I used a frozen tri-blend of peppers).  Cook peppers and garlic an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Time to turn it into SOUP!  Add 4 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups unsweetened almond milk to the pot…

Bring the liquid up to a boil, and then add the quinoa, pinto beans, and nutritional yeast.  Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes covered, or until quinoa is tender.

Stir occasionally while the soup simmers, and then season to taste with salt.  Ladle and SERVE!

There is a distinct richness to this recipe that makes you think it’s probably not healthy (it is!).  But unlike traditional chowders, this one is thickened with almond milk and beans, in lieu of heavy cream.

Perfect healthy comfort food that compliments both the cold temperatures and the new year’s resolutions. 

And incredibly high in vegetarian protein – a triple play with quinoa, beans, and nutritional yeast. 

For you slow-cookers – I see no reason why you couldn’t make this soup in a crockpot.  Just add all the ingredients and set on low heat to cook all day while you’re out of the house.  (You could probably even use dried beans if you are cooking long enough!)

It is very possible that there is nothing quite as satisfying as a big bowl of hearty chowder in January.  (Except maybe gazpacho and grilled cheese in May.  Just saying.)

Enjoy!