Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Serves: 4

Beans

3/4 cup dry chickpeas

overnight soak chickpea in water.

1/2 tsp salt
4 and 1/2 cups water

Cook chickpea in instant pot, high pressure in manual mode for 20 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.

Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 and 1/2 tbsp mustard
1 and 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

In a small bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together

Pasta Salad

16 ounces gluten free pasta

Cook pasta according to package direction. (The instruction for my trader joe's brown rice pasta says cook for 7 to 10 minutes, but i cooked for 12 minutes) Rinse under cold water to stop cooking, drain and set aside.

1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 and 1/2 cup regular cucumber, chopped
1 cup grape tomato, halved
1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved or sliced
14.1 ounces can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil or fresh mint or fresh parsley, chopped

In a large bowl, add cooked chickpeas, pasta, onion, cucumber, tomato, olives, artichokes and basil.

Pour the dressing over everything and gently toss to combine.

Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours to let the flavors marinate.

1/4 cup pine nuts, dry roasted

Add 1 tbsp of pine nuts per serving.

Yields : 11 cups
Source: veganhuggs
Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME

Mexican Quinoa Salad

Serves: 4

Beans

3/4 cup dry black beans

Overnight soak the black beans in water.

Cook black beans in instant pot.

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Bring black beans to a simmer over low heat, season with ground cinnamon and ground cumin, stir occasionally for 5 minutes.

Bake Sweet Potato

1 large sweet potato, scrubbed, rinsed and cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

Place sweet potatoes on a baking pan.

Toss in olive oil, ground cinnamon, ground cumin and salt and mix well. Arrange in single layer and bake for 25 minutes or until tender and slightly golden brown.

Quinoa

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water

Add quinoa and water and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

1/2 small ripe avocado
1 cup chopped cilantro
3 tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp water

Add all the ingredients to vitamix and blend until smooth.

Salad

2 romaine lettuce, chopped

Other Toppings

Salsa

Mix lettuce with black beans, sweet potato, quinoa. Add salsa and dressing and enjoy!

 

Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME
Source: minimalistbaker

Asian Salad

Serves: 4

Dressing

2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp tamari
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp garlic, grated
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red chili flakes

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

Salad

2 head chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup red cabbage, finely chopped / julienned
1 cup edamame (optional)

2 cups grated carrots (use big hole grater - 2 and 1/2 medium carrots) / ribboned using peeler
1 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped /  / julienned
1 cups celery stalks, finely chopped
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup roasted peanuts

Toast the sesame seeds until it starts to pop, 1 and 1/2 minutes in medium high flame.

Toss all the salad ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss to coat.

Source: theendlessmeal
Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME, crunchy. I didn't add romaine, red cabbage and edamame, so the salad was very less, next time, I will be adding those to make this a filly salad.

Italian Chopped Salad

Serves: 4

Salad

2 heads chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup radicchio, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup stemmed and thinly sliced picked pepperoncini peppers
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 cups cooked chickpeas (made from 3/4 cup dry chickpeas)

Italian Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp + 2 Tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp + 2 Tsp  red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

To prepare dressing, combine all the ingredients in a cup, whisk until blended.

In a large bowl combine, the chopped lettuce, radicchio, onion, celery, cherry tomatoes, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and chickpeas. Toss the ingredients together and set aside.

If you are serving all of the salad at once, go ahead and drizzle enough dressing into lightly coat the salad and toss to combine. If storing, store the salad and dressing separately. If you are storing the dressing, just whisk the dressing before drizzling. If the olive oil solidifies a bit in the refrigerator, thats normal, just let it warm up for about 5 minutes at room temperature.

Source: cookieandkate
Taste Note: Tastes AWESOME. Tastes just like restaurant style Italian Salad.