SHAVED BRUSSEL CAESAR SALAD
Who doesn't love greens when they are covered in a creamy cheesy dressing right? Having a great dressing is a wonderful way to make greens more appetizing if you don't regularly consume them. Typical Caesar Dressings use a base of mayonnaise. For this recipe feel free to use an avocado (plant-based) mayonnaise for a quick and easy store bought option. However, my personal favorite is to make the Oil-Free, Eggless Mayo from The Homemade Vegan Pantry)This plant-based caesar dressing has no oil, mayonnaise, egg yolks, or anchovies, and is instead packed with cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, lemon, and more! It's crazy how similar to caesar dressing this recipe is for being filled with so many plants!
Also did you know that Brussel sprouts are a "cruciferous" vegetable. What does that mean? That means that they are a part of a family of vegetables, like broccoli, kale, collards, cauliflower, and more that have some amazing benefits. These can include lowering blood pressure, protection against free radicals, and aiding in cancer prevention! Pretty cool right? Check out this podcast episode from Dr. Michael Greger, author of NYT best-seller How Not To Die, called Splendiferous Cruciferous. He goes into depth on the science behind why these veggies do what they do and the best ways to prepare them for maximum benefit.
Ok, are you ready for the recipe??
BRUSSEL CAESAR SALAD RECIPE
Makes 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
For the salad:
1.5-2 lbs of Brussel sprouts, shaved/ thinly sliced
1 small avocado or 1/2 large, cubed
2 tbsp hemp seeds
2 oz tofu, pressed
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
*2 cups of sourdough croutons
For the Caesar Dressing:
1 cup of vegan mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp + 1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 small avocado, mashed well
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
*Optional 1 tbsp ground flax
Directions:
Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Break up tofu with hands (till you have small rough pieces) in a bowl and add lemon juice, salt, and garlic powder, mix till well combined.
Add thinly sliced Brussels, cubed avocado, hemp seeds, and tofu to the large bowl with the dressing and toss till everything is evenly coated.
Top with sourdough croutons.
Enjoy :)
*For Sourdough Croutons: Combine your cubed bread with 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, & 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Mix till each cube is well coated. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until golden brown. OR use my very lazy method of toasting a slice of bread until it is very crunchy/ brown then cube it up and add to the salad.
*The mayonnaise recipe I used is great because it is packed with tofu & cashews instead of a bunch of oil! Alternatively if you do not have the cookbook I mentioned you can use a cashew cream base. This would mean you would blend 1 cup of cashews (after they have soaked for 4 hours minimum) with 1 1/2 cups of water, a 1/2 tsp salt, and a tbsp of lemon juice.
