salad

What do I bring for vegan camping?

August 4, 2013 by Veronica Grace 41 Comments

I went camping for the past 2 weekends this summer in the Rocky Mountains and although it’s a lot of work packing and setting everything up, it is fun getting out of the house, away from the computer and offline for a little while to just relax. Here’s some photos of our tent site to start.

I will admit I was a little concerned with ravenous mosquitoes and rain so I got an eating tent as well, which was handy as it did indeed rain pretty hard twice over the weekend so at least some of the stuff was protected and we could sit under the tent and wait for the rain to pass. The funny thing is we were the ONLY people tenting in this area, everyone else had trailers and toy haulers to hide in. It’s definitely more work tenting, but it’s more affordable and still kind of fun. Although it is quite chilly each morning!

Oh and we also went to do some dirt biking….

Um yeah so I’m apparently trying out dirt biking, even though I have no experience riding dirt bikes or motorcycles in general. It’s probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but I got all this second hand gear to try it out. And I’m super glad I did!

Let’s just say that I came home with 8 bruises (2 big ones on my legs) and a smashed thumb from dropping the bike on myself and falling over several times going up and down steep rocky hills. It’s not easy learning how to to shift a manual transmission bike and steer and not be scared of crashing going down a giant hill at the same time lol. I’ll be trying it again, but I have to say I’ve never been so sore in my life. I could barely move the next day after coming home because of the bruises on my legs, and my arms and shoulders were exhausted from picking up and pushing the 250 lb bike up and off me and up and down the hills I couldn’t do.

I feel ridiculous in this outfit. The pants are very high waisted and so thick and bulky they make me sweaty. I also feel like I’m wearing space boots and an astronaut’s helmut!

Here’s our dirt bikes, my bf so lovingly built this little red one for me. I can’t imagine riding anything more powerful, it already feels beastly enough for me… lol

And now you’re probably thinking I’m insane and wondering what the point of this post was, well I want to show you what I brought for food camping, because a few of you wanted to know if I had any “camping recipes” on Facebook. Well I wouldn’t say recipes, but quick meal ideas because honestly spending time prepping, cooking and cleaning WHILE camping in a tent isn’t my kind of idea of fun. I needed a break from food prep and clean up, so I tried to make everything super simple to prepare. The last thing you want to be is hungry and cranky trying to start a camp fire and reach for snacks instead of a healthy meal.

So here’s my list of the top 6 things I brought for vegan camping to keep things simple and healthy for the weekend

1. The first thing I bring camping is pre washed and cut up fruit, each packaged in their own individual containers. (Ex. watermelon cubes in a giant container, pineapple chunks in a medium container etc.) This ensures that the fruit stays fresher longer so juicy fruits such as watermelon and pineapple don’t speed up the ripening process of berries or change their flavor. I brought watermelon, pineapple, red grapes, blueberries and strawberries. I always do my fruit this way and store it separately as I like fresh tasting fruit and not mushy muddled flavors. Whenever I want some fruit I can just grab a plate and a fork and plate some up for breakfast, a side for lunch or a snack. Almost half of my cooler is packed with large containers of prepared fruit to keep me eating fresh and healthy even in the great outdoors.

2. Veggie kabobs are next on my list because I don’t make them at home very often and it’s kind of fun to cook over the fire or a camp stove. I pre wash and slice up all of my veggies and place them in a container and can easily assemble as many as you like for your side dishes. For my kabobs I used yellow and green zucchini, bell pepper, red onion, and mushrooms. I used a metal grate like this to place over the camp stove or fire to cook them.

Instead of brushing the veggie kabobs with oil, I like to drizzle or marinate them in balsamic vinegar and sprinkle a salt and pepper grinder mix over top of them for roasting. If you really like the veggies to absorb flavor I suggest using a little bag or container to toss and marinate them in balsamic vinegar. I was making mine very quickly and just drizzled a bit on top before grilling.

3. Fresh corn is another fun food to bring camping. I got some fresh corn on the cob (you can find this organic and gmo free from farmer’s markets and some health food stores so please don’t freak out) and put it in the cooler along with my ice. When I went to take it out it was actually soaked in water, and this was quite helpful. Pre soaking your whole corn cobs helps them retain moisture while cooking.

Next peel off just the outer layers of the corn husk, leaving the thin inner layers, wrap the cobs tightly in tinfoil and then place directly on a low fire or hot coals for about 20 minutes just until tender. This was the first time I’ve ever put corn directly on a fire and it turned out great! Camping food doesn’t have to be anything complicated, I just keep it really simple and let me tell you my friends were certainly jealous of my fresh and tasty meals I made!

4. For hearty breakfasts I made a double batch of my Deluxe Dijon Tofu Scramble and kept the seasoned tofu in one container and the sliced veggies in little bags separately so I could cook as much as I needed each day over the camp stove. Super easy and nice to have a hot breakfast when it’s cold every morning.

5. For fun I also bring some veggie hot dogs and veggie burgers (see my chickpea quinoa burgers, yam black bean burgers and spicy Mexican black bean burgers). You can also get vegan marshmallows as well to roast over the fire.

credit theartfulgourmet.com

6. To round out my veggie offerings I also brought mixed salad in little ziploc bags for easy serving and used balsamic vinegar as a quick dressing.

So there you have it, a little insight to my vegan camping adventures and what I bring to keep it simple and healthy in the great outdoors. What do you think? What do you like to bring camping and where do you go camping?

Bun Chay (Vegetarian Vietnamese Vermicelli Herb Noodle Salad)

March 24, 2013 by Veronica Grace 15 Comments

I love how fresh and light vegetarian Vietnamese food is. Vietnamese dishes don’t tend to be very vegan friendly because many items have chicken stock or fish sauce in them, so you may not always be able to find something that is truly vegan at a Vietnamese restaurant. Bun Chay is a vegetarian vermicelli noodle salad seasoned with fresh herbs, bean sprouts and Nuac Chom (a fish based sauce.)

So I wanted to show you how you can make Bun Chay totally vegan at home. This is a really fun and impressive recipe to make for one, or even a dinner party. If you can slice some veggies and toss them together to make a regular salad, trust me you can make this! It’s super easy and fresh and you can customize it with your favorite vegetables or proteins like tofu or tempeh as well.

This salad also keeps well and can be taken to work for a healthy lunch (just make sure to keep the dressing separate). If you’re longing for a recipe to mix up your salad routine, this is it! It’s very low in fat, as well as filling. I hope you like it!

Bun Chay (Vegetarian Vietnamese Vermicelli Herb Salad)

Serves 4

Salad:

250 g/8.8 oz package of rice vermicelli noodles (thin)
1 carrot, peeled and shredded or spiralized
2 Persian/small seedless cucumbers, julienned
1-2 cups fresh mung bean sprouts
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped and/or 1 cup Thai basil leaves, chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup peanuts, crushed *optional

Vegan Nuac Cham (Sauce for Bun Chay):

1/4 cup lime juice (1 1/2 large limes)
1/4 cup vegetarian fish sauce (see recipe here)
1/3 cup hot water
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 -4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 – 1 thai chili, finely chopped *optional
2 tbsp shredded carrot *optional

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When boiling, turn off the heat and add the noodles and stir to break up.

2. Let noodles sit for 2 minutes.

3. Drain noodles and run in cold water to shock them. Drain in a colander.

4. Prep veggies.

5. Arrange noodles in serving bowls. Garnish with carrots, cucumber, chopped herbs, mung beans and peanuts.

6. Combine ingredients for Nuac Cham sauce in a bowl and whisk until sugar dissolves. (You want it to be strong tasting as the noodles are bland and will soak up the flavor.)

7. Serve Bun Chay with a side of Nuac Cham. Pour sauce over it and toss well to combine.

Additional Tips:

Please note that Thai basil has a very different taste than regular Italian basil, so if you cannot find it, please use mint and cilantro (coriander) instead. Thai basil has green and purple tipped leaves and has a very exotic flavor.

I used a Japanese turning slicer to spiralize my carrots. I find them prettier this way instead of just shredding them. This is what I used.

If you can’t find Persian/Iranian (mini seedless cucumbers) use English cucumbers.

Make sure to put lots of herbs in this salad as it will be very mild tasting, you get most of the flavor from the Nuoc Cham sauce and the herbs. Otherwise it will mostly be rice noodles, carrots and bean sprouts.

If desired you can serve it with some hoison sauce (I tend to avoid as it has msg) or Sriracha hot sauce. You can find these at Asian stores and sometimes regular grocery stores as well.

Have you ever had Vermicelli salad or “Bun” before? What did you think of it?

Pomegranate Apple Green Salad With Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

December 10, 2012 by Veronica Grace 5 Comments

The other day I went to a raw food potluck in Calgary and someone made this delicious salad that had a bunch of mixed vegetables and pomegranate seeds and it was quite delicious. So I thought why not make my own pomegranate salad for the holiday season?

To easily peel a pomegranate, you can cut it in half and fill a large bowl or sink full of water. Start peeling off the outer peel. The seeds will sink and the white parts will float so you can scoop them out and discard them. Once you’re done peeling everything apart you can drain the water and you’re left with pomegranate seeds.

(Or you can go to Costco and buy packages of fresh pre peeled pomegranate seeds in the refrigerated produce section if you don’t want to peel one.)

This is a really lovely salad that I designed to be really simple to make yet seem a little fancier. It’s got antioxidants from the pomegranate and the raspberries and omega 3’s from the walnuts (in the dressing).

I prefer to make all of my own salad dressings and not use any oil in them at all. So I used walnut pieces for healthy fats in this dressing. If you don’t have fresh raspberries right now, you can also use frozen. Just let them sit out for a few minutes to defrost a little first.

So let’s check out the recipe:

Raw Vegan Pomegranate Apple Green Salad

(With Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette)

Serves 2 side salads or 1 medium/large salad

Salad:

4-6 cups mixed greens
1-2 apples peeled and sliced
1-2 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
3 tbsp fresh pomegranate seeds

Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup mandarin orange juice (2 oranges)
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp broken walnut pieces
2 large medjool dates, pitted
1 tbsp Trader Joe’s orange muscat champagne vinegar/other fruit vinegar/apple cider vinegar
1/8 tsp Herbamare or salt *optional

Directions:

Arrange the salad ingredients in side salad bowls or a large serving bowl.
Place the salad dressing ingredients into a Vita-Mix or a blender and process until smooth.
Drizzle dressing overtop of salad.
Serve.

Additional Tips:

Feel free to double this recipe if you’re entertaining.

What’s your favorite holiday salad? Have you ever used pomegranates in a recipe?

Vegan Quinoa Chickpea Pilaff

November 26, 2012 by Veronica Grace 18 Comments

Quinoa is all the rage now, and so are quinoa salads and pilaffs. There are hundreds of ways to season quinoa and you don’t have to just eat it plain on the side. If you find cooking quinoa properly still a challenge, check out my post How To Cook Quinoa Perfectly to make sure your next batch turns out amazing.

This time I decided to mix things up and make my quinoa a little different. A heartier side filled with chickpeas, carrots, onions and celery. This would work as a warm side dish, a cold salad, or you can make it a meal by adding some sautéed tofu, tempeh or soy curls on top as well.

To get those pretty colours I used both white and red quinoa in this dish. Feel free to use either, I just like the look of multicoloured quinoa for some variety. This recipe makes a lot so it’s great for leftovers you can keep in the fridge or freezer for a quick meal or snack later on as well.

Quinoa Chickpea Pilaf

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quinoa (I used 1 cup white and 1/2 cup red)
3 cups/709.76 ml low sodium vegetable broth
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 15 oz./425g can of chickpeas
2-3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or GF tamari)
2 tsp roasted cumin (ground)
1/2 tsp roasted coriander (ground)
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
2 tsp Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute (or other salt free seasoning mix) *optional

Directions:

1. Sauté the onions, carrots and celery in 1/2 cup of broth for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute and add the chickpeas.

2. Add remaining broth to a medium pot, quinoa, seasonings and saucepan ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low (about 3 on the burner) and cook covered for 25 to 30 minutes until quinoa is cooked. (If you put it on very low, or 1, it probably won’t have enough heat to cook the quinoa because of the other ingredients.)

3. Stir as required to prevent sticking at the bottom.

4. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Have you ever had a quinoa pilaff? What’s your favorite way to season quinoa?

The Best Raw Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe! (Plant Based and Oil-Free)

August 6, 2012 by Veronica Grace 57 Comments

*Plantbasedu.com was formerly LowFatVeganChef.com

Today I have the PERFECT savory salad recipe that I want to share with you. This raw vegan Caesar salad dressing probably my most requested dressing recipe. My friends and family cannot get enough of it. Whenever I make it for potlucks (even for omnivorous barbecues) it’s the FIRST salad to be devoured and people can’t stop raving about it.

They don’t care that my dressing is oil-free, dairy free, or vegan, they just know it’s freaking delicious and they want to know how they can get the recipe!

Well I don’t usually give away my top secret recipes, aside to my close friends, but I wanted to share this recipe with you today.

I don’t know if you’ve ever made your own Caesar salad dressing at home before, but there’s one ingredient in traditional Caesar dressing that just grosses me right out.

Do you know what it is?

Anchovies!

I know… who wants to eat blended fish in a salad dressing…

But this recipe is very close to tasting like a traditional Caesar salad dressing. There is one key ingredient that makes my version very tasty and savory.

It’s miso paste and this gives it that strong tangy flavour that vegan Caesar dressings are sometimes missing.

You can buy miso paste at the health food store or asian markets. There are many different types of miso, but my favourite for salad dressings and gravies is Genmai (Soy and Brown Rice) Miso Paste. You can also use miso paste to make Japanese miso soup or other sauces. If you don’t have access to miso locally, you can also get it from Amazon, so don’t worry. *For a soy free version I have now seen CHICKPEA based miso sold in glass jars at the health food store. So definitely check that out too.

Check it out below. I know you are going to love it 🙂

The Best Raw Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing/Dip

Yields about 1 cup, which covers more than 2 heads of romaine hearts chopped.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup raw cashews (or raw sunflower seeds)
1/8 cup raw sesame seeds (or raw pine nuts) or 2 tbsp tahini
1/8-1/4 cup sunflower seeds (depending how thick you want it)
3-4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tsp mild miso (I use Genmai soy and brown rice miso)
1/4 tsp kelp granules or other seaweed seasoning *optional
1/2 tsp of dried dill
2 dates or 1-2 tsp agave or other liquid sweetener
1/2-2/3 cup filtered water (to thin as desired)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Using a hand blender or in a regular blender, combine all ingredients(starting with 1 date or 1/2 tsp agave nectar) and purée until very smooth.
Taste test. Add additional dates or agave nectar, garlic or lemon if desired to achieve the taste you are looking for.
Add additional water to thin dressing if desired.

Additional Tips:

This dressing will thicken after refrigeration; you can thin it by stirring in 2-3 tsp water if desired. When thick, this dressing can be used as a veggie dip.

Cashews are higher in fat than sunflower seeds, so it’s up to you which you would prefer to use. Cashews will yield a creamier dressing, but be higher in

calories.

Do you love Caesar salad? Have you ever tried a vegan version?