Including some amount of raw food in our diets has so many health benefits, and fresh salads in warmer weather are such an easy way to build great daily habits.
Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, who literally wrote the book on raw food (Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets) tell us “Raw food offers many advantages, and food enzymes are among them. There is good evidence that food enzymes play a positive role in health and digestion.” They describe for us how phytochemicals and antioxidants in raw foods are beneficial for us, and offer evidence supported by research that “Raw vegan diets may very well provide the most effective therapeutic dietary treatment for chronic disease that exists today.”
So, let’s be sure to eat at least some amount of raw food each day.
I love to store salads in jars, and try to make enough of them ahead to have for several days. Although the ingredients differ from week to week, I’ve been using this same method for many years.
This particular version – Salads in Jars with Roasted Fennel, BBQ Tempeh and Herbed Ranch Dressing – has become a new favorite, and I’ve been making it for several weeks in a row. I like to combine some raw with some cooked food. You do what works best for you!
To build your own beautiful salad in wide-mouth glass jars, a few principles may be helpful. Start with the firmest, sturdiest ingredients at the bottom of the jar (like beans, beets, and carrots). Continue to layer in colorful chopped vegetables and lettuces, topping your salad with the lightest, most delicate ingredients. Pack all of the layers in quite tightly, because you want to minimize air inside the jar to keep the salads fresh.
When ready to serve, just empty the jar into a large bowl. Drizzle your dressing over the salad, as desired, and enjoy!
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SALADS IN JARS WITH ROASTED FENNEL, BBQ TEMPEH AND HERBED RANCH DRESSING
Herbed Ranch Dressing
2 cups raw cashews
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 cup water
fresh herbs, handful each (or your choice of) cilantro, basil, and Italian parsley
6 tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons brown mustard
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Salads In Jars with Roasted Fennel and BBQ Tempeh
roasted beets, diced
red cabbage, shredded
red bell peppers, diced
cooked sweet potatoes, chopped
organic corn, steamed
mixed baby lettuces or power greens
roasted fennel
roasted asparagus
BBQ tempeh* (instructions below)
Instructions
Prepare all roasted/cooked ingredients before proceeding (including beets, sweet potatoes, corn, fennel, asparagus and tempeh). (You can prep to this point a day ahead, and refrigerate cooked ingredients until time to assemble jars.)
To prepare Herbed Ranch Dressing, place cashews, soy milk, water, herbs, lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, and salt in a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix), and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To build salads, start with clean 1-quart-size wide-mouth glass jars with lids.
Layer into the jar ingredients in the quantities of your choosing: beets, red cabbage, red bell peppers, sweet potatoes, corn, lettuces and baby greens. Top with roasted fennel, roasted asparagus, and BBQ tempeh. Close jars tightly with lids and refrigerate.
To serve, pour contents of one jar into a large bowl, toss with desired amount of dressing, and enjoy.
*BBQ Tempeh
1 8-ounce block tempeh
1/4 cup Date Lady BBQ Sauce or BBQ sauce you like without sugar
2 tablespoons flavored balsamic vinegar of your choice
dash hot sauce
dash yellow mustard
generous pinch kosher salt and black pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
To make BBQ Tempeh, slice tempeh crosswise into 16 slices. In a flat dish, stir together the marinade: BBQ sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add tempeh and toss until each piece is evenly coated with sauce.
Line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Reserving as much of the sauce as you can, carefully place tempeh pieces onto prepared baking sheet. I like to use a fork (or two) to lift several pieces at a time, allowing some of the marinade to drip back through into the dish. (You’ll be using reserved sauce again after baking is complete, but extra sauce in the oven will just tend to burn.)
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until caramelized. Remove from oven, and toss tempeh into the dish of reserved sauce. Coat each piece of tempeh with remaining sauce. Set aside to cool until ready to prepare salads.
Copyright © Vicki Brett-Gach | Ann Arbor Vegan Kitchen
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