Soba Noodle Salad with Edamame, Cucumber, Cabbage and Bell Peppers

Here is a quick and super simple Soba Noodle Salad that is so tasty that you won't even notice it's meatless! This Soba Noodle Salad keeps very well and is the perfect, portable picnic food! Bring it to potlucks--it is a crowd-pleaser and kids love it, too!

Ingredients for dressing:

1 Fresno red chile, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely pasted
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Agave
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 inches or so of grated ginger
1/3 cup grape seed oil or canola oil or even light olive oil

Ingredients for Soba Salad:

1 red bell pepper, cut into two inch strips
1 English Cucumber, cut into two inch strips
Half a head of cabbage finely shredded or a whole bag of pre-shredded cabbage from Trader Joe's
1-2 cups of pre-shelled edamame (I just use the entire container of edamame from Trader Joe's)
5 bundles of Buckwheat Soba Noodles boiled per package directions (usually I boil them for about 5 minutes so they don't get mushy and rinse in cold water until completely cooled)
4 green onions finely sliced on a bias
3 Tablespoons of black or white sesame seeds, sprinkled for garnish

Mix ingredients for sauce in a big bowl and set aside while you chop the veggies. Add the edamame and cabbage to sauce to wilt the cabbage and marinate the edamame. Add rest of veggies. Add Soba noodles and toss gently to combine. Garnish with sesame seeds.
This is a great side dish or main dish for a light, but satisfying lunch. It is packed with protein from the Soba noodles and edamame.
Enjoy!

'The Innovation of Loneliness'

My friend showed me this great video "The Innovation of Loneliness." (Just a disclaimer, if you are a huge social media fan, you may not like this video. On the other hand, you might also relate to some of the things this video mentions.) I found this to be very powerful and insightful; everything is succinctly stated and the organization of the images with the commentary is spot on.

It makes you feel like despite all this technology, we are inevitably still disconnected. With big data everywhere and everyone constantly plugged in, we tend to miss out on connecting with other human beings.




Some days, I just like to unplug and connect with some real one-on-one time with my friends and family.

Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips are Back!

Just had to report a sighting! I spotted (and hoarded) some bags of Trader Joe's Coconut Chips today after some people commented that they might be out of stock. I am happy to report that the Alameda Trader Joe's has the Coconut Chips back in stock! YAY!!!

Coconut Rice

Coconut Rice is pure heaven in a bowl:  creamy, slightly sweet, slightly salty...completely yummy!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 cups jasmine rice (washed)
1 (13.5 oz) can of coconut milk
2.5 cups of water or as much water is necessary for the water level to reach your middle finger knuckle
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
Fried shallots for garnish

Heat coconut oil in large dutch oven pot. Add rice and coat with oil to toast lightly. Add coconut milk and water (pour water in coconut milk can to get every bit of milk out). Add salt and sugar. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer; cover and cook for 35-40 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat and let rice sit 10 minutes and fluff with fork or chopsticks when ready to serve. I had to gently mix the rice with a rice paddle a bit because some of the coconut milk mixture settled on the top. I should have cooked it a little longer than 40 minutes, but after it sat for a while, the rice was perfect. Jasmine rice is so fragrant and wonderful on its own, but cooking it in coconut milk just gilds the lily!

*To make fried shallots, simply slice shallots thinly. Fill a small pot with grapeseed oil and add shallots on low heat. This will take about 30-40 minutes to bring up to temperature and fry slowly on low heat. If you add shallots to hot oil, they will singe up almost immediately and burn. So, be patient and these will fry up gently and eventually get nice and crisp. When the shallots are golden and crispy, remove and place on paper towel to absorb oil. Sprinkle with salt. Set aside for garnish for coconut rice.

Coconut rice is a great snack all on its own or makes a nice side for almost any meal. It really makes your dinner feel special and extra tasty!

So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer

I spotted So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer a Berkeley Bowl and thought I'd give it a whirl since it was dairy free.  What a huge disappointment!  It was very watery and didn't cut through the coffee at all. I had to keep adding more and more as I drank the coffee just to get it to reach the light brown color I like, and by that time, my coffee got cold!  I will not be buying this So Delicious Coconut Creamer again--it didn't do its job!  I need something that makes the coffee creamy and less bitter.  The So Delicious Coconut Creamer was not coconutty tasting at all or creamy, like the name suggests--it just seemed like I was pouring regular coconut milk in my coffee!  The amount I had to pour in just to get the color to lighten and the coffee to get even a little creamy was a lot, which is not the point of a creamer. 

So Delicious Coconut Creamer was so disappointing, what a misleading product.  So bummed. I thought I was going to have a nice change up for my coffee and wake up to a nice treat, but So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer was not it!  I am going to stick with the soy creamer instead--much better substitute for half and half because it actually cuts the acidity of the coffee and mimics half and half a lot better.

Sorry, So Delicious, you've let me down this time.

Cilantro Pepita (Pumpkin Seed) Pesto

Had to use up some cilantro before it got brown and gooey, so I decided to make some cilantro pepita pesto.

Super easy to throw together instructions (let the food processor do all the work!):

1 bunch of cilantro
1 small garlic clove pasted
1 cup pepitas (unsalted)
Dash of red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup or so Extra Virgin Olive oil
1 lime

Paste the garlic with a hand held microplane into the food processor. Add all the ingredients and whiz it up! Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference.

This is a great dip or bread topper. Add it to some vegan mayo and spread it on a sandwich for extra zing. Stir it into soup as a garnish or saute some kale and beans and add some cilantro pepita pesto as a dressing/flavoring. Of course, this pesto is great on pasta or even whole wheat pasta or barley salad!  Mix it with vegan mayo and more olive oil for a creamy salad dressing. The applications are endless!

Lazy Day Experiment: Penne with Nutritional Yeast

Had to make a quick lunch and felt lazy--or exhausted is more accurate!--so I boiled up some penne pasta and drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled it with nutritional yeast to bump up the protein and fiber.

The result? It wasn't half bad. It was nutty and almost mimicked buttered noodles with cheese.  This is what I call a lazy pantry meal! :)

Rachael Ray's Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Soup

Found a beautiful eggplant at Berkeley Bowl and I just had to scoop it up and take it home to cook something yummy! I love Rachael Ray and saw her cook up this Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Soup, so I had to try making it.  What I love about Rachael Ray's recipes is that they are fairly simple and yet practically fool-proof and come out tasty every time!  The trick for this soup is finding time to roast off the eggplant and garlic (I woke up early and roasted them this morning so they could cook while I got ready for work, etc.), but once you do that, the soup itself is super easy and quick to throw together.  Rachael Ray describes this soup as Eggplant Parmesan in a bowl.  Since I didn't add the ricotta salata at the end as garnish, I didn't get that flavor similarity, but I did think it was a jazzed up tomato soup, kicked up three notches with the addition of the nutty roasted eggplant, roasted garlic and wine.  Let's just say this soup is very satisfying and it is a good way to "sneak" eggplant into your diet if you aren't sure how to cook with it! I love eggplant, so it isn't a problem for me, but I know some people shy away from it because it can be a bit daunting to cook with. The eggplant makes this soup heartier and almost creamy, especially after the immersion blender hits the pot--this soup is very yummy and worthy of staying on the menu in my house!

Thank you, Rachael Ray, for teaching me yet another wonderful recipe! This soup battles any cafe bitro soup you might find for a fraction of the cost--I could see a cafe charging $3-5 for a small cup of soup like this, but if you make it at home, you get to have seconds and not break the bank or offend your waistline! As Rachael Ray always says, "you ain't gonna find this in a can!"  This soup is "good and good for you!"

Ingredients

2 tablespoons EVOO, plus more for liberal drizzling
1 medium to large firm eggplant, halved, scored with paring knife
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bulb garlic, ends cut to expose the cloves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock (I used vegetable stock)
1 cup dry white or red wine (I used red)
One 32-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes of any variety (whole, diced or crushed)
A few leaves fresh basil, torn, plus a few for garnish
Crumbled or grated ricotta salata, garnish (I omitted the cheese)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.Pour enough oil to coat the center of a baking sheet. Season the scored eggplant with salt and pepper, then arrange the cut sides down in the EVOO. Drizzle the garlic with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Wrap in a foil pouch and roast along with the eggplant until very tender, 40 minutes. Cool to handle.Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, a couple of turns of the pan, in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the thyme, chile flakes, onions and salt and pepper and stir to soften, 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir 1 minute more. Then add the stock, wine, and tomatoes. Scrape the eggplant away from skin and add the flesh, along with the garlic, squishing the cloves from the skins. Add the basil. Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Simmer to thicken. Cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Reheat the soup over medium heat, and top with the basil and cheese.

Thank you, Rachael Ray, for your yum-o recipe!

Minute Salad: Mixed Greens with Endive

Here is a quick side salad or light lunch salad that you can make in minutes. It tastes like a fancy cafe salad that you might pay $6-7 for, but you can make it for way less at home.

Ingredients:

Half a bag mixed greens and spinach 50/50 blend
One carrot, shaved into strips with a vegetable peeler
One Belgian endive, chopped into small pieces
Red wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of fennel seeds

Toss all ingredients with a drizzle of oil and splash of vinegar. Season with salt, pepper and fennel seeds.

This is a great side dish to any meal because it is super fast to make. I love the addition of endive and shaved carrots for extra color and crunch, but the fennel seeds make this salad so flavorful and special.

If you are tired and feeling lazy, this salad is refreshing and will pair up nicely with any main course, sandwich or soup! 

So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk Mint Chip Frozen Dessert

Found a delicious Vegan frozen dessert: Mint Chip Coconut Milk! I cannot believe how yummy and refreshing this is. It tastes like a cross between chocolate mint sorbet and frozen yogurt. It definitely hits all the flavor and texture notes of ice cream, though!

For a 1/2 cup serving, there are 170 calories, 9 g of fat, 6 g fiber (wow!), 13 g sugar (not so bad considering this is a dessert splurge! That's less than most yogurt!) and 1 g of protein. But, if you get a craving for ice cream like I do, this will satisfy you!  It does not taste coconutty at all, so don't let that deter or disappoint you--it tastes minty with bits of chocolate in it and it is a perfect ending to a hard day at work!

Yummmmmm!!! TGI-dairy free!

Chia Seed Chocolate Pudding

This Chia Seed Chocolate Pudding is an amazing fake out dessert! It is so easy, all you do is mix the ingredients and let it sit for at least 20 minutes (I chilled mine in the fridge so it would mimic chocolate pudding).  I stumbled on this recipe at fooddoodle.com and now that I have tried this Chia Seed Chocolate pudding, I am sold on Chia Seeds!
Chia Seeds need to bloom in liquid and when they do, they lose their hard, crunchy, dotty appearance and become like a cousin to tapioca--soft, squishy and more like a thickening agent.  I was skeptical about this recipe at first, but now it has inspired me to experiment with Chia seeds. I am going to try adding Chia seeds to Coconut milk and coconut milk yogurt and mixing in shredded coconut along with the cocoa powder to make a chocolate coconut pudding.  I also want to try adding Chia seeds to juice and making a smoothie.  I saw some Chia seed smoothies at Whole Foods and now I know what they were talking about!  I am sold on how nutritious Chia seeds are for you and I love how they pack a punch with protein, fiber, potassium, calcium, manganese, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids! 

This Chia Seed Chocolate pudding leaves you satisfied (it's not too sweet, which I like) with only a 1/2  cup serving, and it doesn't make your blood sugar spike because regular white sugar is swapped out for agave, which has a lower glycemic index. Bonus: if you can get your kids to eat this, even better! Dip some strawberries in it and you are all set!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 Cup unsweetened almond milk(or your favorite alternative)
2 tbsp agave, brown rice syrup, maple syrup or stevia to taste
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla

Trader Joe's Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels

Tonight I was feeling lazy after work, so I decided to warm up some Trader Joe's Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels in the oven.  Trader Joe's makes buying Vegan convenience food super easy with the "V" symbol on the package!

I must say that these Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels were pretty tasty! They look like little "chicken nuggets" and bake up nice and crispy. The sauce is exactly what you would expect an orange sauce to be, sweet and gooey. I liked it overall and would buy it again to keep on hand for a lazy night when calling for Chinese food just isn't an option--plus this is better because it is 100% Vegan, whereas, you never know if any of the ingredients used at restaurants have animal  products in them. Half the time the order gets messed up, anyway, and there are ingredients that even the cooks and waiters don't realize are animal products.

I am so happy Trader Joe's offers Vegan alternatives to popular chicken dishes.  These Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels definitely hit all the flavor notes of ordering take out, with none of the guilt!

Plus, these Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels have 16g of protein per serving (about 10 pieces!!). Be careful, though, it is easy to eat the whole bag, so portion control is still important with these yummies!

Chocolate Kale Chips

Ate the whole bag of Chocolate Kale Chips with my friends...no regrets! I am going back to Whole Foods to get more on sale!  These chocolate kale chips have a nice chocolate flavor, creamy, but not too sweet at all. What a lovely guilt-free splurge, a great way to enjoy chocolate with some mega nutrition at the same time! Raw. Vegan. Dairy free. Nut free. Gluten free. Amazing super food...amazing treat!

Need I say more?

TGIF!

Vegan Bento Lunch

Life is good.

I get to pack a Vegan lunch when I go to work--it helps me stay on track-- and this Vegan Bento lunch was such a special treat, I had to share it!  Yesterday, I stopped at Koreana Market for some Kimbap (Korean sushi rolls).  I had one roll for lunch that day and saved the other for my lunch today to make packing a lunch super easy and quick during the morning rush.  Usually, I get the fish cake kimbap with egg, but I made a special request at the deli counter for a veggie only (carrots, cucumber and pickled radish) kimbap and they made it for me!  I am so glad I spoke up and asked--they were so nice to prepare a special order for me. Love Koreana Market!

I decided to pack some Chinese pickled cabbage and some Japanese Soba noodles with some green onions and black sesame seeds on a small bed of arugula.  It was a delish! 

Mushroom Barley Soup and Roasted Parsnips with Rosemary

My dear friend got me a subscription for "Everday Food" Magazine earlier this year for my birthday, so that's the inspiration for tonight's dinner: Mushroom Barley Soup and Roasted Parsnips.

The roasted parsnips were a surprise delight, somewhere between a radish and a potato--a ratato! These roasted parsnips were almost like a baked french fry fake out and were quite tasty with a hint of spicy bite to them.The outside of the roasted parsnip gets nice and caramelized with a slightly crunchy crust and a creamy, soft inside similar to a baked french fry.  I would definitely make these roasted parsnips again.  They would be a good side dish for a veggie burger!

The mushroom barley soup had a wonderful earthiness that was so hearty and satisfying.  The barley was nice and nutty like brown rice. I am definitely making this again because it was super fast and easy to throw together, especially because I had some barley already cooked and cooled in the fridge.  I try to keep a container of barley in the fridge all week so I can use it for barley salads, soups or hashes. Barley has become my new go-to recipe star ingredient to experiment with in hot and cold dishes.  Barley is so versatile and it travels well for lunches, which I need so I can stay on track at work.

Roasted Parsnips

2 Parsnips, peeled and cut into sticks in an oven fry fashion
1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Toss ingredients together to coat and season the parsnips.
Heat oven to 400 F and roast for 10 minutes, turn parsnips and continue cooking 10 more minutes. Optional: salt parsnips lightly when you pull them out of the oven.

Mushroom Barley Soup

1 package of button mushrooms, sliced
1 package cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves chopped
4 cups or 1 carton vegetable stock
2 cups cooked barley (can add another cup if soup looks too thin, I just eyeballed it)
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
Salt and Pepper

Saute mushrooms on medium heat in coconut oil until they get soft. Add onions, garlic and thyme, salt and pepper. Add vegetable stock and turn heat up to high. Add barley and bring to a boil. *I added a teaspoon of soy sauce just to give it a little added depth of flavor, but not so much that it overpowered the soup.  Lower to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. This should serve 2 people or 4 if the bowls are small, although I had seconds, so it depends on how hungry you are!

Channa Masala (Indian chickpea chili)

Just made my first batch of Channa Masala and oh lordy am I hooked!  If you plan ahead and soak the chickpeas overnight, you can simmer them up the next day in 30-40 minutes. I simmered my chickpeas/garbanzo beans this morning and let them cool so they would be ready for dinner tonight.  I do not think canned chickpeas will do this dish justice, so take the time to cook up your own--it is so worth it and it makes the Channa Masala taste so fresh and more flavorful. 

What you need:
4 cups cooked chickpeas or two cans of chickpeas
2 tablespoons Channa Masala seasoning blend
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
2 Fresno chiles sliced or 1 serano chile, seeded and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped or 1 can cut tomatoes
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons mango chutney
2/3 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish

What I did:

Saute onions in coconut oil--instantly your house will smell so good! Add garlic, ginger and chiles. Stir for a few minutes. Add Channa Masala seasoning blend and cumin seeds. Toast the spices and coat the onion mixture. Add the tomatoes and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Add chickpeas and stir to coat with spices.  Add water and simmer for 10 minutes so the tomatoes breakdown and create a light sauce. Add mango chutney and simmer for a few more minutes. Adjust seasoning with more salt if needed. Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice and/or with naan or paratha.

This Channa Masala is so good and filling.  It is so unbelievably flavorful and satisfying and very simple to make--once you have the chickpeas cooked, this dish can be thrown together very quickly, in well under 20 minutes, including prep/chopping time.  I need to make a double batch of this next time because there were hardly any leftovers! I love the slight tanginess from the mango chutney and the hint of spice from the chiles and of course, I love the cilantro! Channa Masala has a great balance of flavors and is so worth making at home--if we were to order this at an Indian restaurant, it would have been $9-11 at least!  I made mine with dried chickpeas, which cost way less than canned chickpeas, so this meal was very budget friendly!  Channa Masala is definitely going to be a new staple for me! (And if I get lazy or am short on time, I will have to use canned chickpeas, but I know it won't taste the same because it won't have the full flavor and "meatiness" or "al dente" bite of  homecooked chickpeas.)

With dishes like this Channa Masala, it is easy to stick with Vegan meals and non-Vegans will even appreciate this dish because it is so tasty! I'm tellin' ya, cooking your own chickpeas makes ALL the difference--the earthy, full taste of homemade chickpeas is so different from canned chickpeas, which are too salty and mushy.

This is another great dish to take to potlucks because it doesn't have to be served screaming hot and can be eaten at room temperature--plus you don't have to worry about anything going bad! I am thinking about throwing some of the leftovers in the food processor and using it as a dip or spread...doesn't that sound good?

Free Tomato at Lucky? My Lucky Day!

It must be my lucky day because I got a free tomato at Lucky Supermarket today.  I had no idea that Lucky has such a good company policy about rectifying errors at checkout.  I picked up this tomato because tomatoes were on special for $0.99/lb.  Generally, I make it a habit to review my receipt and double check that I got the sale price that I saw because sometimes I stock up based purely on what's on sale.  As I was checking out, I saw the price scan for my tomato and it was $1.50! That seemed pretty high for a tomato that I bought on sale! So I asked the cashier to check the price of the tomatoes because I thought they were supposed to be $0.99/lb. She said she put in the code for vine ripened tomatoes and I know I didn't buy that kind.  Luckily, there was a sticker with the produce number on my tomato and when I read it to her, she realized she made a mistake. She promptly gave me a refund for my otherwise $1.50 tomato and then she said, "You can keep that tomato," and I nearly fell down. I told her it was okay I didn't want a free tomato but she said it was company policy and insisted that I take it. So that's how I got a free tomato, just by remembering the price I thought I was buying it for!  I have caught a lot of errors on receipts at other stores, so it is a good habit to get into because you just never know!

Thank you, Lucky Supermarket for your amazing customer service!  I wasn't expecting such good follow through with your company policy. Thanks so much for my tomato!

Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips

Trader Joe's has done it again! I spotted this great new snack today: Roasted Coconut Chips. I am a coconut fiend, so of course I had to give these a try!  (Bonus: Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips are Vegan!)

I am officially addicted to these Roasted Coconut Chips--you had me at "coconut" and "chip"!  These coconut chips are nice and crisp and light, not chewy like dried coconut. The roasting process, without adding oil, makes these coconut chips very nutty and delicious with the right balance of being slightly sweet and ever so slightly salty.  The coconut chips themselves are just thinly shaved pieces of coconut, roughly the shape of long rectangles or squares, and not at all like the grated or flaked coconut used in baking.

Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips are perfect for satisfying crunchy chip cravings, but they are very addictive and it's very easy to eat the whole bag--granted, they come packaged in a small bag, but still!  I am going to use these roasted coconut chips as a garnish for my sweet potato and butternut squash soup the next time I make it--but I will have to buy more bags of these roasted coconut chips because I will be craving these for sure!  They should be called Trader Joe's Heavenly Roasted Coconut Chips!

Spicy Ratatouille with Harissa

I had a beautiful eggplant to use up, so I decided to make some ratatouille.  This is a quick meal to throw together in the slow cooker-- all you have to do is saute some veggies and let the slow cooker do the rest. I was able to put this meal together in the slowcooker in less than 20 minutes, including all the chopping!

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small zucchini, cut into half moons
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 14 oz can cut tomatoes
1 tablespoon harissa
1/4 cup white wine (or water)
2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
3-4 leaves torn fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper

*I have a slow cooker with an insert that can be used on a stovetop like a pot, so I just start the ratatouille on the stove and finish it in the slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours (low for 6-7 hours). But you can just simmer it on med/low for a few hours if you are home or transfer it to the slow cooker after the ratatouille comes to a simmer.

What I did:

Saute the onions for a minute in 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini and season with salt, pepper, Herbs de Provence and oregano. If the eggplant soaks up all the oil, then add some more.  Deglaze with the wine. Let it simmer away until the wine concentrates.  Add the tomatoes, harissa, and basil. Add extra water, enough to cover the veggies. Season with more salt and pepper. I cooked mine on high for a little over 3 hours since I threw this together in the afternoon and wanted it to be ready by dinner time.

This ratatouille is so flavorful and the harissa adds a kick of spice that makes up for not using chicken stock or broth (which is what I used to use).  I love ratatouille because you can eat it hot, cold or room temperature and you can eat it as is or over rice, over pasta, with some crusty bread or even cous cous. Ratatouille is so versatile and it is a super easy way to get a ton of veggies in one meal--it is the perfect one pot wonder meal!

Eating out at Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill: Veganized Balsamic Roasted Veggie Salad

Eating out can be hard for Vegans because almost everywhere you go, everything has meat or dairy built into it!  But, if I want to stick to this new lifestyle, I need to learn to read menus closely and scan them for Vegan-friendly options.  I went to Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill yesterday and ordered my favorite salad: Rubio's Balsamic Roasted Veggie Salad.  I made a special request and asked for no chicken or cheese and then asked for black beans instead.  The manager, who took my order, was very nice and he took off a $1 since I asked for the salad without chicken!  He did not charge me anything extra for the black beans, which was very cool. So, the salad went from $5.99 to $4.99!  I saved a buck because I "Veganized" it and the manager was more than happy to take my special request because everything at Rubio's is made to order! Yay!  This Balsamic Roasted Veggie Salad had a nice tang to it.  Of course, I had to douse it with my favorite salsa, the roasted chipotle salsa.  This salad is one of the healthiest meals on the menu (even with the chicken calculated into it) with 310 calories, 20g protein and 11g fat.  While I don't know the nutritional breakdown of the chicken-less and cheese-free salad that I special ordered, it's okay because I know it was yummy, filling and it fit the Vegan bill.  Best of all, it kept me on track!

Rubio's Balsamic Roasted Veggie salad usually consists of: Marinated grilled chicken, fire-roasted corn, roasted peppers and onions, buttery Hass Avocado slices, a cilantro/onion mix and cotija cheese on a romaine and spring lettuce mix, topped with red and green cabbage. Drizzled with light balsamic vinaigrette made with extra virgin olive oil.