Watercress Salad with Miso-Lime Dressing

This crunchy-delicious salad is alive with power packed nutrients and is very easy to digest. Give this highly nutritious salad a try over the holidays when you need extra immune protection.  It is fun to indulge in all the holiday goodies, but make sure you are getting the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy:)  What a combination with watercress, sprouts, bell pepper, onions, tomatoes, cilantro and sesame seeds. Watercress is among the most highly nutritious vegetable, many of the great herbalists wrote of the revitalizing power of watercress. The health benefits are attributed to its nutrient content. Watercress is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, E, manganese, and carotenes. It also a good source of calcium, fiber, iron and copper.  Health Benefits include anticancer properties, protection of the the eyes because it contains a high level of two carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin). There's also evidence that these carotenoids may reduce the incidence of another common vision robber, cataracts. Watercress helps to normalize cholesterol and blood pressure, increases energy and enhances fertility. It helps to improve memory, mental function and retard aging as well as a powerful cleanser of the body, especially the bloodstream. It helps improve digestion by regulating the flow of bile and is valued for clearing and improving the complexion. The chlorophyll-rich leaves can be chewed to absorb breath odors and cure bleeding gums. Watercress is a good source of iodine, which is important to the function of the thyroid gland. It is also rich calcium which can strengthen the bones and teeth.

Buying and storing: Buy fresh-looking greens with springy leaves that show no evidence of wilting and yellowing. Store it in large plastic bags in the refrigerator for two or three days.

Watercress Salad with Miso-Lime Dressing

 Printable Recipe

Serves 4
2 cups fresh sprouts of your choice (alfalfa, broccoli, lentils, green peas, etc.)
1 cup mung bean sprouts (make sure they are fresh with no brown on them)
3 green onions chopped (use entire onion)
3/4 cup sliced grape tomatoes
3/4 cup diced orange bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
4 cups watercress leaves with some stem

Toss together all ingredients except watercress. Mix in Miso-Lime Dressing. 
Divide watercress between 4 plates.  Divide mixed sprout salad with Miso-Lime Dressing between the 4 plates.  Delicious!!

Miso-Lime Dressing
2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. white miso

Mix well.

Nori Edamame Salad With Ginger-Miso Dressing

I was inspired by the "The Plant Based Dietician" and her post for Nori Edamame Salad with Miso Sauce. I love Nori so I decided to create this beautiful salad.  I used bell peppers instead of cucumbers because I had forgotten to buy a cucumber.  Also, I think I went a little crazy with the Nori.  If you watch Julieanna's video, she didn't use as much as I did.  I also cut up little thin pieces of Nori and decorated the top of the salad. This was a really tasty dinner. She didn't include a specific sauce, but suggested some kind of miso dressing. You can buy one from your Health Food Store or make the Ginger-Miso dressing I have included.  Below is the recipe and ingredients I used.  Watch the video above with Julieanna ~The Plant Based Dietician" to help see how to assemble the salad. 
This was so quick and easy.  I also liked that I had virtually no mess in my kitchen to clean up.  YEAH!!

Nori Edamame Salad with Ginger-Miso Dressing
Printable Recipe
Serves 2-3

3 Nori large squares cut-up into rectangles. (I used 4 squares) (slice a few of the rectangles for topping)
1bunch of romaine lettuce
2 cups red cabbage (sliced)
1 cup carrots (match stick)
1 cup bell pepper (sliced)
1 cup frozen (thawed) Edamame
1/2 avocado (sliced)

Ginger-Miso Dressing
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons white miso
3 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Mix together ingredients and pour over salad.

Assembling Salad:

Line salad bowl with Nori squares.  Mix together in separate bowl romaine lettuce, cabbage & bell peppers.  Pour mixture over Nori squares in bowl.  Add sliced avocado and edamame on top and garnish with additional thinly sliced nori.

Asian Tempeh Salad with Sesame Lime Dressing

I created this beautiful Asian Tempeh Salad with Sesame Lime Dressing in hopes to duplicate a salad I love from the restaurant Pei Wei here in Utah.  I absolutely love this salad!! My hubby gave it a huge thumbs up when he had it for lunch today. This salad is extremely easy, fresh, light and nourishing.  If you haven't tried Gluten Free Rice Spirals they are very tasty and light, but you can use any type pasta.  I know you will love this gorgeous salad.  It is beautiful enough to serve everyday or on a special occasion with a delicious chocolate raspberry mousse (coming soon). I hope you give this main dish salad a try~I know you won't be disappointed.

What are the health benefits of tempeh?


The health benefits of tempeh are numerous. As opposed to many other soy foods (like tofu), tempeh is made from whole soybeans and possesses all the health benefits of soybeans. Also the tempeh fermentation changes the properties of the soybeans. Tempeh is easy to digest and is used in preventive and curative natural medicine because of the production of antibacterial agents during fermentation, which act against certain pathogens .

     Tempeh also provides valuable proteins, carbohydrates, healthy fats, B vitamins, minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, fiber and iron  .  Tempeh is a great choice for people who have difficulty digesting plant-based high-protein foods like beans and legumes or soy foods such as tofu. The process of fermentation makes the soybeans softer, since enzymes produced by the mold predigests a large portion of the basic nutrients. The Rhizopus molds produce an enzyme phytase which breaks down phytates, thereby increasing the absorption of minerals such as zinc, iron and calcium.

The fermentation process greatly reduces the oligosaccharides that make beans hard to digest for some people. Studies have shown tempeh to be essentially non-flatulent and producing no more gas than non-legume food.  Indonesians who eat tempeh as a regular part of their diet recognize it as a medicine for dysentery and rarely fall victim to the intestinal diseases to which they are constantly exposed.

Asian Tempeh Salad with Sesame Lime Dressing
Printable Recipe

4 oz. Original Tempeh (Westsoy)
2 Tbsp. Shoyu (soy sauce) or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
2 Tbsp. sweetner of choice
3 Tbsp. arrowroot powder
1Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup filtered water
2 cups Gluten Free Rice Spirals (or your favorite pasta)
1 lemon (juiced)
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1/4 cup diced carrot
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced yellow squash
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 large bunch red leaf lettuce (washed & chopped)
Flat-leaf parsley (chopped for garnish)

1.  Cut tempeh into cubes, then marinate in a mixture of shoyu and agave for 15 minutes.  Squeeze out excess liquid, reserving it, and roll the nuggets in the arrowroot powder.  Keep rolling nuggets until all the arrowroot powder has been incorporated by the Tempeh.

2. Heat 1 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the tempeh over medium heat until light golden brown.  Watch very carefully not to over brown, turning each square of tempeh over, and then over again until done.   Add 1/4 cup water plus the left over shoyu and agave liquid from Step 1, and cook until absorbed, stirring occasionally.  Set aside.

3.  Bring the pasta water to a boil.  Boil the pasta for 8 minutes (look at box directions).  Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water.  Sprinkle pasta with juice of 1 lemon. Mix carefully not to break pasta noodles.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and set aside.

4.  Remove Tempeh from frying pan and add onions and saute 1 minute.  Then add the carrot, celery and yellow squash. Saute for a few minutes. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5.  Mix tempeh with your carrot, celery and yellow squash mixture.

TO SERVE:

Arrange 2 plates with 1/2-1 bunch of red lettuce.  On top of each bed of lettuce put 1/2 of the pasta.  On top of the pasta spoon over the Tempeh/Vegetable mixture.  Garnish with chopped parsley.  Serve with Sesame Lime Dressing on the side.

SESAME LIME DRESSING

3 Tbsp. lime juice (about 2 limes)
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Shoyu (soy sauce) or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 tsp. agave
1 tsp. sesame oil

Combine and shake well.

Raw Fruit and Greens with Papaya Seed Dressing

I found this gorgeous salad over at Foods for Long Life. Joanne's recipes are not only beautiful to look at, but extremely healthy. Butter lettuce, strawberries, avocado, papaya & raspberries make this so delicious. In this salad, I liked that Joanne used the salad ingredients to make the dressing, which is something I like to do as well. I also loved that she used a tablespoon of the seeds.  Read her post about the benefits of papaya and get her recipe.  Here are pictures of my salad and delicious papaya:)