What do Vegans Eat?-Salad of Course!

Another very typical scenario when the topic of my vegan-ism is discussed with curious but clueless omnivores...
"You are vegan!? So what does that leave you to eat..... salad?"
This one always confused me. Why do people associate salads with vegetarians? I guess because of all the vegetables...but when I look around there are tons of salads that have meat, dairy,and eggs. Actually try and go somewhere with prepackaged salads like at a super market or fast food joint and pick up a vegan salad. I dare you. They are literally non existent. If you do manage to track down that ever elusive beast it will most likely look like this-
Don't worry guys a vegan would not call this a meal either!

I have heard many vegans say they don't like talking about salads because we don't want to give the wrong impression- that we subsist only on salad. However, I do like salads! I know many omnivores that like salad too! So I want to talk about my favorite salad fixings to make vegan, delicious and nutritious meals very unlike that bland water based concoction seen above.

I try and serve fresh veggies with most meals and one of the easiest ways of course is in the form of a dinner salad. Everyone has heard of that 5 colors a day rule right? Well I like to try and accomplish this as efficiently as possible by creating my five color salad!

(OK the stickers were not on purpose! Someone brought the stickers over the other night)
5 Color Salad

• Spring Mix or Spinach
• Red Cabbage
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Pears

The ingredients don't matter just be creative and try and combine as many colors as possible.

Here it is with the dinner we made that night- Pasta with spicy tahini sauce and baked tofu. My husband added the beer for his contribution.


Another Example? I went in search of an extra tasty salad to bring to an international student potluck and found this treasure. The dressing is literally to die for. Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. It is rich, creamy and hearty-like a good salad should be!

OK now lets talk dressings- Many store-bought dressings are not vegan. Many store-bought dressings also contain other not so nice ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and trans fats. My solution to this is to make my own! Here is an easy to make and super simple salad dressing.


(Once again whoops on the stickers!)
Grandma's Dressing-I am sure my version is nothing like Chris's grandmother's recipe. I asked her how to make it and she does not know the ratios or amounts. Grandmas are magical like that. Here is my best shot at it.

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic ( I use a garlic press)
• salt and pepper to taste

I added 1 table spoon of dried Italian herbs. Fresh mint goes really well in this.
Make sure you shake or stir before you serve!

Here is another salad I made along with this lasagna. This one is spinach with a lemon tahini dressing.


Eat your veggies! Golden~