Pick Me Up Monday!

Good morning. Back at the work office and I'm sure you're loving every minute of it. Or maybe not. But here's a cute bundle of joy to cheer you up and hopefully get you through this week!

Tips Tuesday Vegan Recipe ~ Taco Salad

     VEGAN TACO SALAD

I wanted to add a tasty recipe for summer that was vegan, healthy and light but hearty at the same time. I think this one is all of those things. This recipe was found on Oh She Glows. You can visit this site for tons of great recipes. Check it out here http://ohsheglows.com/2012/06/12/layered-raw-taco-salad-for-two/

   Layered Raw Taco Salad for Two

 Don’t let the long ingredient list put you off; the entire recipe took me about 30 minutes or so. Feel free to adapt this salad     depending on what you have in your kitchen.

 Print, Email, or Text this recipe Inspired by : The Naked Sprout’s Taco Salad

Walnut Taco Meat: (adapted from my taco meat recipes) (yield: scant 1/2 cup)

 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked for 2-8 hours

•  1 & 1/2 tsp chili powder
•  1/2 tsp cumin powder
•  fine grain sea salt, to taste
•  cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

 Cashew or Macadamia cream: (yield: 1 heaping cup)

•  1 cup macadamia (or cashew) nuts, soaked in water for 2-8 hours
• 11-12 tbsp water (use as needed to achieve desired consistency)
• 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
• fine grain sea salt, to taste (I used just over 1/4 tsp)

3-Minute Guacamole: (yield: 3/4 cup)

• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 small tomato, chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• scant 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt, or to taste

Other salad ingredients:

• greens of choice
• salsa
• green onion (optional)
• crackers

Taco meat: In a food processor (or by hand), pulse (or chop) the ingredients until combined. Make sure to leave the walnuts chunky. Remove and set aside.

Cream sauce: Drain and rinse the soaked nuts. Add them into a processor and process. Stream in about 1/2 cup water and a couple tbsp of lemon juice. Add more water as needed to achieve your desired consistency. The nut sauce should be super smooth and not grainy. Add salt to taste.

Guacamole: In a medium-sized bowl, mash the avocado flesh with a fork, leaving some chunks. Stir in the chopped tomato, red onion, lime juice, and seasonings to taste.

To assemble: (per bowl) Add a hefty base of greens in a large bowl followed by a heaping 1/4 cup scoop of guacamole in the middle. Spoon on 2 tbsp of salsa over the greens followed by half of the taco meat. Add a couple tbsp of cream into a plastic baggie, snip off end, and pipe over top the taco meat. Garnish with a chopped green onion and leftover chopped tomato and red onion. Place a few crackers into the salad before serving. If you find yourself with leftover lemon and lime juice like I did, place juice into a glass, fill with water, add liquid sweetener to taste, and serve over ice.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2012/06/12/layered-raw-taco-salad-for-two/#ixzz36uSF7wJV

National Kale Day

Happy National Kale Day, Lulu Lovers!

Today, October 2, is National Kale Day. Kale has tons of benefits and is also super tasty. It is loaded with antioxidants that protects cells, and is also a natural anti-inflammatory. Kale provides cardiovascular support, and helps to prevent colon, breast, bladder, prostate, and ovarian cancers. It also has super doses of Vitamin K, A, and C! 

The best perk of all is that Kale is delicious. You can bake it into chips, dehydrate it, or add it ass a boost in almost everything!

Grab a green smoothie, and celebrate kale today!