Kale Caesar Salad Plant-based

I am admittedly in love with kale caesar salad.  I honestly think I could eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Actually, who am I kidding, I sometimes do!  I specifically love the kale caesar at the Naked Cafe in Kelowna.  I know the three lovely young sisters who own the restaurant, but not quite well enough to come right out and ask them for the recipe.  Probably paying off my 14 year old daughter who just got her first job there, to sneak into the kitchen, distract the chef and take a photo of the recipe would just be immoral.  😉  So, I have been left to my own devices to come up with a dressing to have on hand that will satisfy my cravings when I can’t pick up one of their fabulous salads.

The non-profit veggie farm I volunteer with called The Central Okanagan Community Farm Society, that grows vegetables to donate to local social service agencies, (shameless plug 😉 ) sells some of the kale we grow to the Naked Cafe, as a fundraiser.  I am usually the one who picks and delivers it so it makes me pretty excited to know exactly where it is coming from.   No sprays, no chemicals, only organically grown veggies.  Makes my heart sing.  (Just as a side note, we always need help at the veggie farm, so please visit our facebook page here and send me a message!)

Sorry for the slight deviation from topic….  

So… your everyday caesar salad recipe usually contains raw eggs, anchovies, parmesan, sometimes mayonnaise and often a lot of olive oil.  This means it contains cholesterol and quite a high amount of fat.  Knowing what I know about how eating animal products deteriorates a person’s health and is unnecessarily cruel, eating raw eggs and tiny little fish made into a paste just isn’t appealing to me.

Thankfully, there are so many alternative ingredients, such as tahini (crushed sesame seeds), capers and nutritional yeast, you can make a kick-ass dressing that everyone will enjoy.  I have been playing around with some plant-based kale dressing recipes that I have made, trying to meld them together to make one I love… and I think I may have nailed it. 

Here is the recipe I came up with a few days ago.  It’s garlicky and lemony and has the perfect creamy consistency.   I think it is as close as I am going to get to caesar perfection.  Even if it is a bit off the Naked Cafe version,  I still love it… and so did our guests last night.  Thanks Debra for having three servings of it and asking for the recipe!

In the recipe you will see I suggest iodized salt…  I heard Dr. Klaper explain in one of his lectures (30 second video here) why we need to start using iodized table salt.  We should not be so afraid of table salt as this is not where the extra salt in our diets comes from.  It mostly comes from packaged foods.  Many people are deficient in iodine and a light sprinkling on our foods as well as using a reasonable amount in recipes is one of the easiest ways to up our intake.  Being deficient causes low thyroid function which shows up as lethargy and an overall feeling of failing to thrive.  I always thought the best salt to buy was sea salt, however, sea salt does not contain iodine as it is evaporated in the sun.  Good to know!

The Vibrant Veggie's Kale Caesar Dressing (Plant-based)

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Serves: 8-10 (makes approximately 1.5 cups) Prep Time: 15 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• Dressing:1/2 cup tahini paste1 lemon juiced3 large cloves of garlic (reduce if you must)2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast1 tablespoon of capers1 tablespoon of caper juice from the jar1 tablespoon dijon mustard1/4 teaspoon of grated lemon rind1/4 cup water2 tablespoons of olive oil (optional)1/4 teaspoon iodized salt (better for you than sea salt- reasoning below)Salad:large bunches of curly kale, washed and chopped  (tough ends of stems removed)chopped romaine lettuce can be used half and half with kale if you are just a kale newbieOptional toppings:baby tomatoes sliced in halfdried, roasted chickpeas or croutons (both can easily be made by tossing chickpeas or chunks of bread in olive oil and salt and roasting until crisp)coconut shredsnutritional yeast

Instructions

1. Add all dressing ingredients to a high powered blender and blend on high until completely smooth.
2. Scoop enough dressing into the bowl of chopped kale to generously cover the kale when completely tossed.  Add in any optional toppings and toss lightly.
3. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and enjoy!

www.thevibrantveggie.com 

Honestly, I am having trouble getting this post written because I have just made a new batch of dressing for lunch and I have to keep stopping to shovel salad into my mouth.  I am on bowl number three.  This could become problematic!

Finally full after bowl number three.  More dressing left for dinner!  

Check out the book above, The Plant Based Solution by Dr. Joel Kahn.  Dr. Kahn was a lecturer on the plant based cruise last year.  He is one of the world’s leading cardiologists who treats his patients with a plant-based diet.   This is an easy to read book that extols the virtues of a plant based diet for goals such as: getting off of medications, reducing your risk of cancer, reversing diabetes, as well as improving your sex drive, the way you age, your gut health and brain chemistry.  Isn’t that what we all want as we age?  Here is a link to his website. Check it out.  You might be amazed by what you learn.  On that note, quoting my husband who was trying to drive the kids crazy the other day, “What doesn’t KALE you makes you stronger.”  And don’t forget, gorillas are one of the strongest animals on the planet.  Any idea what they eat?  Ok, maybe not kale caesar, but plants!!