Roasted Chickpea Coleslaw

Coleslaw can easily tow the line between healthy and unhealthy. It all depends on how you dress it. We all know mayo gives it the full flavor, but also the full fat content. But this blog’s purpose is to find ways around the bad ingredients without sacrificing flavor. Plus, this recipe adds something unique in the form of roasted chickpeas for added protein and crunch.

Ingredients: 1 can of chickpeas, 1 12 oz pack of broccoli (or cabbage) slaw, 1/4 chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, 2 tablespoons of yellow mustards, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of agave nectar

Directions: Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas. Toss with any desired spices (black pepper, garlic powder, sea salt and nutritional yeast were used here). Bake on 350 for 20 minutes. Broil for 5. They should have a nice crunchy yet moist consistency.

Toss slaw mix with onion and chia seeds. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. You can add the chickpeas before the dressing or on top of you prefer.

You’ll find that the mustard and vinegar provide a great tangy flavor, balanced with the sweetness of the agave. Plus the chia seeds give additional moisture once they gel. Makes a great BBQ side or a vegan meal all on its own.

#Leftoverremix: Cashew Chicken Broccoli Slaw

Another #leftoverremix for when your stomach, taste buds, and soul just can’t do the same meal a fourth time in a row. In the fridge, we still had leftover broccoli slaw, chicken, sugar snap peas, and zucchini. Despite how delicious the Zucchini Pillows turned out, we opted to create a nice chopped salad with the remaining ingredients.

First of all, if you are a raw food eater or seriously interested in a healthy diet at all, investing in a salad chopper (or a pizza cutter, but remember what you bought it for!) would be highly beneficial. It makes salad much more bite size and also helps to mix around dressings and ingredients.

Ingredients: chicken, broccoli slaw, sugar snap peas, zucchini, cashews, sesame seeds, soy sauce/sesame oil/pinch of organic sugar mixture as dressing (Braggs’ Amino Acids will substitute well)

Directions: Place all dry ingredients in a salad bowl. Use salad chopper until ingredients are at desired size/consistency. Add dressing. Chop again. Quick & easy 🙂

Additional throw-ins, like edamame, rice noodles, or any other leftover veggies, will fit right in. Feel free to get creative and share your results!

Zucchini Chicken Pillows

Missing pasta? Absolutely. All the time. Even in between bites when I’m actually eating it. Truth is, pasta is just one big carb bomb. More than bread and rice, pasta is filling, heavy, and only ends up sitting around your waist. But there are options that can itch that scratch without putting your diet in the danger zone.

Zucchini is very versatile. It can be manipulated in a variety of ways other than just cut up and fried. Here we have created zucchini pillows, a kind of “blanket” (see what I did there) term for either a ravioli or a dumpling.

Ingredients: 2 large zucchinis, 1 large cooked chicken breast, vegetable peeler

Directions: With the vegetable peeler, cut 2-3 strips to form the vertical strip as seen above. Repeat the same process to form the horizontal piece. The strips are frail and may need more than 3 to support the chicken.

Cut chicken into small pieces (what I have used is premade. Sue me:). Place in center. You can add any seasoning (garlic, pepper, etc) or even cheese to act as more of a binder.

The rolling process is best done by first selecting an end that is underneath the other zucchini strip. Then pick an end that is on top, followed by the remaining underneath end, and finally finished with the last strip. BE SURE TO BE DELICATE. They can fall apart at a moments notice!

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Then broil for an additional 10.

We have prepared these with a sort of Asian inspiration (more so dumpling than ravioli than) consisting of broccoli slaw, sugar snap peas, and rice with a drizzle of soy sauce/sesame oil.

These can also be done with cheese or any other protein in a red sauce as a ravioli substitute. Try them out, you won’t regret it!