Recipe: Kale Salad & Tahini-Turmeric Dressing

Happy July 1st! Before I get into the recipe, can I just say that I had an AMAZING time at the Bikram Retreat in Vermont?!! So amazing. The weather was perfect; the house we stayed in was gorgeous; friendships were formed; the yoga was inspirational and the food was heaven!! As I mentioned in my previous post, the food that was lovingly prepared for us was raw and/or vegan, and I've since felt so motivated to incorporate this lifestyle into my diet!

I've been keeping 80/20 vegetarian for the past several months, but I really want to make a shift into 80/20 raw and/or vegan. Since big hearty salads have been a big staple in my life, I wanted to first find some vegan dressing recipes; the following is one that a fellow yogini from the retreat shared with me!!

Kale Salad Beast with Tahini-Turmeric Dressing

You'll need:

For the salad: Pretty much whatever you like! Today, I used...

-kale, chopped 

-parsley, chopped

-carrots, chopped

(can you tell that I had fun with my hand chopper today?)

-chickpeas (I used canned organic, rinsed and dried)

-BLUEBERRIES! (Aside from the dressing, this really makes the salad)

For the dressing, from MindBodyGreen:

-1 tablespoon tahini

-1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

-1 tablespoon of olive oil

-1 tablespoon of lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)

-1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup (I used the real deal from my Vermont trip!)

-1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder (a little goes a long way)

-a pinch of cayenne, to taste

-salt/pepper, to taste

-optional: a pinch of garlic powder (Garlic is pretty much never optional when I'm in the kitchen)

Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk. Inspired from the beautiful salads in jars from the retreat, I decided to stick my salad in a  huge mason jar, leftover from my canning and preserving period in my life.

 

I mean, check out the colors! The lovely yellow from the turmuric - so good for you -  plus all those yummy rainbow-colored veggies and fruit!! Happiness in a jar.

Between this salad and a great raw taco at a local restaurant for lunch, I'd say day one of my 10-day raw/vegan eating and Bikram yoga challenge is off to a fabulous start!

What are some of your favorite raw or vegan recipes?