Crunchy Creamy Vegan Caesar Salad

This recipe is definitely one of my favourites.

A traditional caesar salad is usually loaded with unhealthy calories.

And yes there is a BIG difference between healthy calories and unhealthy calories.

Many people think the simple formula of eating less calories than you burn equals weight loss - well I hate to burst your bubble but that is totally untrue. It is all about what your body does with those calories. 100 calories from a sugary drink is dealt with completely different than 100 cals of chopped veggies and hummus...

Food for thought.

Literally.

The 100 cals of sugar get stored in fat cells. The 100 cals of veggies get broken down and their nutrients and vitamins are used by different systems in your body - your skin, your lungs, your heart...

So in an effort to eat more healthy calories try making this delicious classic caesar salad. It is full of selenium for a healthy thyroid (from the brazil nuts), B vitamins for energy, heart and brain healthy fats, magnesium for your muscles and of course greens for your respiratory system.

Plus it tastes super yummy. You are going to love it!

Enjoy!

Crunchy Creamy Vegan Caesar Salad

I realize this looks like a lot of ingredients but I promise it is super simple!

Ps. the croutons are amazing...I'm lucky if I get them on the salad before I eat them all. I use Food For Life brand Ezekiel Flax bread - it has lots of protein and flax seeds and tastes delicious toasted with the herbs and spices.

Ingredients
serves 4-6
2 heads/bunches of romaine lettuce or kale, chopped
1 avocado, cut into medium pieces (optional)
2 Tbsp hemp seeds

Dressing

1 Tbsp olive oil

fresh ground sea salt and pepper

1/2 cup raw Brazil nuts

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed butter)

2 tsp coconut sugar

2/3 cup water

Croutons

4 pieces of Ezekiel sprouted grain bread or gluten free bread, broken into 1" pieces

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp parsley

fresh ground sea salt

Instructions

Pre heat the oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, toss the broken bread pieces with olive oil and spices until well coated. Arrange them on the baking sheet so that none are overlapping and bake for 8-10 minutes, watching to make sure they are crispy but not burning. Remove and set aside. 

In a food processor or high speed blender, puree the brazil nuts until they are finely ground. Add in the olive oil, salt and pepper, nutritional yeast, garlic, dijon, lemon juice, tahini coconut sugar and water and puree until it is a well combines, creamy mixture. 

In a large serving bowl, mix the lettuce or kale with the avocado and dressing you made in the previous step. I usually have to do this by adding a few spoonfuls of the dressing at a time to evenly coat the lettuce. Top with the toasted croutons and hemp seeds. 

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