Living Whole Food, Plant Based!
There are a ton of meal subscription services out there. Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, and Plated are among the many that popped up when I did a quick Google search. But looking at the options, most of the known names didn’t have a true vegan …
One comment I hear repeatedly when I talk about living a whole food plant based (WFPB) life is “I could never do that, it would be too hard.” I typically respond with “Why do you think that?” Then I will get a litany of responses …
I have found that simple recipes that are easy to prepare are necessary to maintain and sustain the Whole Food Plant Based lifestyle. If you need to spend your days meal prepping for hours, you’ll quickly lose focus and reach for something that is processed, easy, and likely non-compliant.
One of the first salads I made was Tabouli (also spelled Tabbouleh or Tabouleh), which is a dish I was first introduced to as a kid by the Lebanese mother of a friend. Easy to make and very fresh, I would enjoy it especially in the summer. But I found it was not substantial enough to satisfy my appetite. I wanted to borrow much of what I enjoyed about Tabouli, but create a salad I could use as an entree.
Bulgar wheat and finely chopped parsley are the base of the salad. If you have never had Bulgar wheat, you are missing out. It has a wonderful nutty flavor and chew. It is also super easy to make. Add one cup of dry Bulgar wheat to one cup of boiling water (slightly salted), turn off the heat, and leave covered for at least an hour. The grain will absorb all the liquid. With a fork, lightly scrape the Bulgar wheat into a bowl and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes. Now it is ready to use in the salad!
The ingredients for this salad are super simple, yet add a nice variety in flavors, textures, and colors. You can add or subtract based on your taste, but I love this combination. Plenty of veggies, grains, and legumes which are staples in the WFBP diet.
Ingredients:
One cup dry Bulgar wheat, prepared as described above (yields about two cups)
One bunch of curly leaf parsley, finely chopped
One pint of cherry tomatoes , sliced in half
One English Cucumber (peeled or unpeeled), quartered lengthwise and chopped into 3/4 inch pieces
One red bell pepper, seeded and diced into 3/4 inch pieces
1/4 of a large red onion, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
One can of Garbanzo beans, rinsed
One can of artichoke hearts, quartered, pack in water, and rinsed
1/2 cup of Kalamata olives, chopped
One lemon, juiced (roughly three tablespoons)
Salt and pepper to taste (I use pink Himalayan salt)
Easy peasy, right? After chopping the veggies, rinsing the beans and artichoke hearts, and juicing the lemon, it is just a matter of assembling the salad.
After all ingredients have been placed in the bowl, all that is left is to mix it up. I try to be careful in mixing the ingredients as the artichoke hearts can break up if you are not careful.
As you can see, the colors are vibrant and appealing. The dish is refreshing and actually keeps extremely well in the refrigerator for three to four days. I also think it is a perfect dish if you need to bring something to a party.
I personally get four to five servings as prepared above. Adjust accordingly if you are serving a larger group.
I added grilled, marinaded Portobello mushrooms to complete the meal, but they are not necessary. If you have meat eaters in your house, this is a nice side salad to complement fish or chicken.
Enjoy!
Please contact me with any questions or comments. I would love to get your feedback!