Spicy Vegan, Asian Style Grapefruit Coleslaw

Coleslaw is one of those foods associated with warm summer days, BBQ's, mayo and meat! It is often regulated to a side dish and laden down with globs of mayo completely obscuring the crunchy, delicate flavor.

Raw cabbage is actually extremely alkalinizing and has been proven to have cancer prevention properties due to its high level of antioxidants, glucosinolates, and anti-inflammatory properties. Cabbage is also beneficial to the digestive tract and can in fact heal ulcers while lowering your cholesterol to improve your circulatory system. So lets not ruin our deliciously healthy cabbage with a crap ton of mayo, instead lets take a unique twist by adding some heat and a touch of Asian flare. 

I love to eat a good coleslaw for lunch, its filling but low in calories and packs a nutrient rich punch. This coleslaw is unique in that it contains a kick as well as a tang. Combining grapefruit with the coleslaw softens the leaves and pairs beautifully with jalapeno, wasabi, ginger, and sesame oil.

It's a breeze to throw it together, especially if you utilize your food processor for all the slicing. Then just whisk up the dressing and toss. I like to let this coleslaw sit for a bit in order to meld the flavors together and let the heat develop but feel free to eat it fresh if you so desire!

I hope that you enjoy!

Spicy Vegan Asian Style Grapefruit Coleslaw

1/2 Head of Cabbage, Sliced

4 Carrots, shredded

1 Red Pepper, chopped

1 Grapefruit, zested, peeled, pared and quartered

1/2 Jalapeno, diced (I only used half but feel free to up the kick if you would like)

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

2 tbs Sesame Oil

1 tbs Powdered Wasabi

1 tsp Ground Ginger

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

1 tbs Agave

1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped

1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds

In a large bowl combine the sliced cabbage, grated carrots, chopped red pepper, and diced jalapeno. Zest half of the grapefruit, adding it to the bowl. Cut the grapefruit in half and cut away the membrane and add the grapefruit sections and juice to the bowl. 

In a small bowl or container with a lid add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, agave, wasabi, ginger, garlic, salt and parsley. Whisk or shake vigorously until combined. Pour over the cabbage mixture and toss to combine and top with the sunflower seeds. You can eat this right away but I prefer to let mine sit for about an hour to meld the flavors as this coleslaw gets better with time. Enjoy and healthy eating!

Vegan Red Pepper and Chickpea Coconut Curry with Carrot Rice

Some days you just want your lips to tingle and to feel the heat of a spicy curry in your belly. Unfortunately there are no Thai or Indian restaurants where I live so I am left to experiment with coconut milk curry pastes and vegetables. 

Curry always seems like a simple dish, however, the flavor profile is complex and achieving the right amount of heat is important. Of course you can always just use some curry paste and coconut milk and call it a day but I figured a little more flavor was needed and added a dash of soy sauce, a squeeze of lime juice and a drop of apple cider vinegar. 

I did not have wild rice in the house and wanted to try a little something different with the base. Rice is awesome because it soaks up the flavors of the curry and offsets the heat but I had grand visions of raw carrot noodles; crunchy and sweet.  The carrot noodles were a complete fail, how does one make a carrot noodle? I tried my fancy Kitchenaid spiralizer but the carrots were too small and I wound up with slivers of carrots and my handheld couldn't grip the carrot well enough to get a noodle either so I used the carrot slivers which I call rice even though it technically wasn't. Next time I will just go ahead and rice the carrots and skip all that crazy mess. 

As you can tell, the entire meal was an experiment and a work in progress - the result was a delicious curry and with a few tweaks to the base would be an awesome week night meal. 

Red pepper and Chickpea Coconut Curry with Carrot Rice

Serves 2

1 Onion, sliced

1 Red pepper, Sliced

1 cup Sprouted Chickpeas

3 cloves of Garlic, chopped

1 in of ginger, minced

4 Collard Green Leaves, chiffonade 

2 tbs Olive Oil

2 tbs Curry Paste (Red or Green)

1 cup Coconut Milk

1/2 cup Water

Juice from 1/2 of a Lime

1 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Soy Sauce/Tamari

4 Carrots, shredded 

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the sliced Onion and Red Pepper, cooking until they begin to soften. Add the garlic, ginger and chickpeas to the pan, cooking for another minute before adding the curry paste. Saute the curry paste and vegetables for 1-2 minutes before adding the coconut milk, water, lime juice, soy sauce, and vinegar. Add the collard greens, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, shred the carrots in your food processor until  a rice like consistence is created, you could use cauliflower of broccoli for this as well. Divide the carrot between 2 plates and top with the curry. 

Enjoy and healthy eating!

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