Chickpea "Tuno" Salad

Fresh and vibrant are my two favorite words when it comes to food. I mean, there are a million words with which food can be described, but when a dish is made of pure fresh and alive ingredients, it just resonates with me. The way it tastes combined with the amazing feeling of fresh foods is incomparable. 

Even better, is making some food that "someone" was craving but just doesn't fit in our usual arsenal of healthy and plant-strong foods. Sometimes, when you've eaten a certain food your whole life, in this case tuna, it resurfaces as a comfort food craving.

It happens to everyone! The fun thing is, it gives me an awesome outlet to be creative in choosing healthier foods, that still fulfil that craving! This chickpea based "tuno" salad is vibrant and delicious served as a lettuce wrap, a sandwich or a topping on a salad.

It has a nice "fishy" taste from both the seaweed and capers, although they can be used interchangeably I find that the combination of the two really gives it the perfect flavor profile.

Dig in!

Chickpea "Tuno" Salad

Ingredients:

- 2 cups chickpeas, cooked

- 1 avocado, mashed

- 1 sheet nori, crushed finely

- 1-2 tbsp capers, minced

- 2 tbsp lemon juice

- 1 green onion, chopped

- S/P

In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas until they are just flaking. Be careful not to overdue it, we don't want hummus wraps!

Add in all the other ingredients and stir well to combine evenly.

Serve in lettuce wraps with tomatoes, in a sandwich or on a salad.

Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Stacks

This post is officially the most time consuming one I have ever posted. 

Not because the recipe was complicated or anything. But because our internet suddenly decided to go back in time to the 90's and act like dial up. 

I think the total time with page loading, image uploading and waiting for other various things to work properly, this will have taken me 6-7 hours to get up on here. If that doesn't display passion and perseverance, I don't know what does!

On the other hand, this may be curbing my social media obsession, Pinterest is impossible to load right now...

Back to the food! This little beauty came to life from various leftovers and odd and ends I had to use up. It comes together in a second if you have cooked rice and potatoes ready to go. The tex-Mex flavors are strong and delicious. You can also amp up the heat with a generous coating of hot sauce.

I was going through quite the roasting phase for awhile and I think the way the tomatoes came out on this was the reason for it. I've started making my own salsa and hot sauces as a result and I don;t think I'll ever go back to buying them pre-made.

You can easily make this recipe fat-free by omitting the guac and the coconut cream if you are monitoring those macros. Although the plantains dipped in guac are sooooo good!

Tex-Mex Stacks

Ingredients:

1.5 cups refried beans

4 tomatoes, sliced

4 cups rice, cooked

2 large potatoes, sliced

1 recipe guacamole
4 tbsp coconut cream (coconut meat and water blended)
Oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, S/P

In a casserole dish layer the ingredients as follows: potato, refried beans, rice, potato, tomato. Sprinkle with the spices as desired.

Bake at 350F until heated through and the tomatoes are cooked.

Top with guacamole and coconut cream and serve with baked plantains. 

Enjoy!