Stir Fry Tempeh Salad

Tempeh is one of things "scary" vegetarian/vegan foods that people are afraid to try, including myself. I did a 30 day vegan challenge last year that led me to try tempeh. After all, when you are trying new things, why not try new things. I purchased one from Central Market, and health food store in Shoreline, and one from Trader Joes. Both had a beigy/grey color to the tempeh out of the pacakge, that looks pretty unsatisfying. It has a slight smell it as well, related to the fermented soy beans. I heated a frying pan and added a little oil and fried sliced pieces until browned on one side before flipping and browning the other side. The result is a flavorful looking piece of protein. Adding a little soy sauce adds a lot of flavor, but I decided to give this vegetarian mushroom flavored stir-fry sauce a try with it, and resulted in almost a teriyaki flavored protein. It was really good. I dare you to try tempeh, you'll be pleasantly surprised! Even my mom gave it a try and like it.

I used the tempeh in a salad along with some steamed vegetables. For dressing, I could have used any asian flavored type of dressing, but I tried it with ranch and it tasted fine. I found the Vegetarian mushroom flavored stir-fry sauce at a local asian superfood store.

STIR FRY TEMPEH SALAD

makes 2 servings

1 package of tempeh

1-2 TBSP EVOO, separated

1-2 TBSP Vegetarian Mushroom Flavored Stir-Fry Sauce

Mixed salad greens

steamed or stir-fried vegetables

1. Open tempeh package and slice into even number.
2. Heat a frying pan to medium high and EVOO.
3. Add sliced tempeh to heated pan and stir fry, allow it to brown on once side before turning, about 3-4 minutes each side. Add stir fry sauce and flip once more.
4. Cool the tempeh and put together salad portion: steam or stir-fry vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, onion, and snap peas. 
5. Once all ingredients are cooled, put salad mix on the bottom of container, along with the vegetables and then top with tempeh. Use any dressing you'd like.

Veggie Patty Burger Salad

Meal prepping will save you time, but some recipes take longer than others. This is a quick go to meal I create on Sunday evening and simply love. I try to not to make more than I can eat in three days, since most of the components are made of fresh ingredients. I consider this one of the unhealthier things I eat because the patty's are store-bought (sodium!) but you could make your own pattys and freeze them for use later. I do most of my grocery shopping on Saturday or Sunday so my veggies are fresh for the upcoming week. You can easily make this salad vegan by using vegan cheese and dressings.

Large salad boxes are cheaper at wholesale stores such as Sams Club, a store I frequent nearly weekly. I spend about $4.48 on a 16 oz (1 lb) box of organic baby kale mix, versus Fred Meyer where a 12 oz box might go for $4.99. Since they are already cleaned and prepared, they are great to have at home. 

For the salads pictured below, I purchased Morning Star's Spicy Buffalo Chik'n patty, and their Spicy Black Bean Burger patty. My fiance loves the Spicy Chik'n one's the most, he thinks they taste better than the real thing!

I purchased the black to-go looking containers off of Amazon and they are great for meal prepping. Make several meals and you can grab and go in the morning, or trade meals if you have someone else who likes to meal prep too. Ingredients below pertain to 3 salads. Separate ingredients between the salad containers.

VEGGIE PATTY BURGER SALAD

handfuls of salad mix (kale or spinach is best)

1/2 cup red cabbage, thinly shredded

1/4  cup onion, thiny sliced

1/4 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1-2 roma tomato, sliced

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 veggie patty of choice

2 TBSP of light ranch per salad

1. Add a layer of salad to the bottom of the container.
2. Add the rest of the vegetables in layers, sprinkling the top with the shredded cheese.
3. Cook the patty's to the package instructions (we pan fried them) and allow to cool before slicing.
4. Placed sliced patty's on top of vegetables and add some dressing to the top if eating the same day or in a separate small container if eating on a later date.

Aubergine and Bulgur Salad

Originally the recipe calls for couscous but my friend had a small tub off bulgur wheat that I couldn't let go to waste. Whipped it up for a friends bbq. One person told me "ew", another said "yum". I liked it so, XP

Aubergine and Bulgur Wheat Salad
20 minutes, Serves 6

olive oil
1 aubergine*, chopped into chunky
1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 zucchini, chopped
5 baby portobello mushrooms
10 cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 cups bulgur wheat or couscous

1. Heat a nonstick skillet to medium high. Once warm, lower to medium and add a tablespoon of olive oil, move pan to spread around.

2. Season aubergine with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and grill for a 5 minutes or until they start to brown. Add onion, zucchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes to the pan and continue to cook until all the vegetables are tender crisp.

3. In a seperate pan, heat cooked bulgur wheat or couscous with garlic and parsley. Continue to cook until garlic is fragrant and add the cooked vegetables. Mix well and serve immediately for a warm salad or cold as an easy lunch.

*Aubergine is just a fancy word for eggplant

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