Honey Balsamic Bean Salad

I just love cold salads in the summer.  Here is Texas, it’s in the 100’s and way too hot to cook.  Salads are so easy to throw together and don’t cost a lot to make.  You can find many of my salad recipes in this post.  So I was looking for recipes on Pinterest when I came upon The Clever Carrot’s Bean Salad.  If you haven’t checked out her blog, you should.  Her recipes are great and her photos are stunning.  I LOVED this so much, that I wanted to share it with all of you.

clever carrot salad watermark 1

I am more of a baker than a cook, so I often look on Pinterest for things to make during the week.  This salad was so good, I wished I had made a double batch. I made a few alterations to use what I had on hand.

Honey Balsamic 3 Bean Salad

Honey Balsamic Bean Salad

Prep Time 20 min

Ingredients

  • 4 cups or 2 cans of chickpeas
  • 4 cups or 2 cans of black beans
  • 2 cups green beans halved
  • 1 cup red bell peppers chopped
  • 1/4 cup red onions thinly sliced
  • 2 T chives finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped basil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp raw honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Drain and rinse beans if using cans. 
  2. Add all the ingredients in one large bowl. 
  3. Add the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. 
  4. Pour the dressing over the ingredients and mix well.

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Recipe Notes

Adapted from The Clever Carrot

This makes about 4 servings. It should last about 4 days in the fridge. Enjoy!

Healthy Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Thanksgiving is that time of year when you stuff yourself silly with all the guilty pleasures.  I am going to try to make healthier versions of all the naughty dishes.  The first one that came to mind was to make a vegan green bean casserole.  Who doesn’t love it in all it’s decadent glory?  The original version is not vegan and contains a lot of unwanted ingredients.  My vegan green bean casserole is much healthier
and just as delicious…

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

I am including a gluten free option in this recipe as well.  So you can save all the calories for dessert. 🙂

What are some other Thanksgiving guilty pleasures?

Healthy Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Healthy Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 25 min

Ingredients

  • 2 cups green beans sliced
  • 3 cups + 1/4 cup vegetable broth
  • 3/4 cup + 4-5 sliced mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 1 T arrowroot powder
  • 1/2 cup + 2T whole wheat panco bread crumbs (to make this gluten free, just use gluten free breadcrumbs.)
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. 
  2. In a large sauce pan , saute 3/4 cup mushrooms, onions and olive oil. 
  3. In another pot, boil the green beans in the 3 cups veggie broth for 10 minutes. 
  4. In a food processor , combine the arrowroot, 1/4 cup milk and 4-5 sliced mushrooms until mixture is fully pureed. 
  5. Once the beans are boiled, drain and add them to the mushroom/onion mixture. 
  6. Add the pureed mushrooms to the pan. 
  7. Now add the salt and breadcrumbs. Stir well.
  8. Place in the oven and bake for  20 minutes. 
  9. Pull it out and sprinkle last 2T breadcrumbs over the top and cook for another 5 minutes.

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