Although it’s raining here today, I can hear the birds singing through my back door. Maybe it has something to do with me prepping the soil for the veggie garden (robins love hanging around me in order to catch some good worm breakfast), but it’s obvious Spring has settled in. May it’s a great month for new beginnings, specially now that the New Moon is coming.

But what’s better for May when the Sun is shining and you crave fresh and juice food? A salad. I think I don’t understand when people say they don’t like salads. I say it. But I only say it at restaurants. I don’t particularly enjoy restaurant salads, most of the times. Why? Well, their base is almost always lettuce. I only use lettuce as a base when I am eating a salad as a side dish of something heavy, like…I don’t know…roasted potatoes, a nut-based dish and some carbs in the shape of grains. If I am having “just” a salad, I want it to be spectacular. Well, even if it’s a side dish, I don’t usually choose lettuce as the base for anything (although I sometimes add it to my smoothies!)

This salad is particularly nice because it has many different textures and colours. Don’t need to say that it’s very pretty to look at. But it’s also great because it only takes 15-20 minutes to prepare (and if you pre-cut your veggies and fruit, it’s just putting everything together.

It’s good on it’s own, but then I’d recommend adding some peanut butter to the sauce and maybe some chickpeas or beans in order to get more protein. I usually serve it with other food or after I ate a high protein snack a couple of hours before. It’s light and crunchy, sweet and smooth, salty and delicate. Try it and tell me 🙂

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Vegan Thai Salad

A vegan, gluten-free and soy-free quick salad.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Mediterranean, Thai

Keyword Gluten Free, Plant-based, Quick, Salad, Soy-free, Vegan

Servings 1 person

Author silviafooding

Ingredients

• 1/2 mango
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 carrot
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 onion
• 1 handful almonds
• 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
• 1/2 lime
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp coconut aminos
• 1 tsp coconut or sesame oil (optional)
• fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Slice the carrot with a peeler

2. Slice the onion. Cut the mango in sticks, chop the tomato and the avocado.

3. Prepare the dressing by mixing: coconut aminos, tamarind paste, oil, lime juice and a bit of salt depending on how salty is your bottle of coconut aminos. 

4. Display on a plate and add the sauce. Mix with your hands and add the nuts and seeds on top.

5. Garnish with the fresh cilantro.

Recipe Notes

I only add the oil if the mixture is too acidic, so try it first, because you already have very healthy fats on that avocado and those almonds.

To make it taste a little bit more Thai, change almonds for cashew nuts. I just wanted that extra crunchy feeling from almonds.

You can substitute black sesame for white sesame and it would be alright.

If you don't have tamarind paste, substitute for a little bit more lime and some maple syrup, agave nectar or orange juice (something sweet to balance)

Make sure your mango, avocado and tomato are ripe and juice, otherwise your salad would be a bit bland.