You’ll love these three recipes to keep you alkaline during the warm summer months. All the recipes are gluten-free, vegan, and made with alkaline foods.
They’re easy to make and take only minutes to prepare; feel free to be flexible with the salad ingredients. Just make sure they’re fresh, alkaline, crunchy, and organic for best results.
Once you’ve tried these recipes, you’ll find that each of the dishes is made up of items that work well with other recipes, such as the lemon tahini dressing on asparagus, or the chickpea flatbread for dipping in hummus.
Crispy Greens Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing and Chickpea Flatbread
Start with a crispy vegetable salad full of alkaline goodness that’s topped with a creamy lemon tahini dressing. Serve it with the classic chickpea flatbread on the side.
Finely chop these vegetables and measure after chopping as follows:
- 4 cups broccoli
- 1 cup celery
- 2 cups kale
- 1 cup cucumber
- 1 cup red or yellow bell pepper
- ½ cup red onion
- ½ cup carrot
- avocado wedges and lemon slices for garnish
Mix all the chopped vegetables together.
Make the dressing in a small food processor or whisk in a bowl until completely smooth.
- ½ cup tahini
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup minced dill
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
Chickpea Flatbread (Socca)
- 1 cup garbanzo bean flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil plus extra for brushing on the top of the socca
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- black olives for garnish (optional)
Whisk together the garbanzo bean flour, salt, baking powder, and the water until no lumps remain. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Cover the bowl and let it rest for at least 1 hour or as long as 12 hours. It will become creamier as it rests.
Slice the onion in half lengthwise and then slice it crosswise into very thin half circles. Separate the half circles into individual pieces. Heat a 10” cast iron skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, then add the onion slices. Stir fry until the onions are blackened and reduced in size by at least half.
Pour the batter over the onions, gently spread it around the pan, sprinkle the rosemary over the surface and cook for about 5-8 minutes over medium heat until the flatbread looks browned at the edges and the center looks set but not runny.
Heat your broiler to low. Lightly brush the top of the flatbread with olive oil and put it under the broiler for about 1-2 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Let it cool in the pan before gently lifting it out with a spatula and slicing into wedges. Serve with any main dish or salad, especially hummus, baba ghanoush or toasted on its own.
Red Lentil Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower
Enjoy a satisfying main dish made with red lentil pasta and roasted cauliflower for a delicious alkaline menu.
- 16 ounces red lentil pasta
- 1 small head cauliflower
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided in half)
- 1 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
- fine sea salt and pepper
- microgreens or chopped fresh herbs for garnish
Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the cauliflower by breaking the head into bite-sized florets. You should have enough to cover a 9 x 14 baking sheet in a single layer. Add the garlic cloves (unpeeled) to the cauliflower on the baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the cauliflower and garlic. Toss to distribute the oil evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes.
Turn the cauliflower with a spatula and bake for another 10 minutes until the cauliflower is partly browned and reduced in size by about 25%. Remove the garlic and let it cool.
Peel the skin off the roasted garlic and mash it in a small bowl with the lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Add the mustard, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Cooking times for non-wheat pasta are specific; if cooked too long they become mushy, so test the pasta a minute before it should be ready to make sure it does need to be cooked more. Drain the pasta immediately when it’s just tender, and rinse in cool water. Add it to a large bowl with the dressing and the roasted cauliflower.
This dish can be served chilled or at room temperature and it may need additional sprinkles of olive oil and salt if it sits for more than 15 minutes. (Non-wheat pastas are softer than wheat pastas and absorb dressings and sauces easily.) It’s best garnished with green herbs and lemon slices.
Strawberry Kiwi Popsicles
Cool off with strawberry-kiwi popsicles for a great finish to the perfect summer meal.
For each popsicle, you’ll need about 8 medium to large strawberries and half of a kiwi fruit. You’ll also need a popsicle mold. The silicone molds work the best, so look for those.
Remove the tops of the strawberries and cut out the hulls. Cut the strawberries into small pieces. Put them in a small food processor with a teaspoon of agave nectar (none if the berries are very ripe and sweet). Pulse just until almost smooth but it’s okay for small chunks to remain.
Cut the kiwi fruit in half. Scoop out the fruit from each half carefully with a spoon and slice into half circles. Lay a few slices of kiwi fruit in the popsicle mold and add a few tablespoons of strawberry puree until the mold is half full. Then add the rest until the mold is full. Cover the mold and freeze for at least 2 hours.
