'Egyptian' Salad

Here's another recipe from Ambitious Kitchen that I really, really like.  To be honest, I'll have to make it again with Monique's combination of veggies and quinoa because that sounds even better than what I mixed up, but I had to make due with what I had at the time.

The kids really enjoyed the peanuty sauce, and I threw in vegetables they tend to like so it was really a success for us.  I served it with a side of roasted cauliflower. My daughter ate half the head of cauliflower while my son and I chowed on the salad.  The peanut ginger sauce is similar to a sauce I make when we eat tofu spring rolls.  Put that sauce on anything and my family will call it delicious.

My son suggested we call this an 'Egyptian' salad, which would be a double pun on the Farro (not Pharaoh). He asked that I make it again, and suggested we could even make it for company. Sounds good to me.

I've come to realize that the kids are more willing to eat vegan if pasta or potatoes, or in this case, wheat, are a main part of the dish. Of course, this should not be a surprise to me as those are classically kid-friendly foods.  Although I'd rather eat less starch, I can do that at breakfast and lunch when I'm on my own and save the starches for dinner.  Dr. McDougall's book, The Starch Solution, says that you should build all your meals around starches, so, maybe all those starches are not so bad, even though Dr. Fuhrman does not agree.  Anyways, we're making progress here, as a big part of the battle is getting the kids interested in the food.

The recipe is here on AmbitiousKitchen's blog.
Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Modifications or Notes:  I had to heavily modify the recipe because I didn't have many of the items.  I used farro instead of quinoa. In the dressing, I left out the olive oil to reduce the fat.  I added cashews, cucumbers, celery, carrots, baby corn and some white beans. I left out the red pepper, cabbage and cilantro because I didn't have any (and the kids don't like peppers and cilantro).  If you like cilantro, that would be awesome.  I ate mine over a huge handful of raw spinach. If I'd had cilantro, I would have sprinkled a bunch over the top.

Kid-friendly: yes
Kid-rating: 4
Ease of prep: Easy.
Cleanup: Moderate: blender, cutting board, knife, peeler, measuring spoons and cups, saucepan, collander.
Nutrition: B : unprocessed.  Quinoa and the veggies in the original recipe have a better nutritional profile than the farro and what I used. Rather heavy on the nuts, too.
Overall Rating: 4 - company-worthy, will definitely make again and will vary the add-ins.