Zucchini Noodles with Tahini Dressing

I recently got to go to a great event at Whole Foods (literally heaven on Earth) called Yoga for Foodies which is pretty self explanatory, as basically, we did yoga and got to try some amazing dishes from Natasha Corrett’s new book, Honestly Healthy For Life.

The book is amazing and I got some inspiration from it to make some zucchini noodles as soon as I got home. I whipped up a super quick dressing and put it in the noodles with some avocado, tomatoes and cucumber for a simple lunch, but it turned out amazing – super decadent and creamy and rich but super healthy and good for you!

Tahini has a multitude of benefits as it’s full of protein (great for anyone on a plant based diet), alkaline, one of the best sources of calcium, contains a TON of vitamins and mineral.
If you haven’t jumped on the tahini bandwagon, you better get on now!

Zucchini Noodles with Tahini Dressing vegan, gluten free, dairy free
Serves 2

1 zucchini
A handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Chunk of cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, cut into cubes
Sesame seeds, for garnish

optional: shredded chicken, prawns, sugar snap peas etc.

For the tahini dressing
2 tablespoons light tahini
Lemon juice
Apple cider vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Water, to thin
Salt and pepper, to taste

note: feel free to use a spiraliser if you own one, but I use a box grater to make my ‘noodles’, which is a tip from Izy’s blog!

Get a box grater and make the courgettes into noodles by grating it down the grater once (you may want to watch the video to understand this).
Once done, set aside.

Make the dressing by combining the ingredients and add more salt, lemon juice, etc to taste and make sure it’s a good consistency (you don’t want it to be too thick or it will clump and be quite cloying).

Mix the noodles with the dressing and scatter with other vegetables.

Advertisement

Roasted Aubergine and Courgette Salad

It’s summer time, and you know what that means… SALADS! I basically live off salads during the summer, and I know you probably don’t want to stand around grilling all day, so roasting vegetables is a great alternative and gives amazing flavour to the vegetables!

I used aubergine and courgette, but I would have loved to add red peppers and I once made this adding caramelised onions and all I can say is that it was AMAZING (but then again, I’m obsessed with caramelised onions)!

Check out the video tutorial here!

Roasted Aubergine and Courgette Salad vegan, gluten free and dairy free
Serves 2

1 large aubergine, cut into rounds
1 cougette, cut into rounds
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt

For the salad:
Bag of salad leaves (I used bistro salad which had beetroot in it too)
Coriander
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon

Preheat your oven to 170ºC.

Cut the vegetables into rounds and salt the aubergine so it starts to sweat.
Rinse them after about 15-20 minutes.
Sweating of the aubergine is optional but recommended.

Line your baking sheets with tin foil (they’ll be easier to clean up later!) and add a layer of olive oil.

Put the vegetables in the oven for about 20 minutes then flip them over.

Cook for another 10-15 until vegetables are soft.

While vegetables are roasting, make the salad but combing salad leaves, olive oil and lemon and put them around a plate.

Once vegetables are cooked, put them on the plate with the salad and drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil and lemon and coriander, for presentation.

Grilled Zucchini with Lemon

Ok, I’m so sorry I haven’t posted in a million years!! I’ve literally been so busy because of exams (ahhh!!!) so I haven’t had time to cook anything exciting! I had an abundance of zucchini the other day so decided to make these as I side dish, even though they’re quite summery… Whoops…

These grilled zucchini may seem simple but they are delicious, you’re really able to taste the true flavours of the zucchini and you get tang from the lemon zest.
Perfect for a side to a hearty chargrilled steak or with some fish.
You could even shave the zucchini into ribbons and use them in a salad, use all the ingredients but don’t cook them!

Grilled Zucchini with Lemon vegan, gluten free, dairy free
Serves 2

1 zucchini
Zest of 1/4 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Cut zucchini in half horizontally then cut into strips lengthways.

Marinate with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper.

Heat up grill pan and place zucchini on until charred.
Repeat with all strips and serve in a bowl, poured with remaining marinating juice.