Creamy Kale Caesar Salad with Spicy Chickpeas, Tempeh Bacon and Avocado

ELXR welcomes Jacyln Irwin to The Dispensary in this newest guest post, featuring the kale caesars to end all kale caesars. But don’t take our word for it…recipe below.

Jaclyn is a Holistic Nutritionist based in Toronto and the owner of Holistic Foodie, a food and lifestyle blog with a focus on using nutrient dense whole foods to nourish the body from the inside out. With a background in green beauty, working at The Detox Market and a love for real unprocessed food, Jaclyn aims to inspire people to get to know their inner holistic foodie and learn to love food again. Jaclyn has contributed to Jules Wellness, The Naked Label and is featured in Jesse Lane’s e-book. You can connect with Jaclyn on Instagram.

Creamy Kale Caesar Salad with Spicy Chickpeas, Tempeh Bacon and Avocado

As warmer weather (finally!) approaches, this salad is perfect to make for social gatherings and is hearty enough to keep you feeling full and energized for hours. Kale is much heartier than lettuce, so this salad will keep dressed in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Ingredients

Caesar Dressing

½ cup raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours
¼ cup water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice from ½ large lemon
1 small garlic clove
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp tamari
2 tsp capers
½ tsp maple syrup
Pinch of salt and pepper

Tempeh Bacon

1 package of tempeh
4 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp liquid smoke
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tsp miso
Pinch of pepper

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

1 can chickpeas (organic, BPA free if possible)
1 tsp tamari
1 tsp maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
Good pinch of cayenne

Directions

Prepare the tempeh bacon by taking your tempeh out of the package and putting it in a steamer basket
and steaming for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the basket and let it cool slightly. Slice as thin or
thick as you like and pour the marinade over the tempeh in a large baking dish. Allow this to marinade
for a couple hours (or if you are in a pinch 30-45 minutes), sometimes I leave it overnight. To cook,
simply place in a cast iron pan on medium and brown on both sides (approximately 2-3 minutes per
side). If you like it crumbled (I do), then just crumble it in the pan using a spatula and browning it at the
same time.

Prepare the dressing by adding all ingredients into a high powered blender and blend until smooth and
creamy.

Prepare the chickpeas by ensuring your cooked chickpeas are nice and dry, then add the rest of the ingredients (tamari, maple syrup and spices). Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and roll them around and bake for 10-15 minutes more.

Wash and dry approximately 1 bunch of kale and then tear off the leaves from the center stem. Chop into small bite sized
pieces.

Chop up your avocado into cubes and your radish into thin slices.

Add the kale to a large salad bowl and toss with the dressing. Mix it up so that it is nicely coated using salad tongs or your hands. Add in your chickpeas, tempeh bacon, radish and avocado last. Enjoy!