I have been talking so much lately about my pet peeve when dining out: the only vegan options are "we can leave off the cheese". That's true, if the cheese is the only part that's not vegan, then just leave it off the dish. But I'm sure the dish was created with that cheese in mind; taking it away would ruin the essence of the entire dish. 

That being said, I often eat vegetarian at restaurants because otherwise the food doesn't taste that great. My dream would be for almost every restaurant to have just one dish on the menu that catered to vegans; I would be awesome to see a cashew cheese or a special avocado dressing or a faux meat option that was made for those not eating meat or dairy. One day my dream will come true. 

But thankfully, for now, at least some restaurants are on top of this and do care about their vegan customers. sweetgreen's has a new Spring Menu which includes a dairy and meat free Umami Grain Bowl that is designed just for us dairy- and meat-free eaters. Hooray!

Even more exciting - they are sharing this fun recipe with us here today. You can get creative on how you roast your mushrooms and tofu. And of course you can play around with the bowl ingredients as well. One of my favorite things is mixing cooked/roasted with raw for variety of textures and flavors (super fresh and early with more oily and rich/salty). Try adding some toasted nuts if you feel up to it as well. 

UMAMI GRAIN BOWL

organic quinoa + farro

swiss chard

pea shoots

roasted mushrooms

red onion

spicy sunflower seeds

roasted organic tofu

miso ginger sesame dressing (below)

Chop everything into a bowl and add the miso sesame dressing. 

Miso Sesame Ginger Dressing Recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoon Sweet White Miso Paste

2 tablespoon Tamari or Soy Sauce

1 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

2 tablespoon Rice Vinegar

½ teaspoon Sesame Oil

¼ cup Warm Water

2 tablespoon Mirin

1 Thumb Sized Piece of Ginger, Peeled and Minced 1

Garlic Clove, Smashed and Minced

Directions

Combine all of these ingredients in a blender, blend on low until smooth, and increase speed to medium while adding: ½ cup Grape Seed Oil Taste this and make adjustments to your own taste.

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