Two Salads

Yesterday we shopped at Costco.  There are plenty of great choices of vegan ingredients there, like organic peanut butter, hemp hearts, raw nuts, washed spinach, peeled carrots and ground flax seed.

Abiding by the agreement we established from the beginning, we allowed ourselves to sample from the many free offerings handed out by employees at Costco.  Often as we tasted things, we wrinkled our noses and made faces.  The food was too sweet, too salty, or too greasy.  At one point we shared a sample of Starbucks Frappuccino.  I said to my husband, "I can't believe we used to drink that stuff!"  It tasted like the flavored, sweetened coffee creamers that people add to the coffee, not something to drink straight.  That's the result of training our taste buds to real, whole food.

We did pick up a couple of salads at Costco, and they were pretty good.  I'm going to list the ingredients on the label here, and will be attempting to make my own version in the future.  They are vegan but not raw. 

Quinoa Salad
(Costco Wholesale Deli Case)

Cucumber, Tomatoes, Red Quinoa, Red Bell Pepper, Mung Beans, White Quinoa, Bulgar Wheat,
Red Lentil, Parsley, Soybean Oil, Cilantro, Salt, Lemon Juice, Vinegar, Water, Spices

Texas Caviar Salad
(Pita Pal)

Blackeye Peas, Bell Pepper, Jicama, Corn, Onion, Parsely, Red Pepper, Orange Juice, Canola Oil, Spices, Citric Acid, Sea Salt, Potassium Sorbate and a Lot of Love

We enjoyed both of the salads although we thought the Texas Caviar tasted oily.  We can remedy that by using olive or grapeseed oil and using less of it.

Texas Caviar

1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 (4 ounce) can ripe olives, chopped and drained
1/2 cup diced jicama
one ear of corn kernels
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate  (or use the zest and juice of one orange)
1 tablespoon chopped parsely
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon pepper

 Serves 12