A Versatile Dressing to Die For!!!

I know, I know! It's been a really scarce consistency of blogs these past few months but I am determined to get back on track! After all, I've been eating amazing food, seeing beautiful places and just having a really fun adventure which I want to share with you!

My hubby has started med-school and I'm finally falling into the swing of our newly changed routine! We are all enjoying the adventure that Vancouver brings and I have found that there is a great sense of community in our neighbourhood which is so great and exciting! I have been preparing a lot of amazing meals and eating really clean and beautiful! It was my birthday this past weekend and we did indulge in some vegan chocolate cake and tapas while out with friends! So delicious though!!!

I am a huge fan of making my own salad dressing. In fact, I never buy store-bought dressing anymore...until a couple of weeks ago when I was driving up to Whistler with Noah to meet Dan and stopped at Whole Foods to stock up on food that I could easily whip up in the hotel! I had researched and found that there were not a lot of vegan options up in Whistler and wanted to bring up healthy (and cheaper) vegetables, fruit, granola, etc....just so that we had easily accessible options! I have been craving salads with avocado, broccoli sprouts, spinach, bok choy, sweet potato (really any vegetable I have lying around I will use), so I really wanted to bring up veggies to make salads in Whistler. I didn't have time since I was travelling solo with a toddler and a dog to whip up my own homemade dressing so I browsed the produce section of Whole Foods. I wasn't going to have any dressing because I really don't think that it's necessary if you have the creamy textures of an avocado...but this beautiful glass bottle of dressing caught my eye (pictured above)...I was doubtful but since I have found that the quality of many products carried by Whole Foods is great, I found my hand reaching for this bottle (which ironically happened to have been made in Whistler)!! The salad dressing flavor that tantalized my taste-buds was the Basil Pesto Vinaigrette but I assure you there were many equally enticing flavours! The dressing company is called Whistler Cooks Catering and I was impressed by how few ingredients there really were! The company is a catering company which also sells these amazing freshly made salad dressings! If you want to check-out their website to find a list of the stores where you can buy these dressings (or to be inspired to make your own inspired from their dressings), you can check them out at the following website: http://whistlercooks.com/whistler-catering/index.php

Although the catering company is definitely not vegan-friendly, I found that most of the dressings are! YAY!

I only bought that flavour in particular because I was going to Whistler. Not only did Dan and I enjoy the dressing in Whistler but we also brought it back to Vancouver and then to Victoria so that our family there could experience it's rich deliciousness! I have sadly finished the bottle but I have been inspired to branch out and experiment more with my salad dressing-making adventures!

My favourite salad currently is a combination of warm and cool vegetables! I'll start by placing some spinach onto a plate. I will then steam some broccoli, green beans, zucchini, bok choy and kale (I will put a few slices of sweet potato into the water that's under the steamer...essentially I'm boiling the sweet potato)! Once all the veggies are steamed, I place them on top of the spinach, and add avocado, hemp hearts and pumpkin seeds. I usually am completely content with the different flavours and don't need to add any dressing, but I was enjoying the last days of summer and vacationing so I indulged with the pesto basil vinaigrette (salad pictured below)!!!!

While Dan, Noah and I were in Victoria for the September long weekend, we barbecued and Dan grilled these delicious portobello mushrooms and veggie burgers! I made a salad to accompany our burgers and Dan and I decided to top both our burgers and salads with a little splash of the delicious dressing! It was incredible!!!

I will finish off by saying "I'm backkkk"!!!!!!! Another post will follow shortly!!!