No, this is not the comedian Carrot Top’s signature chimichurri recipe. Instead, this recipe is made with actual carrot tops! Carrots don’t typically come with tops, but they usually do if you buy an organic bunch from the store or farmer’s market. And now you have something to make with those lovely, vibrantly green tops.

Chimichurri, for those of you who are unfamiliar with this lovely condiment, is a flavorful herb sauce with roots in both Uruguay and Argentina. It is commonly made with flat-leaf parsley, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, chili flakes, lemon juice, black pepper, and salt. It is classically served with beef, but you can serve it with chicken, seafood, pork, beans, eggs, or vegetables. There are, of course, variations depending on the region, and then you have to factor in secret family recipes. You can make your own version with a plethora of greens, but the flavor may change slightly from the original recipe.

Carrot tops have a strong flavor that is somewhat bitter, so you need other ingredients to balance them. Just make sure to remove the delicate carrot leaves and stems from the thicker central ones. You can discard those thicker, central stems. We added cilantro to help balance the intense carrot greens, in addition to dried oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic, and a handful of other seasonings. One pro tip that we will give you is to let the minced garlic sit in the vinegar for a few minutes. That will mellow the intense garlicky flavor, and that is a culinary tip from us to you. Now go out there and make some chimichurri!

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This lemon dressing may be new to our website, but it is already an all-time favorite. It has unique lemon flavor, which makes for a zesty eating experience. Tempered by sweet agave nectar and herbaceous parsley, this dressing goes great with a variety of salad ingredients. Pour it over a combination of romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers, or over shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, mandarin segments, and green onion. We love when a dressing is versatile!

Whisk lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, mustard powder, sea salt, pepper, and fresh parsley in a small bowl and you have your dressing. Prefer a dressing that is a little smoother? Feel free to add all of the ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth. The good news is that the preparation method doesn’t change the zesty, delicious flavor. There is just so much to love about his lemon dressing, and here are a few reasons why:

• Very easy to make: This dressing should not take you longer than five minutes to make. Plus, it only requires seven ingredients!
• Endless possibilities: Is your salad in need of a boost? This dressing will elevate any salad to a whole new level! If you don’t want to use it as a salad dressing, consider using it as a marinade for roasted or grilled vegetables or tempeh.
• Clean ingredients: Many store bought dressings contain a lot of problematic ingredients, namely saturated and trans fats, added sugars, excess sodium, and preservatives. These additives keep dressings shelf-stable for longer periods of time. Additionally, they tend to contain lower-quality oils and other ingredients to keep production costs down. This lemon dressing, however, contains simple, healthy ingredients that you can actually pronounce!

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We couldn’t quite come up with the perfect name for this recipe. We were back and forth between “Garden Symphony Soup” and “Raw Vegan Italian Blender Soup,” and you can see which one won. For this reason, we went with the very “on the nose” name, as it best describes the recipe. It is a vibrant medley of the a great combination of raw vegan ingredients that swirl together in a symphony of flavor and nutrition!

Unlike a traditional gazpacho, this recipe contains zucchini, not cucumber. The zucchini effortlessly struts into the mix, blending beautifully with the sweetly tart and juicy tomato, which gives the soup its color. The red bell pepper also brings a subtle sweetness and refreshing element to this soup. One of the secret stars of this raw blender soup is the avocado, which helps to make it extra creamy and elegant. One could say that it elevates this simple dish to a decadent creation!

What makes this raw vegan soup Italian is the fresh basil and flat-leaf parsley twirl. They do a little herbaceous dance and complement the richness of the sun-dried tomatoes. Just make sure that the sun-dried tomatoes are purely dried, not soaking in oil and other seasonings. Finally, you have a single clove of garlic that enhances the overall melody of this soup with its bold and savory flavor. You also have the lemon juice, which brightens everything up like a surprise encore! Basically, this recipe is like a giant orchestra that crescendos as you eat it to give you as much flavor as possible. It is plant perfection!

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Sometimes, you stumble upon a salad recipe that you enjoy eating once per week. It is a recipe that you look forward to and crave deep within your bones. There is just something about it! Perhaps it hits the right sweet and salty notes and provides varying textures that create excellent mouth feel. A salad also doesn’t have to be any of those things. Maybe it contains six ingredients and a simple dressing. Is it this salad, perhaps? That’s for you to decide.

Tabbouleh is thought to have originated in the mountains of Syria and Lebanon as far back as the Middle Ages. It is a parsley-based dish that most commonly contains tomatoes, onion, lemon juice, mint, olive oil, salt, pepper, and bulgur wheat. This grain-free tabbouleh salad is non-traditional, but still very similar to the original. It bursts with a bright parsley flavor. Parsley is naturally rich in antioxidants and aids the body with its natural detoxification efforts.

Unlike the traditional recipe, this one contains the addition of bell pepper. It contains red onion, but you can also use shallot if you prefer that flavor, which can be a bit intense for some people. It’s also a no-mix dressing, meaning that you just add all of the ingredients to the bowl and mix. Keep it easy, people! This salad is fresh, citrusy, crunchy, versatile, extremely healthy, easy to make, and incredibly delicious. Enjoy it on its own or as a side dish that accompanies a more filling entree. We hope you love it as much as we do!

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If you can make a homemade rendition of a store bought classic, then you should absolutely do that. By making the homemade version, especially a salad dressing, you save yourself from all of the sodium, added flavors, unhealthy fats, and added sugars in store bought dressings. The great thing about this homemade Italian dressing is that it uses olive oil, not hydrogenated vegetable oils that increase the risk of heart disease. Add in the vinegar, garlic, and other seasonings and you have yourself an award-worthy dressing!

Unlike some other dressings that we’ve posted previously, this recipe does not require a blender. Grab the ingredients, a jar, and your best shaking skills, and you have yourself a dressing that is ready to go in five to 10 minutes. If using raw garlic cloves, we encourage you to use a microplane or garlic press. That will prevent your dressing from having large garlic chunks if your knife skills are not incredible. If you do not want to use fresh parsley, you can opt for dried parsley, but reduce the amount from 1/4 cup fresh parsley to 1 tablespoon dried parsley.

Unlike store bought dressing, this homemade Italian dressing does not keep fresh in the fridge for months, even years. This dressing will keep fresh in the fridge in an airtight jar or container for two to three days. It may separate, so make sure to give it a good shake to combine the ingredients before dressing your salad. You may love this version so much that you abandon store bought versions for good!

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Sometimes, you need a quick and easy salad dressing to dress your entree or side salad. A creamy dressing, especially if it is raw vegan, usually contains cashews because help create a smooth consistency. This creamy cilantro dressing uses raw sunflower seeds in place of cashews, making this dressing friendly for anyone with a nut allergy. It requires a mere five to 10 minutes of your time and five simple ingredients, some or most of which you probably already have in your kitchen.

Why did we choose sunflower seeds for this dressing? Sunflower seeds have a milder flavor when compared to cashews. They also contain essential nutrients, such as selenium, zinc, folate, vitamin E, and vitamins B5 and B6, in addition to many more. Fresh lemon juice is a great addition to most salad dressing recipes because it adds a refreshing zest. Not to mention, it provides a healthy dose of vitamin C and helps promote alkalinity within the body.

Now, for the star of the show, we have the cilantro, which colors the dressing a vibrant green. If you are one of those people that has an aversion to cilantro because it tastes like soap, we feel sorry for you. That said, you can choose another herb, such as basil or parsley, to use in place of cilantro. The flavor will change, but all of the other ingredients work with both of those herbs. You can even use dill if you want, but dill has a stronger flavor, so just keep that in mind.

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If you see a recipe for avocado salad dressing, you can usually expect cilantro and lime juice to be prominent ingredients. This recipe contains lime juice but not contain cilantro, so it takes a departure from the Latin-inspired flavor profile. This avocado salad dressing is a bit more herbaceous, almost like a green goddess dressing of sorts. It is quite vibrant and rich, exhibiting a lot aromatic flavors that come from green onion, parsley, dill, and basil.

The ingredient list for this dressing is far from short, meaning there are layers and layers of flavors. Avocados, however, are the prominent ingredients and provide a smooth and creamy base for this dressing. Not only that, but they also provide lots of nutrients that are essential to your overall health. Research indicates that the body can absorb lycopene and beta-carotene, two key carotenoid antioxidants, more easily when you consume fresh avocado with your salads. If you add one cup of fresh avocado to a salad with some romaine, spinach, and carrots, your body’s ability to absorb the carotenoids increases between 200-400%.

The essential fatty acids in avocados may help reduce inflammatory markers in the body, which can aid both brain and heart function. Avocados also play a role in keeping your immune system functioning optimally. They are naturally rich in glutathione, which is a detoxifying agent. Additionally, glutathione helps to cleanse the body of oxidized fat. Is there anything that they can’t do? Please enjoy avocados in this dressing, and whenever you get the chance!

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Are you ready to embark on a flavorful adventure to the Mediterranean? This salad will make your taste buds stand up and scream, “Opa!” A Mediterranean salad, or shirazi salad, is vibrantly colored and packed with bright, citrusy, and satisfying flavors. The acidic, juicy burst from the tomato pairs with the crisp cucumber. Hold onto your fork, though, because the flavors don’t stop there.

Although red onion has an assertive flavor, it doesn’t overpower the rest of the ingredient in the salad. In fact, the brightness from the three different herbs, in addition to the fresh lemon juice, tame that signature allium flavor. What you are left with is a combination of crunchy and juice textures that makes each bite more enjoyable than the last. It’s as if the flavors dance on your palate!

To achieve the perfect Mediterranean salad, we encourage you to cut the cucumber, onion, and tomatoes in uniform size. Doing so helps every bite burst with flavor. Plus, it makes for an easy and enjoyable eating experience. Speaking of chopping, do not over chop your herbs. Give the parsley, mint, and dill a quick chop and then add them to the salad bowl. A light toss in the olive oil and lemon juice will be perfect. Allow the flavors to marinate for about 15 minutes in the fridge and then enjoy. We hope you love it!

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Here’s the scenario: you go to the store to get groceries for a recipe you want to make in a few days. You buy the necessary protein, grains, vegetables, or herbs to create your perfect dish. You bring these groceries home and store them. In a few days time, you pull out the ingredients to create your culinary masterpiece. There is just one problem: the herbs you purchased are slimy, brown, and no longer usable. 

Know What You’re Working With

There are two types of herbs: soft herbs and hardy herbs. In order to make these herbs last, you have to store them differently. Before you learn how to store herbs, you have to know how to differentiate hardy from soft herbs. Fortunately, this is very easy.

• Soft herbs have tender stems and delicate green leaves. The stems are edible and may taste slightly bitter. Some common soft herbs include cilantro, dill, mint, parsley, and basil.
• Hardy herbs have woody stems, which you should not chop up or eat. They do not have a pleasant taste and the flavor you want is from the leaves. Examples of hardy herbs are oregano, thyme, and rosemary. 

With the exception of basil (more on this later), most fresh herbs should be stored in the fridge. In order to make your hard or soft herbs last long in the fridge, though, you have to store them properly. That requires a small amount of preparation.

Why Do Herbs Go Bad?

If your herbs start to smell funny or the leaves turn dark, slimy, or moldy, you have to throw them out. There are a few reasons why they go bad, though, and we’ll detail them below:

• It’s possible that you chose herbs that were already going bad in the grocery store. Make sure to select herb bunches that do not have any wilted or discolored leaves. They should be very vibrant in color without any limp, discolored stems. Always do the sniff test to see if they have a pungent, fresh aroma. 
• Herbs can take a turn for the worse when exposed to too much oxygen or light. An environment with too much oxygen causes herbs to brown quickly, while too much light can lead to yellowing leaves. 
• If you do not pat the herbs dry before you store them, they will quickly become slimy and start to rot. If the leaves are too dry, they can turn brown and die. 
• Temperature is probably the main reason herbs go bad. If you store herbs in areas of the fridge that are too cold, such as the back of the top shelf, they can freeze and start to become mushy and brown. 

How To Store Soft Herbs In The Fridge

As a quick note, always wash your herbs before you store them. Some people have their own opinions about this because washing them adds moisture, which can cause them to decay. Bacteria can remain on the herbs if you don’t wash them. Just wash and dry your herbs before you put them in the fridge. 

• Remove any rubber bands or fastenings that secure your herbs in their bundles when you buy them. These things can damage your herbs. 
• Wash soft herbs in cool water to remove dirt and grime. You can do this in a large bowl until the water runs clear. 
• Dry the leaves well in a salad spinner or by putting them on paper towels/linens and then patting them dry.
• Trim about one inch from the bottoms of the stems. 
• Add the herbs stem side down in water, just like you would a bouquet of flowers. Fill a large glass about one-third of the way with water and place the herbs in the jar. Make sure the leaves do not touch the water.
• Cover herbs and the jars of water they are in with recycled bags, tucking the bags under the glass to create a tent. 
• Place them just like this in the fridge, changing the water every few days to extend longevity.

What About Basil?

Unlike cilantro, parsley, or mint, basil is very delicate and not meant for the fridge. Trim the basil stems at a 45-degree angle about one inch from the bottom. Fill a jar about half-way with water and put the basil bunch in the water, ensuring the leaves don’t touch the water. Cover with a plastic bag so that it loosely fits over the bundle in the jar. Store at room temperature and trim the stems/change the water every few days. 

How To Store Hardy Herbs

Just like soft herbs, you can store hardy herbs in the fridge. Begin by washing the herbs to remove any grime or bacteria before you do anything else, and then follow these next steps:

• Once you wash and pat the hardy herbs dry, trim about an inch off the stems. Wrap or roll the herbs in damp paper towels so that you cover them completely. 
• Place the wrapped herbs in plastic sandwich bags and store them in the fridge. 
• Without special care, hardy herbs tend to last longer in the fridge than soft herbs do. You can store them in a plastic container in the fridge if you don’t want to use plastic bags. 
• If you keep these herbs in the little plastic containers they are often sold in, they’ll last about one week in the fridge.

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We want to make a claim right out of the gate: there is nothing wrong with existing holiday side dishes. We simply want to help you take your side dish game to the next level with these roasted rainbow carrots. Not only do they provide an assortment of colors, but they also provide a new set of flavors that are quite autumnal. With each bite, you get notes of sweetness, nuttiness, tanginess, and aromatic herbs.

Do multi-colored carrots taste different than the orange ones you are familiar with? Some people say that all of the colors taste the same, while others argue against that notion. Typically, yellow carrots have a sweeter flavor with a slightly earthy undertone. White carrots are quite mild, while purple carrots may have a peppery flavor, but they can also be quite sweet. The contrasting flavors makes each bite a unique experience, especially when you have the maple tahini drizzle, fresh parsley, and pomegranate arils on top.

You roast the carrots on their own, seasoning them with sea salt, black pepper, and a little olive oil. Once they are soft and browned, you can remove them from the oven. When it comes time to plate the carrots, drizzle the maple tahini sauce over them, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley, and optional pomegranate arils. The parsley adds an herbaceous flavor, while the pomegranate complements the sweet carrots with a slightly tart flavor. It is visually stunning and the perfect side dish for your holiday meals.

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