Creamy Vegan Coleslaw – (Plus it’s Gluten-free!)

IT’S SUMMER TIME!!!

Okay, okay – so it’s only spring but I’ve been having bonfires practically every night, my sandals are my current go to footwear and one day last week, I even wore shorts. So in Canada, all these things stipulate summer 🙂

If I can’t convince you with these firmly rooted pieces of evidence, maybe I can convince you with food? Like some Creamy Vegan Coleslaw, perhaps?

That’s what I thought…I knew food would be the answer. Heck, food is always the answer!

So, back to this summer evidence – this Creamy Vegan Coleslaw is where it’s at, friends. It’s creamy (obviously), tangy, sweet and perfect for pairing with all sorts of summer gems like veggie burgers, veggie dogs, tofu kabobs and maybe even s’mores? Okay, I went too far with the s’mores. Let’s just pretend I stopped at the kabobs 🙂

This Creamy Vegan Coleslaw is so easy to whip up and has summer written all over it. I don’t know if it’s just me, but the crunchy, tangy flavour of coleslaw always makes me think of summertime picnics, camping and all sorts of other awesome childhood summer memories.

My favourite thing about this Creamy Vegan Coleslaw, other than the fact that it’s vegan and gluten-free, is that it has all sorts of other wholesome goodness in it too. In addition to the necessary cabbage, this creamy vegan coleslaw has apples, carrots, walnuts, sunflower seeds and even cashews hidden in the dressing! It’s pretty protein rich – just another reason to dig right in.

I feel like cabbage is one of those vegetables that ends up hiding out in the back of your fridge for several weeks (my hand is way up for this one…definitely guilty here). But cabbage is so good for you, we should really eat it more often. Cabbage:

• can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in cabbage do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they’ve been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it’s easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw cabbage still has cholesterol-lowering ability, just not as much as steamed cabbage.
• is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of manganese.
• contains significant amounts of polyphenols that provide anti-inflammatory benefits. The anthocyanins found in red cabbage are well-documented anti-inflammatory compounds, and make red cabbage a standout anti-inflammatory food for this reason.
• is great for your stomach! Long-established in health research is the role of cabbage juice in helping heal stomach ulcers (called peptic ulcers), but more recent studies on cabbage have looked at the overall health benefits of this food for the stomach and digestive tract as a whole. Present-day studies make it clear that cabbage contains a variety of nutrients of potential benefit to our stomach and intestinal linings. These nutrients include glucosinolates (and the anti-inflammatory isothiocyanates or ITCs made from them), antioxidant polyphenols, and the amino acid-like substance called glutamine. In the case of ITCs, digestive tract benefits include proper regulation of bacterial populations of Helicobacter pylori inside the stomach. These bacteria are normal stomach inhabitants, but their populations can become too large and they can latch onto the stomach lining in an undesirable way. The ITCs made from cabbage’s glucosinolates can lower the risk of these unwanted stomach events. (source)

So let me reiterate: cabbage is the answer and therefore, this Creamy Vegan Coleslaw solves everything. It also means summer…mainly cause I said so but also cause it’s just so gosh darn good!

Make up a big bowl of this delicious Creamy Vegan Coleslaw today and be prepared to instantly be transported to warmer climates with just one bite (unless you live in Antarctica, then nothing can help you, unfortuantely). Okay, in all seriousness guys, this Creamy Vegan Coleslaw is just too delicious to not share with you so enjoy the recipe, make it for yourselves and post your pictures to Instagram with the tag #glutenfreeveganpantry so that I can check out your own little bit of summer in a bowl.

Creamy Vegan Coleslaw - (Plus it's Gluten-free!)

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

This Creamy Vegan Coleslaw is quick, easy and bursting with flavour. Vegan and gluten-free, it's the perfect summer side to serve at a picnic or backyard BBQ.

Author: Savanna @ glutenfreeveganpantry.com

Recipe type: Side

Cuisine: Vegan

Serves: 10 cups of coleslaw

Ingredients

• 6 cups green or red cabbage, diced
• 2 cups carrots, grated
• 2 cups granny smith apples, grated
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds

Dressing

• ½ cup cashews, soaked overnight
• ¾ cup white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine cabbage, apples, carrots, walnuts and sunflower seeds in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
2. Place all dressing ingredients into a high-speed blender (I used my vitamix). Blend on high for 3-5 minutes, or until dressing is creamy and smooth.
3. Pour dressing over coleslaw mixture and combine until coleslaw is thoroughly coated with dressing.

Notes

Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve. Leftovers can be stored for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 cup Calories: 168 Fat: 8g Saturated fat: 1g Trans fat: 0g Carbohydrates: 21g Sugar: 12g Fiber: 5g Protein: 4g Cholesterol: 0mg

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