Vegan Cleanse Time, Baby!

After several weeks of cupcake mania in my kitchen, the muffin tins are finally empty. The cupcake liners are all gone. And there's not an ounce of frosting left in sight.

Perhaps the loudest indicator of this cupcake-madness conclusion is my stomach: She's begging me for a vegan cleanse.

Ask and you shall receive, my dear Tummy.

So, after polishing off the last, lonely chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting last night, I began working on this week's cake-less meal plan. That's right, folks: no frosting, no butter, and much less chocolate. I mean, it is Lent after all.

Tonight's feature: Asian Slaw with Almonds and Oranges. It all started with a bowlful of this:

Seriously. Yum.

I hope you enjoy this dish of vegan-licious-ness as much as I did.

As a side note, I settled on the following three flavors for the baby shower cupcakes: Chocolate Yogurt Cupcakes with Peanut Butter frosting, Classic Birthday Cupcakes, and Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes. We packaged 'em up to match the Dr. Seuss-themed baby-fest, and placed one cup o' cake at each guests' place setting. I can't lie: It was pretty adorable.

Alright, enough cake talk. Let's get down to those vegan goods, shall we?

Asian Slaw with Oranges and Almonds

(adapted from a Cooking Light Magazine recipe)

The soy sauce makes for a delicious vinaigrette of sorts for this crunchy, veggie-loaded slaw. If you don't have fresh oranges on hand, go ahead and sub in mandarin slices.

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 bag of shredded cabbage
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
• 1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 2 oranges, diced

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBSP honey
• 1 TBSP lime juice
• 1 - 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• pinch of fresh ginger
• fresh salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.