Purple Cabbage Salad + Goldhouse Gold Dressing (Vitamin B12)

     "Where do you get your vitamin B12?" 

     This is a common question asked of vegans. Many people think they get vitamin B12 by eating the flesh of animals. I have even heard this be used as an excuse for why humans have to eat other animals. Puh-leeez! Vitamin B12 is not, repeat not, animal-derived. When an animal consumes particles of soil or manure along with grass or feed, b12-producing bacteria are consumed and the vitamin ends up in the animal's flesh or milk as a result. So the animal is just being used as the "middle man."

     In centuries past, humans had direct access to B12 from their produce, but now that fruits and veggies are so scrupulously cleaned and grown in soils that have been treated with pesticides and herbicides with less B12-producing bacteria, they aren't such a reliable source. 

     Enter Nutritional Yeast, a cheezy-flavored powder that is fortified with B12. It is such an easy thing to include in your diet. The Liquid Gold dressing in this recipe is one of our favorite things to put on pretty much anything. Two tablespoons of this delicious, creamy sauce provides your day's supply of omega-3 fatty acids and 80% of your B12 for the day! It's also packed with riboflavin and other B vitamins.

Instructions:
Goldhouse Gold Dressing:
2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
2 cups water or vegetable broth
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup low sodium tamari
1 cup Nutritional Yeast powder or flakes
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp ground cumin
Salad:

1 head purple cabbage

1/3 cup dried tart cherries

1 cup quinoa

Instructions:
1. Blend the dressing until smooth. It can be kept in a jar with a lid (I store mine in empty soy sauce bottles) and refrigerated for 2 weeks.
2. Make the quinoa: toast on the stove, dry, for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cover for 15-20 minutes.
3. Chop cabbage and then transfer to a bowl. Toss in the dried cherries.
4. Divide cabbage onto serving plates. Scoop cooked quinoa on top. Drizzle dressing on top. Enjoy!


Source: "Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet" by Brenda Davis, R.D. & Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D. (note: Goldhouse Gold Dressing was inspired by a recipe in "Becoming Vegan" called "Liquid Gold." My version is oil-free.)