🥔🥬✨ Too Tired to Cook? Two-in-One Summer Salads
🥔🥬 Two-in-One Summer Salads
✨ One Base. Two Classics. All Plant-Powered.
Feeling the summer vibes but too tired to prep multiple meals? This week, we’re keeping it cool, creamy, and totally do-able with a two-in-one recipe feature:
✅ Picnic Potato Salad
✅ Crisp & Tangy Coleslaw
All built on one shared, whole food, plant-based mayo-style dressing—made from soaked cashews, lemon, mustard, and love.
🥄 Light Lemony Cashew Mayo (WFPB + Oil-Free)
This creamy, lemony mayo is inspired by Vegenaise—but made from whole, healing ingredients with zero processed oils. It’s the perfect base for summer classics like potato salad and coleslaw.
Ingredients (makes enough for both salads)
👍 1 cup raw cashews (soaked 4–6 hours, then rinsed well)
👍 ½ cup unsweetened almond milk (or water—or potato water, see Pro Tips)
👍 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
👍 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
👍 2 tsp yellow mustard (or Dijon for tangier flavour)
👍 ½ tsp garlic powder
👍 ½ tsp black salt (or sea salt – kala namak adds “eggy” flavour)
👍 Optional: 1 tsp maple syrup to round out acidity
👍 Optional: Pinch of lemon zest for extra brightness
Instructions
👩🍳 Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until ultra-smooth and creamy.
👩🍳 Chill for at least 1 hour before using—it gets better with time!
👩🍳 Use half for your potato salad and half for your coleslaw below.
💡 Pro Tips
👍 Let it chill: Flavours deepen after a few hours in the fridge.
👍 Use potato water: Reserve a little cooking liquid from your potatoes to use in place of almond milk. It’s full of natural starch, flavour, and nutrients.
👍 Soaking cashews matters: Soaking removes enzyme inhibitors that block nutrient absorption and ease digestion. Boiling alone won’t do that.
👍 Kala namak = “eggy” mayo magic: A pinch goes a long way to replicate traditional mayo's savoury kick.
👍 Double duty dressing: This is a Too Tired to Cook superstar—make one base, get two salads. No extra effort, just extra yum.
🥔 Picnic Potato Salad
Creamy, comforting, and crowd-approved—this lighter version of my beloved potluck potato salad skips the vegenaise but keeps all the picnic-worthy flavour.
Ingredients
👍 4–5 cups mini potatoes, cubed (skins on)
👍 ¼ cup red onion, finely diced
👍 ¼ cup fermented dill pickles, finely chopped
👍 Fresh dill (optional)
👍 Black pepper to taste
👍 ½ batch of Light Lemony Cashew Mayo
Cooking Method (Long & Low):
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Add cubed potatoes to a stainless steel pot with just enough water to cover the bottom.
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Cover with tight lid, bring to high heat until lid is hot to touch.
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Reduce to lowest heat and cook for 40–60 minutes without opening lid.
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Let cool completely before dressing.
Assembly:
Toss cooled potatoes with onion, pickles, dill, pepper, and ½ batch of your prepared dressing. Chill before serving.
🥬 Crisp & Tangy Cashew Coleslaw
A refreshing, crunchy side with a creamy, lightly sweet-and-tangy dressing made from the same base as your potato salad.
Ingredients
👍 3 cups shredded green or purple cabbage
👍 1 cup grated carrots
👍 2 green onions, thinly sliced
👍 Optional: thinly sliced apple or fennel
Coleslaw Dressing Add-ins (to remaining mayo base):
👍 1–2 tsp maple syrup (balances the tang)
👍 1–2 tsp extra apple cider vinegar
👍 ½ tsp celery seed or mustard seed (optional but classic)
👍 Splash of almond milk or water to thin, if needed
👍 Salt & pepper to taste
Assembly:
Whisk coleslaw add-ins into remaining mayo base. Toss with cabbage, carrots, and green onion. Chill for 10–15 minutes before serving.
🌱 Nourishment Notes: What These Salads Give You
These two colourful salads aren’t just a feast for the eyes—they’re a healing upgrade from the inside out. Here’s what makes them so powerful:
🥔 Potatoes are one of the most misunderstood whole foods out there. When eaten with the skin, they deliver:
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Potassium for heart and muscle function
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Vitamin C to support your immune system
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Fibre and resistant starch for gut health and long-lasting energy
👉 Pro Tip: When you cook potatoes and then let them cool (like we do here), the starches change form—becoming resistant starch, which acts like prebiotic fibre. This helps feed your good gut bacteria, supports blood sugar balance, and can even improve insulin sensitivity. So yes—your potato salad just got gut-healing cred.
🥬 Cabbage and carrots, the stars of our coleslaw, deliver:
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Sulphur-rich compounds that support detox
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Antioxidants and beta-carotene for glowing skin and eye health
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Vitamin K and fibre for inflammation reduction and digestive support
🥄 And our creamy, whole-food cashew dressing adds healthy fats, magnesium, and minerals to help your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins from the veggies.
💪 Protein Check (per serving):
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Potato Salad: ~4.9g
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Coleslaw: ~2.1g
Your body gets clean, complete fuel from plants—no protein powder needed. 🌿
💚 Let’s Make Summer Simple
With one blender and 10 minutes, you’ve got two nourishing, classic salads—no oil, no dairy, no processed junk. Just real, healing food made fast for tired days and vibrant lives.
