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A simple vegan new potato and strawberry salad with a minty-lemony avocado dressing.
This salad is a celebration of all the amazing fruits, vegetables and herbs that are in season at the moment. If you are bored of the classic ol’ mayo-potato salad, this recipe is just what you need! Boiled new potatoes with sweet strawberries, crunchy radish, celery and spring onions are tossed in creamy, garlicky mint-dill-avocado dressing for a quick spring/summer lunch or dinner. It’s also a great side for barbecues and makes a lovely picnic food. Plus it’s gluten-free, oil-free, vegan, and super simple and easy to make. Such a win!
Speaking of oil-free, I wanted to talk a bit about low fat diets today. Or maybe just general about diets. And I also really want to hear your opinion about this topic.
As you may know I’ve been vegetarian now for about 15 years and vegan for 1,5 years. I have never really considered these two as dietary choices, more like ethical ones – yes, also vegetarianism, that time I didn’t know any better. I guess mainly because I did not stop eating meat, eggs or dairy for health reasons. Actually back then when I went vegetarian I even thought it’s not a healthy choice. WHATEVER…. So other than the occasional 1-2 weeks long ‘let’s lose weight diets’ I never really cared about what I eat, I never followed any diet plan. I rolled my eyes at people doing Atkins, paleo, low-carb, etc. I mean having a lean and healthy body is cool but not as cool as eating whatever you want to eat. Plus I strongly believed, that if one diet would really work, everybody would follow it and there wouldn’t be one billion others out there.
When I went vegan, or mainly prior to that I also watched tons of Freelee‘s and other high carb vegan’s videos, read The China Study and watched Forks Over Knives. And there are all those amazing stories out there how people cured their cancer, asthma, acne, diabetes and depression with these diets. I was totally convinced that it’s a great lifestyle, however I wasn’t convinced enough not to use oils and to track my macros. It just didn’t worth it for me. You see, I also didn’t notice any of that mega positive effects every vegetarian/vegan talks about, I didn’t lose weight, I didn’t feel extremely healthy and energetic. So why would I stop eating something I love, just to feel 0,5% better? Okay, I’m pretty lucky, I have been always healthy and happy, probably a one-week long cold was the biggest health issue I ever had. So really, why would I change my diet, when everything is just perfect as it is, right?
But surprise, surprise, as usual it’s not the end of the story here.
About a half year ago I started to take food photos for Forks Over Knives. And it pretty much seems it has changed my life…I mean diet…..you know what I mean. As I ate more and more of that high carb and low fat foods I started to feel better than ever before. Physically as well as mentally. I was full of energy, my skin and hair looked better, and all these with enjoying the food just as I did before (coz carbs have always had a special place in my heart). The best part is that it’s so easy to eat this way. I mean basically all I changed is sautéing onions on water instead of oil and adding a tablespoon of tahini to my salad dressings instead of olive oil. Seriously, it’s amazing. Life changing. Delicious. And so great!
So I think I’ll keep eating this way now for a long long long time. Of course I don’t freak out by eating something fatty when I go out or somebody else is cooking for me, but we don’t have oils at home anymore. I lied, we do have, but we don’t eat them anymore. It’s a long story too. Anyway, if you have never tried to eat this way, I would highly suggest you trying it. Just for a few weeks or a month. You will love it! High carb low fat vegan is thebombdotcom!
BTW if you need hclf recipe ideas, you should definitely try out Forks Over Knives new Meal Planner. It’s an extremely helpful and user-friendly service which gives you 5×2 meal ideas and 5 snack ideas for every week, with shopping lists, weekend prep options and many more. Right now you can sign up for only $19.99 instead of $29.99, so go go go! I’m honestly loving the Meal Planner and if I had more time to cook for myself, I’d for sure use it everyday. And nobody paid for me to say this, I just seriously find it amazing.
And last but not least, speaking of amazing, make this salad! This combination may sound a bit crazy first, but trust me, the strawberries work so well with the new potatoes. I personally love to add to this salad green asparagus too, but I didn’t dare to post asparagus recipes here anymore. But edamame or fresh, young green peas would be great too. So I hope you’ll like it!
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would highly appreciate if you could leave a comment and rate it. Also don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on Instagram (use the hashtag #greenevi) or post it on Facebook! I love seeing what you come up with! ♥︎
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Potato and Strawberry Salad with Avocado Dressing
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2-4 1x
Ingredients
- 750 g/1,5 lbs new potatoes
- 2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
- 10 radishes, thinly sliced
- 5–10 strawberries, thinly sliced
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 2 small avocados
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1/2 cup of fresh mint
- 1/2 cup of fresh dill
- salt, pepper
Instructions
- Cook potatoes in salted water until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and let cool a bit. Half or quarter bigger potatoes.
- Meanwhile prepare the other ingredients and the dressing.
- Slice strawberries, radishes, celery and spring onions, then add to a large bowl.
- For the dressing add avocados, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, herbs and a bit of salt and pepper to a food processor and blend until completely smooth. Add a few tablespoons of water if too thick.
- Add potatoes and avocado dressing to the bowl and mix well together. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Vegan
The sweet creamy savory sounds wonderful! You can’t go wrong with potato salad no matter what you do!
Thanks, Rebecca!
Yes, potato salad is life 😀
Very interesting read Evi! I was off oils for about five years and never felt worse! I’ve tried vegan, low carb, high carb, vegetarian…you name it, and I’ve eventually developed some type of problem, usually in the form of energy or mood. I’m literally a middle of the road eater, where everything has to be balanced, but I enjoy reading those who are different! HCLF would be my most preferred diet, if I could pick one, since I love them carbs, but alas, it’s not for me. I’m interested to hear how you do on it in the future though, so keep writing about it! 🙂
Hi Lauren,
it’s so interesting to hear. I have heard a lot about low energy and bad mood on a HCLF diet, but luckily I haven’t experienced it myself. Though I definitely do eat fats (I love avocados, tahini, nuts and seeds), but try to avoid oils. Now I realised that I used to eat so much oil, just because I never really tracked what I’m eating and if I use a tablespoon or 5 for a salad…
This works right now very well for me, but I don’t plan to be super strict about this. I mean if I ever feel any negative effect, I won’t force it 🙂
I’ll keep writing about this, since it’s a whole new experience for me too 😉
Wow, so interesting to read about how you saw such a dramatic change once you overhauled your diet. How funny is is that this all started because of your work with Forks Over Knives? It’s when you least expect it… Glad to hear that you’re feeling more energetic, shiny, brighter, all of the things! 😉
Meanwhile, this potato and strawberry salad does not sound like a weird combo at all! Loving the mix of sweet and savory. Plus, let’s be honest, your photos could make all of us eat anything! The avocado dressing sounds, well, thebombdotcom. 😉 Have a great weekend, my friend. Pinning!
Thank you so much, Demeter!
Actually I also don’t find it a weird combo! But there were people here who were pretty surprised first, that’s why I had to say it. Crazy Germans 😀
And yes, I really didn’t expect it, but I’m happy to experiment a bit with this new diet 😉
Sounds like an awesome combo! Have you ever heard of chocolate chip cookie dough dip made with potatoes? If your friends were surprised by this salad, tell them about the dip!! Lol. It’s supposed to be very yummy, in any case.
Can’t wait to hear more about how this diet works out. 😉
Oh my goodness, I haven’t heard of that! Sounds super crazy and amazing at the same time.
Just googled it, is it the Oh She Glows version?
Yes!!! Okay, but just note how dorky I am that I thought this was a “new” idea and that post came out in 2012… Um… Yeah. Lol.
I didn’t even know about, so don’t worry 😀
This salad looks amazing, Evi! Berries are the best. They are really one of summer’s greatest gifts! I could eat them all day every day! One thing I love about spring and summer is all of the fresh fruit and using it in salads. Love that avocado dressing, I am sure it was a classic touch.
Thanks, Anu!
I feel the exact same about spring and summer, I just can’t get enough of the beautiful fresh fruits and veggies 🙂
So incredible to hear about your transition Evi! And all since you started working for Forks Over Knives too! Although it doesn’t surprise me at all, there are countless people (including myself!) that have felt 100000X better since transitioning to a vegan diet! Also, this potato salad looks incredible! I love the sweet/savory combination you used here!
Thanks, Lucie!
It’s really so amazing, isn’t it? There are really endless advantages of a vegan diet. I wish more people would listen to us and try a plant-based lifestyle, however I understand that it’s hard to believe until you don’t experience it yourself – I was the same sceptic 🙂
Hey Evi! Thanks for sharing that info it’s really good to hear. With all my intolerances I have had to give up a lot of different foods, but I haven’t embraced giving up oil, which I do use quite a lot in various ways. I might take the plunge and see if it suits me. Thanks for the inspiration!! <3
Hi Amy,
I also used to use a lots of oil, so first it sounded crazy for me to omit it fully, but now it feels so natural.
Though it was the same with dairy and eggs first too, and now it’s hard to remember why I was so into those things.
Definitely let me know if you give a try to hclf, I’m really interested if it would work for you 🙂
YUM! This looks so good! I just love the flavor combos you’ve got going on here! SO fresh and delicious! Also, I loved hearing about your story! One of my best friends eats high carb low fat and loves it! <3 While you know I don't eat 100% vegan, I do love eating mostly plants based!!
xoxo Cailee!
Thanks, Cailee!
Plant-based foods are so good! And I really enjoyed reading about your vegan challenge 🙂
Oh boy! I love unusual salad combos, but I would have never thought of combining potatoes and strawberries. That sounds great. Love this avocado dressing too – I am planning on making a cramy potato avocado salad…but strawberries…that’s genius, Evi!:)
Thank you so much, Ben!
Potatoes and avocados are so good together 🙂
This recipe sounds so amazing and it is just plain smart. I cannot wait to try it, and can just imagine those flavours together. Really impressive ideas.
I really hope you’ll like it, Carol 🙂