I’m afraid I have bad news…
Grains, people, are everywhere!
I’ve learned that the hard way on my very first day of being grain free!
How do you ask?
Well, you see, I was planning on making make a little bit of an “Asian” vinaigrette to go with this salad… So I went in the cupboards to get the ingredients that I needed.
First, I reached for the rice vinegar. I had it in my hand when it hit me. RICE vinegar. Argh, no good. It’s got to go back, can’t have that now. Oh well, let me use white wine vinegar instead.
Then, I go to grab soy sauce. For some reason, I decide to look at the list of ingredients, just to be sure, you know.
Well, lo and behold, there happens to be WHEAT in soy sauce!
DARN! So no soy sauce either.
Wow, going grain free isn’t going to be a piece of cake, it seems!
To make my life easier, I decided that I would completely empty my cupboards of everything that contains grains over the week-end. I’m curious to see just how empty the pantry will be after that little exercise. I’m guessing there won’t be much left in there…
Of course, I’ll take pictures and show you guys. And I’ll also make a list of all the grains that I can’t have and the non grain foods that I can replace them with. That way, I will run less risk of making a mistake…
So anyway, back to the salad that came THAT close to having grains in it…
I just recently discovered edamame (I know, I know, where have I been all my life…) and I am absolutely, completely, totally addicted to these cute little green things. I would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I could.
I’ll try and spare you though and not use them TOO often in my upcoming recipes. 
But seriously, if you’ve tried them before, I guess you know where I’m coming from. And if you haven’t tried them yet, well, by all means, you have to! These things are so good, they like pop in your mouth, and they have this subtle nutty yet super fresh flavor. They’re crunchy, yet creamy and soft at the same time.
Yummers. Better than potato chips, if you ask me!
You can pop them right into your mouth straight from the pod and they make for the coolest, bestest snack ever.
Oh, but they happen to be extremely good in a salad too! This one here was an extremely worthy “Lent Kick-off” dish.
I am so very happy to have stumbled upon the recipe while researching edamame…
I think I could eat nothing but this for the next 46 45 days!
OK, maybe not…
But you can be sure I’ll have it a few more times!
ARAME AND EDAMAME SALAD
(Adapted from Diet, Dessert and Dogs)
INGREDIENTS
(Serves 1)
Salad
- about ½ cup dry arame (don’t pack it or you’ll end up with too much–it really expands while soaking)
- 1 pound edamame, cooked and cooled
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
- 10 almonds, chopped
Dressing
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp Sambal Oelek
DIRECTIONS
- Place the dry arame in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water; allow to sit 5-15 minutes, until the arame is soft and about double in bulk (the longer it soaks, the less it retains a “fishy” taste). Drain and set aside
- In a small bowl, add all the ingredients for the dressing and mix until well combined.
- Shell the edamame and add them to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add arame, green onions, sesame seeds and chopped almonds. Stir in the dressing and mix until well incorporated.
- Allow to sit at least 15 minutes before serving (if you can wait that long!)
- Store covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
This looks amazing! Sadly, I just found out yesterday that I’m allergic to gluten, dairy AND soy! Yes, yesterday was a terrible day. Even though I can’t make this with the edamame, I like your idea with sesame oil and sesame seeds. I think that that, along with the green onions, make this “asian” even without the soy sauce. Sadly, I’m sensitive to ginger too… but, I’m sure this will taste good nonetheless. Now I just need to find some arame!
This rocks! And grains sneak into everrrrything somehow hey! You should pick up some tamari, it’s wheat-free soy sauce – hallelujah right?
Hallelujah is right! I will definitely look into that! Besides, I used to use tamari sauce exclusively, as I much prefer its taste over that of soy sauce… then I chose to go back to soy because it’s a
tadlot less expensive… Will most certainly go back to tamari now, although gluten-free soy sauce does exist. Not sure that all tamari sauces are wheat free though? I’ll make sure to read that label carefully before I buy!Wow–I had to go back to my original post and check the photos, these look so similar!! How funny that we have almost identical bowls!! I’m glad to read that you love edamame as much as I do (best snack ever!) and glad you tried the salad. Your version looks great!
(PS this would make a super entry to Wellness Weekend this week. . . .! ) 
Thanks Ricki! So glad you posted that recipe in the first place. As soon as I saw it, I KNEW I had to make it. That salad was really good and I will be enjoying it regularly for sure. So true about our bowls! I hadn’t even noticed that. Guess your pictures really inspired my set-up as well as my dinner! Thanks a bunch for the invite, I truly appreciate and I’ll make sure to enter my recipe before the week-end is over!
Crazy about grains being in everything!! Makes me so glad I’m not allergic or anything, that would be awful. I love edamame though. I actually just tried them last year and love them and thankfully the kids like them too. I need to start using them more
Love the sesame oil in your dressing – mmmm!
I’m glad I’m not allergic to anything either, but then again, I’m starting to think that I might have some sort of an intolerance to gluten. I’m hoping that this grain free period will help me determine this. We’ll see how the ole body reacts! Edamame and sesame is a true winning combination!
This salad looks delicious! I know what I’ll be eating tomorrow
Sonia, you’re a superwoman for going grain free, especially in our very processed world!
I’m curious to know how this ajustment is affecting your everday life? Can you go to restaurants or eat a meal at a friend’s house, knowing that you might not find anything grain free? Does it take much more time, more planning, more organization for your meal plans? Does it affect your personal life or energy level, etc?
I would love to know all those tiny details because as crazy and hard this challenge seems to be, it’s awsome and fascinating to me because I have no such willpower to take on something so challenging! I’m cheering you on from my laptop screen!
Thanks for the cheering, Élise, you are a superstar for doing that! I truly appreciate your interventions!
I haven’t been able to see any any changes yet as far as going grain free is concerned, since it’s only been 2 days. However, I have been living this healthy lifestyle for well over 2 years now (or is that 3 now?) and I can say that you can always find ways to eat according to what you believe is right. You don’t always have to empty your plate, you can leave some of the unwanted foods on the side. When ordering at restaurants, you an always make substitutions and I’ve never had a hard time finding items on the menus that are in accordance with my lifestyle. Now… will grain free be a tad more complicated? Perhaps… we’ll see how that goes.
I plan on documenting this whole experience, so make sure to check in often in the next 45 days. You’ll find out all about the challenges that I face (like not even being able to use soy sauce in my vinaigrette, for instance!) and the way that my mind and body feel going through this new “adjustment”. I’m really hoping that, just like when I gave up on meat, I won’t feel the need to eat that much grains when this experiment is over.
We’ll see how it goes… one day at a time, as they say!
Thanks again for your admiration and support! I appreciate to no end!
I love edamame beans but there pretty hard to find around here. I know I can probably get them in Amsterdam somewhere but I have yet to find a good source for them. But seriously wheat in the soy sauce?? I would never have guessed.. I so so happy that I do not have a wheat allergy of some sort. I would be totally unhappy I think..:)
Love this salad though!
I know! I was so shocked too! And I fail to understand why. In addition, Miso also contains grains, apparently. Now that is a major deception. I need to find grain free miso! Now it may be just as hard to find as edamame beans are. They’re not that common to come across in my part of the world either. But I will certainly get out of my way to find them, though, that’s for sure! Glad you like the salad, Simone!
Too good! Love your site. I just found it
Thanks Alison! Glad you found me, and glad you like my site, too! I think I need to go check out yours… looks VERY interesting! Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate that!