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Archive for the ‘Salads’ Category

The Joy of a Well-Stocked Kitchen.

Posted in Breads, Brunch, DIY, Gluten-free, Healthy Lifestyle, Kid Food, Low carb, Lunch, Paleo-friendly, Processed Foods, Real Food, Recipes, Salads, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 12, 2013 | 2 Comments »

After the kids went to bed tonight, I tossed together some almond flour berry muffins.  The recipe is from Elana Amsterdam’s (of Elana’s Pantry) wonderful paleo book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  I doubled and modified her delicious Chocolate Chip Banana Cake recipe to omit the honey, and used frozen mixed berries instead of chocolate chips.

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Banana-Berry Muffins

INGREDIENTSMuffin Close up

  • 3 c. blanched almond flour
  • 1/2 t. sea salt
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1/4 c. coconut oil, melted
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 T. vanilla extract
  • 1 c. frozen mixed berries
  • 1/2 c. (about 1-2) ripe bananas, mashed

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Arrange silicone muffin liners on a baking sheet.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, sea salt, and baking soda.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the liquid coconut oil, eggs, bananas, and vanilla extract.
  4. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined.
  5. Fold in the mixed berries and fill each muffin liner about 2/3 full.
  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

After I was done making the kids’ lunches, I made mine.  I had some leftover celery sticks that didn’t fit in their lunches, so I put them in a container to take to work.  I decided I wanted some ranch dressing to dip it in.  While humming Rubber Ducky, I pondered my day and set about gathering ingredients.

Mid-hum, I realized that I’d assembled these ingredients, mindlessly and effortlessly, within seconds:

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Without a recipe, without looking anything up in a book, just … experience, in my fingertips.  Holy cow.  I think I might be getting the hang of this real food thing.  Within another couple of minutes, I had this:

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A few whips later and I had my celery dip:

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So Monday started out being a full-on pain in the ass, but after leaving work and as the evening wore on, I had a pretty awesome Monday.

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Tuna Salad Boats

Posted in Cutting out processed food, Fish, Fresh Vegetables, Gluten-free, Healthy Lifestyle, Kid Food, Low carb, Lunch, Paleo-friendly, Real Food, Recipes, Salads, Wraps, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 28, 2013 | 2 Comments »

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These are one of my favorite lunch items. I make the tuna salad and pack my romaine leaves in a ziplock the night before, so I can just grab my lunch bag and head out the door in the morning. Enjoy!

Tuna Salad Boats

Makes 4 leafy green boats of happiness2013-01-20 14.07.54

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 romaine leaves, washed and dried, thicker stem ends cut off
  • 1 can of tuna, drained and flaked
  • 1 stalk of celery, chopped finely
  • 1 T. dried currants
  • 8-10 crispy almonds, chopped (here’s a recipe for how and why to use soaked and dehydrated nuts)
  • 1/4 c. olive oil mayonnaise, plus or minus, depending on your tastes (here’s a great recipe, with video!)
  • salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine all ingredients EXCEPT the romaine leaves and mix well.
  2. Fill the romaine leaves with the tuna filling, holding like a soft taco.  Proceed to “mmmmm” and “ahhhhhh” over the devastating, tiny hits of sweet from the currants, the crunch from the celery and almonds, and the silky, savory, and healthy olive oil mayonnaise tying it all together.

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Quick Breakfast and Lunch Post

Posted in Lunch, Paleo-friendly, Raw, Real Food, Salads, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 16, 2012 | 1 Comment »

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Breakfast was a cheesy kale scramble.  I sauteed the kale in 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil for about a minute, then splashed in a teensy bit of water to steam (with a lid) for another minute.  Then I added the eggs and cooked for another minute or two minutes.  I put it into a little container, sprinkled the julienned cheese on top, and threw it and a fork into my purse.  Twenty-two minutes later I arrived at work with a fresh, still-hot, cheesy and healthy scramble.  Can’t get this kind of flavor and nutrition anywhere else for 5 minutes’ investment!
Now, lunch…

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Lunch was in the fridge, packed in my lunch bag already.  Last night we had individual pizzas with coconut flour crusts, and I was bursting with energy after we put the kids to bed at 8:00.  I made raw chocolate banana pudding, raw chia pudding, and raw kale salad.  I’ll be posting recipes soon.

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Fun Fact:  The type of fat in the avocado helps your body to absorb up to 300% more of the micronutrients available in the kale and cabbage.  How great is that?

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Chinese Chicken Salad

Posted in Brunch, Chicken, Main Dishes, Nut Butters, Paleo-friendly, Salads, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2012 | 2 Comments »

This recipe is adapted from an Ina Garten Chinese Chicken Salad recipe to accommodate what we had on hand, to contain less fat (not because of calories, but just because the texture was too oily), and to include less salt (again, the original recipe was overpoweringly salty).  If you don’t like using peanut butter, you could certainly substitute any other nut butter.

This is a quick and easy weeknight recipe for us.  It’s great cold, and if you’re in a hurry and your chicken doesn’t cool all the way down, it’s great warm too.  I put the leftover bit in the fridge for my lunch tomorrow.  It keeps very well for another day or two, and it will be delicious on toasted bread with spring greens to cushion it.

We have always put this over a big green salad because it’s a main dish, a protein, and a dressing all in one.  Served with a bowl of watermelon chunks on the side, it’s just about the perfect hot summer night meal!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb. chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
  • 1/2 lb. asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
  • 1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
  • 2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
  • 1 T white sesame seeds, toasted

DRESSING

  • 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 c. Bragg’s apple cider vinegar
  • 2 T. low-sodium tamari
  • 1-1/2 T. toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 T. honey
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 t. powdered ginger
  • 1/2 T. sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1/4 c. natural nut butter
  • 1 t. sea salt
  • 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Grill the chicken ahead of time or set aside freshly grilled chicken until cool enough to handle.  Shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

Steam the asparagus for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender.  Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.  Drain.  Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Shared on Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday

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Quick Lunch Post – Mango, Avocado, and Walnut Salad

Posted in Healthy Lifestyle, Lunch, Salads, tagged on June 11, 2012 | 2 Comments »

I was originally going to make a green salad with tomato and avocado, but realized I’d brought walnuts for my morning oatmeal and a mango to cut up for a snack as well.  So I put them together and saved the tomato for another day and it is delicious!  When I cut the mango I made sure to do it over the salad so all of the juices went on the lettuce.  Let me know what you think if you try this.  Did you use dressing?  I didn’t think it needed one at all.

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Caprese Salad with a Balsamic Reduction

Posted in Appetizers, Brunch, Fresh Vegetables, Lunch, Main Dishes, Salads, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on May 15, 2012 | 9 Comments »

I’ll admit up front that before I made this I’d never eaten caprese salad before, much less made it.  When I found these aquaponic tomatoes at Nelson and Pade Aquaponics in Montello, Wisconsin this weekend, I just had to use them in a starring role.  I vaguely remembered reading about reducing the balsamic vinegar, which makes it sweeter and a bit syrupy.  Well, I may have reduced it a bit much because it was as thick as cold honey.  I’d do it again in a second though because the flavor was outstanding.  You can also make pretty designs with it on a white plate and it’ll stay put.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for this recipe to find or make a great fresh mozzarella.  It’s imperative.  I was lucky to find a weak and watery ball of Belgioioso up in Montello, but if I was home I’d have gone straight for the Crave Brothers mozzarella, which is much creamier, firmer, and flavorful.  And can you imagine how pretty this would be made with heirloom tomatoes?  However you make it, the results will be stunning; a feast for both the eye and the palate.  Enjoy!

Caprese Salad with a Balsamic Reduction

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb. fresh mozzarella
  • 3 large tomatoes
  • 1 oz. fresh basil leaves
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 12 oz. balsamic vinegar
  • sea salt
  • black pepper

DIRECTIONS

  1. For the reduction:  Bring vinegar to a gentle boil over medium heat and simmer without a cover for 15-20 minutes, until it becomes thicker and more syrupy.  Keep in mind it will thicken up even more as it cools.
  2. While the balsamic vinegar is reducing, slice the mozzarella and tomatoes.  Layer the cheese, tomatoes, and destemmed basil leaves as pictured.
  3. Drizzle olive oil over the layered tomatoes, followed by the cooled balsamic reduction.  Sprinkle a few additional basil leaves for effect.  Sprinkle sea salt and grind a little black pepper over it all.

 

This post shared on a recipe swap over here at Whole Lifestyle Nutrition.  Also shared on Foodie Friday over at Simple Living with Diane Balch.

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It’s a green salad miracle.

Posted in Conscious Eating, Fresh Vegetables, Healthy Lifestyle, Lunch, Salads, tagged , , on April 23, 2012 | 2 Comments »

For the first time ever, I had a green salad with avocado and a quinoa cake WITHOUT DRESSING.  Just had to share.  When I shared this breakthrough with a coworker, she said, This is the breakthrough?

Well.

Unimpressed coworker notwithstanding, I just may have finally broken a lifelong addiction to salad dressing, and you were here to see it.  If you need me, I’ll be up on the mountain top over yonder, dispensing whole food wisdom.

Follow-up:  I had another salad for dinner, but this one didn’t even have avocado.  Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, cauliflower, and a quinoa cake.  CAN I get a witness?!

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Maple-Carmelized Pears Over Spring Greens

Posted in Brunch, Fresh Vegetables, Healthy Lifestyle, Lunch, Salads, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

 

Well this was something different.  I’m a pretty hardcore recipe kinda gal, but every once in a while I just spread those wings, let loose a couple of squawks, and take off a’ runnin’.  My brief but exhilarating flight often ends in a bruised pile of feathers and bemused indignation.  You sort of have to understand why recipes work in order to start playing with them, and I leave that whole understanding thing to the experts.  In this case though, I think I actually cleared the fenceline without snagging a primary feather.

The key here is to hover over the pears.  Poke them, move them around, hear how their sizzle is sizzling.  Smell to make sure it’s smelling caramel-y and not smoke-y.  Really let your micro-management skills come alive and to the forefront.  Those borderline OCD tendencies love them a front-row seat; hand them a spatula or fork and watch them tremble with anticipation.

Maple-Caramelized Pears Over Spring Greens

Serves 3 adults and 2 fairly disinterested kids

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 pears peeled, sliced into sections, and cored
  • 1 T. grapeseed oil
  • 3 T. real maple syrup

BASE

  • 1 lb. spring greens
  • 1-2 heads butter lettuce or romaine, chopped
  • 2 avocados, pitted and cubed
  • 1/2 c. walnuts
  • strong-flavored cheese that pairs well with sweet fruit, grated finely and used sparingly

DIRECTIONS

  1. Get a frying pan nice and hot and add the grapeseed oil.  Lay the pear sections in carefully.  Listen to the sizzle.  It should be audible but not alarming.  No panicky pears, please.
  2. Peek under the pears after a few minutes of poking and fretting.  If they’re a bit caramely and browned, flip them.  Wait a few minutes for the new side to caramelize.
  3. Adjust the heat down several notches, to low.  Wait a minute or two for the pan to come down in temperature.  Add the maple syrup.  Swish the pears around in it, flipping them to coat all sides as much as possible.  Now let them simmer about another 10 minutes.
  4. For those final minutes, let your freak flag fly and prod, poke, peek, and just generally be in those pears’ faces until you are satisfied that you have a glistening, caramelized, melty-warm finished product.  Spoon them and their glistening sauce sparingly over the base salads.  Sprinkle with freshly grated cheese (don’t make me tell you what’s in the pre-shredded stuff.  Just grate.)

Savor.  Press your chin glands in satisfaction (Watership Down, anyone?  Anyone?)

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