Spinach Lentil Beet Salad

 

 

I know, I know.  It's October.  It's Fall.  It's time for pumpkin everything and soups.  I couldn't agree more that this is a highly inappropriate time for salad posts.  Forgive me, but since I haven't had the chance to blog in awhile, I didn't want to forget to add this one.  It's a keeper.

 

This recipe arrived in my inbox from Sugar Free Mom.  I read the recipe and it intrigued me because I never thought to combine these ingredients in a salad so I decided to give it a try.  It was delicious!  I've made it many, many times and it's the perfect lunch or light dinner as the lentils help fill you up.  Plus, it's so pretty to look at!

 

I also loved reading this recipe because I found out about two new items at Trader Joe's.  Pre-cooked/packaged lentils and beets. Personally, I have no problem making lentils so I made those myself.  I had some beets my mom canned for me, but I love them and they WILL get eaten so I decided to give the beets at Trader Joe's a try.  They were delicious and much easier than cooking them.  It's not that cooking beets is particularly difficult, but it is messy!  These are ready to pull from the package and slice and it's as easy as that.  Highly recommended if you have a Trader Joe's by you, but if not, go to the effort to boil and slice your own.  Beets are totally worth it!

 

These are both found in the refrigerated section.  If you haven't had lentils, what are you waiting for?  It's a delicious legume full of protein.

 

 

Spinach Lentil Beet Salad

Recipe from: http://www.sugarfreemom.com/

 

Salad Ingredients

2 cups fresh spinach

¼ cup cooked lentils

2 small fresh beets, steamed, peeled, quartered or sliced

½ cup sliced orange or red bell pepper

½ cup cherry or sunburst tomatoes, sliced

1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled

 

Balsamic Dressing Ingredients

1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2½ teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon minced garlic

pepper to taste

 

Instructions

Add spinach to a serving bowl or plate.

 

Top with cooled lentils and the rest of the ingredients.

 

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.

 

Pour over salad. Serves 1.

 

Enjoy!

 

 



Jicama Arugula Salad

It’s hot here.  I mean, really hot.  I don’t mind it at all, but I do tend to stay away from big, hearty meals and eat more salads for lunch.  (Thank goodness, something has to balance out all the Mexican food I’m shoving in my face for the rest of the time)  Just like the Pad Thai Zucchini Salad I have found this salad to be very easy and healthy and it’s the perfect lunch for me on a hot Texas day.

I first heard of jicama a few years ago when I was working at a restaurant in Las Vegas.  I was poolside working on my tan while studying, trying to memorize the menu and all the ingredients when I came across one of our appetizers that stated it was topped with an orange jicama salsa.  For starters, I wasn’t even sure how to pronounce it, let alone what it was!  A quick Google search and I learned the “j” is pronounced with an “h” sound.  (hic-uh-muh)  I also learned it’s a round, hard root vegetable, often compared to resembling a potato.

Here is a picture in case you’ve never seen one:

The orange jicama salsa garnish was delicious on the dish in Vegas, but I never ate it at a restaurant again until I moved to Wichita.  One evening, my friends Katie and Brittany and I went to a cooking class at a local restaurant and made a salad with watermelon, cucumber, jicama and sriracha sauce among a few other ingredients.  It was delicious!  Who am I kidding; I’ll eat about anything with sriracha sauce on it, though!  I’ve made the salad from that cooking class a couple times, but it’s definitely a side dish and Josh won’t touch it so I don’t make it often.

When I saw this recipe in my inbox a few weeks ago I was intrigued because it utilized jicama.  So, the next week when I was grocery shopping and saw jicama in the produce section I grabbed one and was ready to go.  (Even if you haven’t seen it or noticed it before, jicama should be at most grocery stores.)

The e-mail I received with this recipe was from Sugar Free Mom.  I’ve mentioned her on my blog before and I relate the most to her postings because like me, she is very focused on watching her sugar intake.  There’s no need to worry about sugar in this recipe though, so eat up!  This salad is full of yummy, healthy ingredients. 

If you haven’t tried jicama before I highly encourage you to do so.  It’s a great summer addition to salads because it adds a nice crunch and is perfect because no cooking is necessary.  Just peel, chop and get to eating.  

 

 

Jicama Arugula Salad

Recipe from:  www.sugarfreemom.com

Ingredients

2 pounds jicama, peeled, thick matchstick slices

2 limes, juice and zest

1 teaspoons salt

1 yellow pepper, sliced (about 2 cups)

½ cup sliced red onion

1 cup arugula

1 cup butter lettuce, chopped

¼ cup fresh chopped parsley or cilantro

1 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

 

Place jicama in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and juice of limes and zest.  Let stand 15 minutes to soften.

In a serving bowl add all remaining ingredients and top with jicama. Gently toss with salad tongs.

Serve or refrigerate. Makes approximately 10 cups.

*I couldn't find butter lettuce at the store so I used arugula and spinach.  Since the dressing is very light I recommend making sure you use a bold flavored lettuce...just spinach and romaine won't cut it for this recipe.  Arugula is one of my favorite leafy greens and it adds so much to this dish.  I don't usually like fresh parsley much, but cilantro I could probably eat a handful of plain so I went with that option.  Plus, I always have some in my fridge.  I was so surprised by how flavorful this was.  Enjoy!

 

 

Pad Thai Zucchini Salad

We’ve been in Texas for a little over three weeks.  A few of my thoughts so far…

-The people are very friendly here, which always makes meeting people and running errands much more enjoyable.

- I learned I have to search a bit, but I can find good places to eat here. What I mean by that is the restaurants that show up when you search for places in Temple are all fast food or chains.  The types of places I want to try don’t always have websites or Facebook pages, but if I dig around enough they are out there!  (Hmmm…I need a job, should I go to all these places and offer to be their social media girl and welcome them to 2013?) 

-Josh has made it his goal to go the whole year and not pick up on saying, “Y’all”.  We shall see how that goes! 

-There is a very important part about Texas that is a huge pro as well as a con.  They serve Mexican food (one of my faves!) for breakfast.  It’s like I’m in Mexico all the time.  I can get guac and breakfast tacos right when I wake up.  Love it!  The health freak in me tells me not to get too excited and to limit myself, but I’ll only be here a year, right?  I must take full advantage.  Oh, and they make homemade tortillas right in the grocery store that are divine.  If I thought I had a guacamole addiction before, I’m in real trouble now! 

-We also visited a church that was recommended by someone and really enjoyed it so we are just checking things off the list and making ourselves right at home.

-I do have one good story…the head of Josh’s fellowship program here took us out for a welcome dinner at a BBQ place about 25 minutes outside of town.  It was in the middle of nowhere, you ate outside, the owner had a handle bar mustache and a cowboy hat on, and they only serve a few months out of the year and only on Friday and Saturday.  We sat down and I noticed the t-shirts the servers were wearing had the word tofu written on the back with a big no sign on top.  So, you know, totally my kind of restaurant.  Ha ha!  Actually, the service was great, the coleslaw I had was delicious, and the company was wonderful.  As I said, people here are so welcoming and friendly!  It was just one of those moments where I sat there and was singing to myself…”Deep in the heart of Texas.”  Ladies and Gentlemen, I have arrived.

Now that you got the quick update on us, let’s get to the good stuff.  I tried this recipe right before we moved and have made it twice already since we got here.  It’s a perfect summer salad that could be a nice starter to a meal or used as a main dish, like I do.  It was also a fabulous choice for me after I ate all those breakfast tacos!  It’s pretty quick to throw together if you have a mandolin.  If not, your prep time will increase quite a bit for your zucchini and carrots. 

Such a beautiful salad.  It tastes as good as it looks!

My mom sent me this recipe after it was e-mailed to her from Oh She Glows, a vegan blog that also often features gluten free recipes. When my mom forwarded this to me I knew I had to try it and I’m so glad I did.  Healthy, colorful, nutritious, beautiful, and oh so tasty! 

Pad Thai Zucchini Salad 

*Recipe from www.ohsheglows.com

1 medium zucchini, julienned with mandolin or cut with knife
2 large carrots, julienned
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
3/4 cup frozen edamame, thawed (or try tofu)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

For the dressing:
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup raw almond butter (or peanut butter)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari
2 tablespoons water
2.5 teaspoons pure maple syrup (or other sweetener)
1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Prep vegetables. Add the zucchini, carrots, pepper, and cabbage into one or two large bowls. Toss with hands to combine.

Prepare the dressing by processing all dressing ingredients in a mini processor (or simply whisk by hand). The dressing may seem a bit thin at first, but it thickens as it sits.

Top bowls with edamame (or tofu), green onion, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds. Pour on dressing.

Makes 2 large servings.

*I used almond butter because I thought that was a nice change from peanut butter.  It was great, but if you don't have any, peanut butter will be delicious too.  I happened to have all these ingredients on hand one day so that's why I tried the recipe. However, I didn't have any cabbage so I just added some extra of the other veggies.  I also didn't have hemp seeds so I only sprinkled sesame seeds on top.  Also, the tamari that is in the sauce can be substituted with soy sauce.  Tamari is just a gluten free soy sauce like substitute, but if you aren't worried about gluten soy sauce works just the same.  ENJOY!  Seriously, this stuff is awesome and super fun to eat with chopsticks!

 

 

Simple Kale Salad

Kale...the dreaded leafy green.  Well, at least for me.  I've tried and tried to enjoy kale.  Kale chips; not a fan. Kale pesto; couldn't even finish it.  However, I wasn't willing to give up on it completely because I've had it mixed in with a salad and it was decent.  Kind of chewy, almost seaweed like, but edible.  I never would have tried this recipe on my own, but my mom sent it to me and said even my brother enjoyed it.  So, I added it to the ever growing pile of recipes to try.

Sadly, I was able to try several new recipes a couple weeks ago.  My flight to Chicago got cancelled due to the flooding and it was very sad.  Oh, sure, I was bummed because Josh was already there for a conference and now I was going to miss out on a fun weekend with him, but let's cut the sappy stuff and get to the point.  I was soooooo bummed because I had to cancel my RPM reservation.  Oh, the disappointment!  I only called in February to get my reservation!  So, instead of Mama DePandi's pasta and eggplant parmesan on Thursday evening I had kale salad.  Big letdown, I know.  

The good news is, I really enjoyed the salad!  I've made it two times since then and it's going to perfect this summer...by the pool...while reading a magazine...country music in the background...can't wait.  Where was I?  Oh yes, kale salad.  The dressing is so simple and healthy!  I always admire those people who eat a salad and they just put a little oil on top and then some lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Tried it.  Hated it.  I need a little something more than that!  The crazy thing is, that's really all the ingredients in this dressing, but I think the fact that it's all mixed up in the lettuce and I put some cheese and breadcrumbs on there it works.  I don't know how, but it works.  

I also did something to the kale I had never done before.  I knew you were supposed to remove the leaves from the stems, but for this recipe you massage the lettuce.  That's right, you work with it like you were making some bread dough.  Who knew?  Maybe I've been in la la land not knowing you were supposed to do this.  Hmmm.  Perhaps that's why I only like kale when someone else prepares it.  Clearly, I didn't know what I was doing.  Regardless, I found an easy salad that is delicious!  Although, I should put a small disclaimer in here.  I find it delicious.  You will find it delicious if you like salads and enjoy eating healthy.  If you're new to this leafy green thing-don't start with this one.  I will make it lots in the future, but it is a bit "healthy" tasting.  My favorite!

KALE SALAD
*Recipe from www.healthnutfoodie.com

(serves 4 side salads)

1 bunch green kale, organic if possible!

Dressing:
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2-2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper

Topping:
1 T. grated parmesan
1 T. toasted breadcrumbs

INSTRUCTIONS:
Use a paring knife to separate kale leaves from thick stems.  Wash and thoroughly dry kale leaves. Place kale in a large bowl and sprinkle with just a pinch of sea salt. (Less than 1/4 teaspoon.)  Tear kale into small pieces (1/2 inch-ish) and massage for 3 – 4 minutes. The kale will start to shrink down and reduce in volume.   
 
In a small glass jar with lid, shake together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. 

Toss kale with dressing and 1 tbsp parmesan until every green is coated. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with breadcrumbs.  That's it.  Told you it was simple.  Enjoy!

I know kale isn't always a popular grocery store list item.  Just in case you are wondering what it looks like, here's my bunch of kale.

This is the thick stalk you need to cut the leaves away from.

My kale leaves before I "massaged" them.

My kale leaves after 3 minutes.  Notice how much they go down in volume.  That means you're doing it right!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pretty salad.  Someday I'll be cool and make some really delicious breadcrumbs. 

Edamame Salad

First and foremost, let's just get the elephant out of the room right now.  My picture taking skills need some work.  Serious work.  I know it, you know it and now we can move on. 

 

 

I started a 7 day cleanse yesterday.  No, not one of those nasty cayenne pepper liquid ones where you starve yourself.  I'm still eating food!  I'm just cutting out all processed foods and sugar, (which, I try to do anyway) but I also cut out all dairy, (no cheese-aughh!!!) gluten, caffeine, and alcohol.  The original food plan I am trying to follow showed no snacks and for me, that's just not going to work.  I am hungry every couple hours and I'm not interested in being hungry for 7 days.  Maybe someday I'll be a big-timer, but for now, since this is my first cleanse I want to focus on cleansing my system, not depriving myself.  When planning out my menu for the week I needed to come up with some filling, healthy snacks. 

 

I've had this recipe since the Superbowl and this week decided to give it a try.  I have Facebook to thank for the recipe.  I normally think it's really annoying to open up Facebook, scroll through and see:

 

Stephanie (friends with Lesley) wrote on John's (friends with Steve) wall.

 

Confused?  Yeah, me too.  I mean, I know one person out of that group and why do I care what is going on?  Obviously, it doesn't bother me that much or I would quit Facebook, but point of the story is that's how I got this recipe.  Someone I know, wrote on someone's wall I don't know asking for the recipe she made for a Superbowl party they went to.  I was nosy, clicked on it, thought it looked amazing (and very easy) and now here we are.  So, thank you to the stranger on Facebook for this recipe!

 

Edamame is one of my favorite snacks so I was excited to try it in a new way.  A little olive/avocado oil, lime juice, and salt and pepper and you are seasoned and ready to devour this yummy salad.  I had a few friends over last week for dinner and made this recipe for the first time to test it out. The verdict was unanimous; they loved it!  Enjoy!

 



Ingredients

2 C. frozen shelled edamame

1 ½ C. fresh corn kernels (I was lazy and used a no salt added can)

1 ½ C. Mango cubes (1 medium)
1 C. tomato, chopped
½ C. red onion, chopped
1 cup black beans
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 T. EVOO (I used avocado oil)
1 T. lime juice
¾ t. salt
¼ t. black pepper

Prepare edamame per package directions.  Drain and rinse under cold water.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Stir in corn, tomato, onion, beans, cilantro, oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Toss well and chill until serving.  Enjoy!