Tag: Salad

Beet Smoothie ..🎶..BEET IT 🎶 !!

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Harvest Season For Beets ~ North America ~

Beetroots will be ready to harvest in July or August if you did a fall planting. Plant beets NOW and you will have beets ready to HARVEST in late September through early November. Eat the outer leaves for salad while the beets are still in the ground.

And The Beet Goes On!🎶

SMOOTHIES are such a great start to the day! This one was really yummy! In most beet drinks I’ve had, there is an overwhelming beet flavor. This one has a much more subtle beet taste. But, you can definitely still taste beet in the smoothie. The color was so beautiful!! Throw all of the ingredients together in the blender and enjoy!

BEET Smoothie Recipe

  • Servings: 1-2
  • Difficulty: easy
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INGREDIENTS

▢ 1 cup of ice
▢ 1/2 cup raspberries (can be frozen)
▢ 2-3 beets (depends on size)
▢ 1 banana -frozen
▢ 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt ( use goat milk yogurt if available)
▢ 1 tablespoon chia seeds
▢ 2 tablespoons bran buds 
▢ ½ teaspoon turmeric 
▢ add a smidgen of black pepper
▢ 1 1/2 cups goat milk (almond, oat or whole milk)
▢ 1 teaspoon of honey (optional)
▢ 1/2 cup blueberries (optional) (fresh or frozen)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the bran buds in the mixer first. Blend to a powder form. Add the raw beets (chopped roughly) and blend.

2. Add goat milk, frozen banana, fruit, then pulse and blend in the rest of the ingredients.

3. The order is not so important. However, it would be best to add the bran and beets first.

HEALTHY NEWS

Beets are super stars in the veggie world. Amazon toots that beets are good for the heart by lowering blood pressure. Beets mixed with blueberries gives you a double dose of antioxidants. Beet Smoothie ‘DETOX’ are filled with nutrients; folate, potassium, vitamin C manganese and magnesium. Weight loss –>eat beets (low calorie count)! “Fiber rich” ~ keeps you satisfied and felling full for a long time.

Add basal, cumin seeds, ginger to your smoothie or fermented, pickled beets. You can jar your beets raw or cooked. Sometimes I steam my beets for 10 minutes and then jar beet rounds or shred them using a gilotine. Sometimes I have scrambled eggs and pickled beets for breakfast.

Peanut Crunch 🥜 Salad 🥬 in a Jar

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One day I sent 10 empty ‘Planters Peanut‘ wrappers to their office in exchange for a Planters coloring book. I remember the day my coloring book arrived with a nice letter from Mr. P. Nut and bonus stickers. I was a happy child. I always eat peanuts or peanut butter. It is not clear if Mr. P. Nut really existed or was a good marketing ploy? However, “MR P. NUT“ did arrive at the Planters factory in 1896.

Mr P. Nut

My favorite “Peanut Crunch Salad In A Jar” is a joy. If you have never had a peanut or sesame/pumpkin seed salad you need to try it out. Use different nuts. You can buy these salad toppings pre-packaged. It’s the best way to eat nutritious cabbage. I do not like tofu. But, I am a big, big fan of edamame beans. My bean caviar. You can have this quinoa salad without peanut butter to give a fluffier salad. It’s all good!

Peanut Crunch Salad in a Jar

  • Servings: 1-2
  • Difficulty: easy
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INGREDIENTS
For the quinoa
▢ 1 cup (180 grams) quinoa , or 2 cups (370 grams) already cooked quinoa
▢ 1¾ cup (420 ml) water
▢ pinch salt
Dressing
▢ 5 tablespoons natural peanut butter
▢ 4 tablespoons lemon juice
▢ 2 tablespoons soy sauce
▢ 4 tablespoons water
▢ 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, or apple cider, or white wine vinegar
▢ 1 -2 tablespoons minced garlic
▢ salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
▢ Optional : 1 tsp maple syrup with peanut butter unless already sweetened
Salad
▢ 4 green, spring onions, cut into thin rounds,
▢ 1 medium julienne carrot
▢ 1 cup (150 grams) frozen edamame beans
▢ 1½ cups (160 grams) chopped red cabbage
▢ 1½ cups (160 grams) chopped green cabbage
▢ ½ cup (73 grams) roasted peanuts

INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the quinoa. Add the quinoa, water and a pinch of salt to a saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting, cover tightly with a lid and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand with the lid on for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before using.
▢ Make the dressing. Add all of the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk them together really well. Divide the dressing evenly between 4 x 17oz (500ml) mason jars.
▢ Layering–>Dressing starts at the bottom. Add green onions, then quinoa, carrots, edamame, cabbage and end with the peanuts and a tight lid. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
▢ To serve shake the jar vigorously. Plate it or eat directly from the jar.
NUTRITION
Serving: 1 jar Calories: 438kcal Carbohydrates: 44g Protein: 20g
Fat: 23g Saturated Fat: 4g Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g Monounsaturated Fat: 10g
Trans Fat: 1g Sodium: 626mg Potassium: 869mg Fiber: 10g Sugar: 11g Vitamin A: 3158IU Vitamin C: 49mg Calcium: 124mg Iron: 4mg
Fridge time 3-5 days.

You Gotta Eat Here!

You Gotta Eat Where?
Home Cooking Goes To Work!

What’s better than home cooking?
No-o-o-thing!

Jar up these salads and bring your appetite!

Substitute cashews, almonds or walnuts for peanuts. Roasting the nuts is even better. Peanut substitute: Switch the peanut butter for sunflower seed butter (tahini) and top with crunchy sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds instead of peanuts. You can use any combination of seeds. You can roast nuts in paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and salt for a big punch. Next time use hazelnut butter. If you don’t have soy sauce use coconut aminos or tamarind.
Be a MacGyver and substitute as needed!

Bring home made meals to work.
It is 100% worth it!

Use plastic containers instead of mason jars. (a) TO WORK or (b) at HOME.

Salad-In-A-Jar `Yumm`Yumm

INGREDIENTS: lemon juice+ olive oil, shaved carrots, currents, pumpkin seeds, cauliflower + nappa cabbage [left]<~ ~>[right] creamy dressing + roasted tofu, black beans, tomato +shredded parm. cheese, topped with spinach

Salad Layering ~Salad Jar ~Video

Beginner’s Guide

More “Salad Jar” Ideas~ Make Ahead on Sunday ~ Good Eats for the Rest of The Week!

The Very Best DYN-O-MITE Salads!
New Dressing Ideas!

A peanut is not a nut but a legume like soybeans and lentils. Athletes enjoy the protein and healthy fats for good digestion, magnesium, manganese, biotin, CoQ10 and minerals such as zinc, niacin (B3) phosphorus, selenium and Vitamin E.

The Green Life…..If you are doing a 5 day vegan cleanse, reset or detox, then this is the healthy salad for you!

I used green and red cabbage in this salad because it stands up well in a jar and great for digestion. The quinoa, a seed, adds nutty nutrition to the salad!

Recycle! Reuse!

RECYCLE ♻️ these plastic containers instead of using mason jars. I save plastic containers from my market purchases. They are easy to use as many times as you like or toss out at any time. You can also substitute them for glass jars.

Power Bowl~ Quinoa Power

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In my haste, I bought dates instead of dried prunes. My mind must have been a million miles away. However, I like dates and they were labeled organic. This was a gigantic bag. I surfed the Internet and found a Moroccan power bowl salad recipe with dates. What a find! Even better, this recipe calls for pistachio nuts, which I have a huge bag of fresh pistachio nuts. I really like Moroccan food. I can’t wait to make this salad. Another step towards healthy eating with pizzazz!

Quinoa Power Salad: We’ve got cooked quinoa, shredded carrots, hydrated or canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tons of chopped parsley, golden raisins, scallions, dates, and one handful of chopped pistachios. A bowl of delicious Moroccan salad goodness. Toss that all up and drizzle with the honey lemon dressing. [or, your favorite dressing – oil & vinegar with lemon juice, salt, pepper and one minced garlic clove + cumin -my choice]. Just look at all that beautiful color!

Power Bowl

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
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INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
1 cup matchstick carrots
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 (15 ounce)can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 2 cups(hydrated)chick peas
⅓ cup chopped dates (add more dates if omitting raisins)
¼ cup chopped pistachios (or walnuts
⅓ cup golden raisins (optional)

honey-lemon dressing:

½ teaspoon cumin powder
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey (maple syrup or brown sugar for vegans)
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon chili powder

INSTRUCTIONS

POWER SALAD: Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Allow the quinoa to cool completely before tossing with the salad ingredients. Toss ingredients together.
HONEY-LEMON DRESSING: Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small mason jar and give it a few good shakes until the dressing mixes through. Drizzle the dressing into the salad and toss the salad to combine everything. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for later!

I know that golden raisins would have been a bit too sweet for me. I opted out and no honey in the dressing. The raw, minced garlic in my dressing adds a very slight tang to the salad. You do not taste it. Add more garlic if you want to experiment. I would add two garlic cloves. We all know how good quinoa is for you. This high protein packed, gluten-free grain is the world’s super food. I have red quinoa and was happy to use it. Add mint or cilantro. You can have a medley of herbs.

After 2 days of soaking, chick peas will break down (get mushy) and start fermenting.

Chick Peas

I soak my dried chick peas overnight in cold water for 8 hours. As a guideline, don’t go over 12 hours. The peas are ready when you test one and it is no longer hard and really tastes similar to a ‘green pea’ – wonderful! Also, you do not have to boil dried chick peas to get them ready for cooking or eating, or, when making hummus. Boiling hardens the chick peas. I have had both and prefer the softer version using my method. TIP: when cooking chick peas add them at the end. The last 5-10 minutes of cooking. Similar to potatoes. Add potatoes at the end of a stew so they stay soft and eatable. NOTE: I also found that preparing chick peas from scratch produces the best, tender chickpeas with a creamy mouthfeel that the canned variety just can not compare. One pound of dried beans = About 2 cups hydrated chick peas. Re-hydrating chick peas is determined by taste. You do not know if your chick peas (dried or canned) have been on the shelf for months or years.

Healthy Power Bowl

Crunchy carrots add the right amount of color to this recipe. You can add cilantro or green bell peppers or any other vegetables that may be almost ready for a toss. The POWER IS YOURS!

The POWER IS IN YOU!

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

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THAILAND
Pineapple is widely available in Thailand. In Canada, pineapples peak in the winter. But, they can be purchased year round. Tourists traveling to Thailand also enjoy their exotic unique foods. These light dishes have become a great addition to our western meal planning. We value the healthy benefits and spicy flavours. This dish will please everyone especially the kids!
With influences from Vietnam and China, Thai food has evolved over time to become its own traditional culinary style. Thai Pineapple Fried Rice (Khao Pad Sapparot) is a spectacular dish! Once you taste it, I think you will agree with me that it will become a regular dish on your dining room table.
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THAI PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE ~30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/2 cups cooked jasmine rice (leftover rice works great too)
  • 4 oz. skinless boneless chicken breast
  • 5 oz. shrimp or pork
  • one pineapple
  • 2 eggs
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 6 tbsp. oil
  • 2 tbsp. fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp. mushroom soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 2 stems green onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup unsalted cashews
  • strips of red pepper
  • cilantro for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.  If you find it hard to cut, put in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to harden slightly and then cut. Reserve along with the shrimp.
  2. Cut a pineapple in half lengthwise. Cut out the triangle of the hard core and freeze for your next smoothie.  Remove and dice the pineapple flesh into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
  3. Mix the mushroom soy sauce and fish sauce in a bowl and set aside.
  4. Turn your wok or sauté pan on high and add the oil and garlic, fry for 30 seconds.  Add the chicken and shrimp and stir fry until the chicken is about halfway cooked through (about 1 1/2 minutes), then move to one side and turn the heat to medium. Break the eggs directly into the pan. Fry the eggs without breaking them up for about 2 minutes, until they are partially set.
  5. Push the eggs and meat to one side and add the rice to the other side.  Add the soy sauce and fish sauce directly on the rice and then with a shoveling motion, combine the two sides of the pan, tossing, stirring for 2 minutes, mixing the rice with the eggs shrimp and chicken, working from the bottom so that the rice has a chance to fry in the oil and everything  is integrated.
  6. Sprinkle black pepper on the rice and add cashews, green onion and the reserved pineapple chunks. Transfer to the hollowed out pineapple halves, garnish with the red pepper slices, chopped cilantro and serve. ENJOY!!!

“Chunky” Good For Extra Crunch! YUM!

VARIATIONS
Add chicken, pork or  shrimp or ALL THREE! Allergic to nuts..don’t add them!

Vegan Version With EXTRA Pizzazz `Crimp Cut Edges’.

didyouknowDID YOU KNOW?
ALL THE GOODNESS OF PINEAPPLE
That prickly sensation in pineapple is the Bromelain in pineapple. It is purported to be an anti-aging element which prevents blood clotting since it acts as a blood thinner much like spinach. Today, there is less bromelain in pineapple than 50 years ago, due to the change in the soil’s composition.

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WHAT TO DO WITH THE PINEAPPLE SKINS?
Marinade chicken with your favorite recipe. Tie the pineapple skins to the chicken and grill on your stove top or outdoors for that added flavour.

Confucius Say…..!

Forbidden Black Rice Salad

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Black Rice was once “only” enjoyed by the Emperor and his royal court. It was forbidden for the commoners to eat this exquisite black rice. The tender, nutty flavoured rice is presumed to enrich one’s life and promote longevity.rice3 After I brought my chilled rice salad to the office,  I noticed that all the staff made it the following week!  It travels well and is a great picnic salad.  A refreshing change from your typical summer salads.
I researched and tried out several versions but this recipe from the Bon Appétit June 2012 needs no improvement. black rice salad photo provided by Jason Lowe, Bon Appétit

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BLACK RICE SALAD – WITH MANGO AND NUTS
INGREDIENTS
2 oranges
1/4 cup or more fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
2 cups black rice
Kosher salt
2 just-ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/2″dice
1 cup finely fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup finely chopped red onion (about 1/2 large onion)
1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts or unsalted cashews or other nuts
6 scallions, thinly sliced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded, minced
black-rice-ingredients
INSTRUCTIONS
1 ) Remove peel and white pith from oranges.
2 ) Working over a medium bowl to catch juices and using a small sharp knife, cut between membranes to release orange segments into bowl. Squeeze membranes over bow to release any juices. Strain juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl; reserve orange segments.
3 ) Add 1/4 cup lime juice, oil, and fish sauce (if using) to bowl with orange juice; whisk to blend.
4 ) Set dressing aside.
5 ) Bring rice and 2 and 3/4 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Season lightly with salt. Cover, Reduce heat to low and simmer until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let stand, covered for 15 minutes.
6 ) Spread out rice on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with dressing and season lightly with salt; let cool.
7 ) Place mangoes and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add rice and toss gently to combine.
8 ) Season lightly with salt and more lime juice if desired.
Serves: 6–8

didyouknowDID YOU KNOW?
While whole grain brown rice and red rice also contain beneficial antioxidants; only black rice contains special variety of antioxidants known as anthocyanin antioxidants. (Thus the dark purple colour -like blueberries)  Additionally, black rice also contains an important antioxidant – Vitamin E, which is useful in maintaining eye, skin, and immune health in addition to other important functions. Forbidden Black Rice contains 18 amino acids (same as Aloe Vera), iron, zinc, copper, carotene, and fiber. Mangos are #1 ~ the most popular fruit in the world.

black-rice

Emperor’s Dining Room

In ancient times, Emperors reserved this wonderful black rice for their own consumption because it was thought that it would extend their lives. Black rice does provide many health benefits that the western world is now embracing with gusto.  It helps fight against heart disease, cancer, and diabetes with high amount of flavanoid phytonutrients and protects heart health (plaque formation). Herbalists use black rice as a prevention and treatment for ailments and as a blood tonifier. 

Black Rice was also considered to be somewhat of an aphrodisiac at one time.  I suspect the Emperors down throughout the ages shared their black rice stock with their consorts or concubines.

Heirloom Forbidden Black rice is a strain from Indonesian Rice.

Heirloom Forbidden Black rice is a strain from Indonesian Black Rice. photo provided by Spikenard and Myrrh

Black Rice is surely ‘one of the’… if not ‘the most’ special variety of rice that is cultivated today. Its special, near medicinal values is truly stunning, even today with all of our medical knowledge and tools. Every time you sit down to enjoy a few servings of this awesome super food, you can remind yourself that you are eating something that was once reserved for royalty. If a commoner was caught eating this rice it was “off with their heads”.

VARIATIONS
If you are trying to find something else to do with your avocados, my friend Monique from Ambitious Kitchen added avocado to her black rice salad. It is a nice touch and goes well. Instead of unsalted peanuts (Bon Appétit version), I used cashews while Monique added almonds to her salad. If you have the time and patience, roasted pecans would be wonderful too.
avocado-mango-blackrice-salad

Another gluten-free recipe that is filled with flavour , colour and the YUM-Factor!

kids32BACK TO SCHOOL LUNCH!
A light touch: For milder flavour, use leeks instead of red onion and yellow or red bell peppers instead of jalapeno peppers. Forget the nuts (allergies)  if you like.  Substitute other herbs for the cilantro. e.g. parsley, basil, fresh mint, fresh-soft rosemary (my favorite) or even peppery rocket lettuce. Know what your kids like to eat. I would even test out fresh oregano in this ‘forbidden’ black rice salad.  COLLEGE KIDS: Add a smidgen of fresh pressed garlic ~ to boost the immune system.  If it is not fresh I would not use the herbs. The dried herbs taste different. They have flavour, but are better suited in baking and cooking.

Y-U-M-M      Y-U-M-M-M!