Veggie Pasta Salad

This recipe is so simple and so good! You can really add whatever you want. You can make it vegan, vegetarian, or throw in some ham or salami chunks. It is perfect for picnics, pot lucks, sack lunches, or even main dishes. I hope you like it as much as we do! Here is what I threw in there today:

Ingredients:

1 lb of whole wheat pasta, cooked, drained, and rinsed with cold water

2 cups of black olives, sliced

1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

8 (ish) green onions, sliced

2 cups of raw broccoli and 2 cups of raw carrots, pulse chopped in the food processor

8 oz of Kerry Gold (grass-fed, Irish, SUPER yummy) cheese, cubed- optional

1/2 cup (or so) of Italian dressing (homemade or bottled)

Combine all of the ingredients. Season with sea salt, if necessary. Chill for one hour. Re-taste and add more dressing, if needed. Dressing should coat the ingredients, but not make the dish too soupy. Enjoy!



Arugula Salad with Orange Juice Vinaigrette

Yes, another salad. But it's summer and I don't have to turn on my oven! Plus I am lucky that my children will all gobble up salads- just have to vary it up a little and they are happy, healthy campers. :)

Ingredients:

1-2 heads of Arugula

1 head of Butter Leaf

2 fresh mangoes, diced

2 avocados, diced

Several Tbs of sliced almonds per bowl

Chop arugula and lettuce coarsely and top with fruit and nuts.

 

Vinaigrette:

I just kind of eyeballed this ,but I added approx 4-6 Tbs of O.J. concentrate to approx 2 Tbs of rice vinegar to approx 1 Tb of olive oil. I did add a small amount of water too, but you can just mix and keep tasting it until you like it. We like it tangy with a hint of vinegar so we add more O.J.

Like I said, super easy but really, really good!

Summer Salad

Is it just me, or aren't salads beautiful? I love the different flavors and colors you can throw into a salad. This is one of our all-time favorite salads. We actually learned the recipe at a Pampered Chef party I threw a few years back! It is delicious and filling, and is the perfect meal or side dish for a warm summer day.

Ingredients:

Mixed greens- I used Romaine, Butter Leaf, Red Leaf, and a little Spinach

Strawberries, sliced thinly

Shredded Carrots

Red Onion, sliced thinly

Cucumber, sliced thinly

Blueberries

Pecans, chopped (I think I used walnuts in this picture because we were out of pecans)

Poppyseed Dressing (We love Brianna's Rich Poppyseed Dressing)

This looks beautiful in a large, glass, Pampered Chef trifle bowl. Layer all of the ingredients evenly throughout the bowl, top with the dressing, and it is ready!

A Simple Salad Bar

My kids love any kind of "bar." Salad bars, burrito bars, taco bars, breakfast bars...they love having lots of choices and putting together their own unique meal! Even if all the choices are good, healthy ones like veggies, nuts, beans, and whole grains, they get excited! We have been doing a salad bar once a week. I pull anything and everything out of the fridge, chop it up, and leave it out all day for the kids to snack on. It takes a little prep time but we usually end up eating it for lunch and dinner, so in some ways it's easier for me.

This salad bar we made recently had:

romaine lettuce

hard boiled eggs

garbanzo beans

sprouted sunflower seeds

olives

pickles

carrots

red bell pepper

parmesan cheese

homemade dressings

cucumber

green onion

peas

corn

broccoli

sprouts

whole grain crackers

mushrooms

That's just what we had in the house. Add some different kind of beans and guacamole and salsa and it can become a taco bar. Add some whole wheat tortillas for a burrito bar. Add some fresh fruit . Add some baked potatoes for a potato bar- the possibilities are endless. And you will be surprised at what you have on hand!

Mexican Rice Bowls

This is a Fit For Life recipe, and has quickly become one of our favorite, quick, "go-to" recipes when want something fast, filling, and very easy!

Ingredients:

4 cups of cooked brown rice

4-5 cups of chopped romaine lettuce

guacamole

fresh salsa

sliced olives

shredded cheese (optional)

alfalfa sprouts

lemon juice

(You can also add your favorite steamed veggies, fresh corn or cilantro).

To assemble, just layer the ingredients you choose beginning with a generous helping of rice and romaine and dinner is served! We like to leave all the ingredients out, so that everyone can make it just how they like it.

Serves 6

Homemade Caesar Dressing

We love Caesar Salad around here, but two of my kids don't do well with cow dairy. I came across this recipe and tried it out today. It turned out perfect, and only took about 5 minutes to make! A definite winner if you are looking for a vegan alternative!

Ingredients:

(makes approx 1 1/12 cups and lasts one week in the fridge)

• 4 oz of silken tofu
• 6 Tb of lemon juice
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 3/4 Tb of Dijon mustard
• 2 tsps of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp of Kelp powder or Dulse flakes
• 3/4 cups of extra virgin olive oil

In a blender, blend all the ingredients EXCEPT the oil until smooth. While running the blender on low, slowly add the oil. Chill and mix with your salad!

**The kelp flakes are what really make this dressing have that anchovy-caesar taste. You can get these flakes at any health food store.

Cashew "Mock" Chicken Salad

These next few recipes are dedicated to my good pal, Lara. It's fun to have someone so excited to read my food blog and actually try my recipes! Plus, I'm very excited that she is making so many positive changes in her health- love you girl!

Savanna and I made this recipe this morning. It's one of my favorite raw recipes. It tastes very similar to chicken salad. I usually serve it stuffed in a raw red bell pepper or over lettuce. You can put it on bread like an actual sandwich or with crackers like we did today.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of sunflower seeds

1 cup pecans

1 cup cashews

1 cucumber, cut in chunks

1 stalk of celery

2 diced green onions (optional)

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp dill

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

Throw all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse chop until medium fine. Chill and serve!

Avocado Chutney

This is a great summer recipe. It's fresh and filling, and super healthy.

(This recipe is from Alissa's Cohen's "Living on Live Food"- slightly modified by me)

Ingredients:

• 2 large avocados, diced
• 3 ears of sweet corn (corn cut off the cob- don't use frozen or canned)
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teas of cumin
• 1-2 teas of oregano
• sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, chill, and serve over lettuce or with crackers or just eat it by itself! This amount fed my family of five and we had 3-4 servings left the next day. It saved surprisingly well overnight in the fridge, but I wouldn't recommend waiting too long to eat the leftovers...you probably won't have much any way!

Cashew "Ranch"

This dressing is SO good. For all you ranch lovers who think you could never go vegan, try this recipe! I have made this so many times that I just eyeball it now. I can't find the original recipe that I began using years ago, so just play around with it until you get what you like. The amounts will vary depending upon the consistency and spice that you enjoy in your ranch.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cashews (soaked for four hours or overnight)
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1/2-3/4 cup water (more or less depending on the thickness desired)
• lots of seasonings- I add garlic powder, sea salt, ground pepper, lots of dill, parsley, Italian seasonings, and a few fresh basil leaves
• Optional- some recipes call for one small avocado. This adds the fat to the dressing and gives it a creamier taste. Warning: it does turn your pretty white "ranch" kind of a drab green (The first picture above is a batch with avo, the second, whiter batch, is without).
  

Blend all the ingredients in a blender, and then chill in a glass container. Will stay good in the fridge with avocado one week, without avocado up to two weeks..

Let me know if you like it!!

My Weekly Menu

It occurred to me that it would fun to occasionally post my weekly menu plan- just to give you an insight as to what we are eating. Today Savanna and I spent about 3 hours in the kitchen preparing foods for the week. I will try to post the recipes in the next few days, but in the meantime here is what we made today, and what we will be serving the rest of the week! (We learned many of these from our recent trip to the Raw Spirit Festival in Santa Barbara.)

Today we made Banana Quinoa Muffins, "Ranch" Dressing (cashew/avocado based), Buckwheat Crispies cereal with Hazelnut milk, Pistachio-Lime Hummus, Cashew Mock Chicken Salad, and Sun dried Tomatoes!

Banana Quinoa Muffins

Cashew "Mock Chicken" Salad

Cashew "Ranch"

Buckwheat Crispies with Hazelnut Milk

Marinated tomatoes (they will go into the dehydrator tomorrow and voila! Sun dried Tomatoes- Mmmm!)

As for the rest of the week, besides the above, we will make:

Monday: Nori Rolls filled with avocado, cucumber, cauliflower rice, and sprouts with Tamari dipping sauce

Tuesday: Spring Rolls filled with shredded carrot, jicama, sprouts, and sun dried tomatoes with a Chinese dipping sauce

Wednesday: Whole Wheat Blueberry pancakes and fruit salad

Thursday: Veggie burgers wrapped in lettuce leaves

Friday: Veggie sandwiches and salad

In addition to this we've been making some killer Green Smoothies lately. James and I started a 30 day green smoothie challenge 4 days ago. We are each going to drink a quart (32 oz) of green smoothie daily for one month- good stuff!

Kale Chips

I don't ever remember eating Kale as a child. I personally don't like the taste of Kale, but have been putting it my green smoothies for awhile now because of its nutritional content.

Diana Dyer, a dietitian and author on the subject of cancer survival, has this to say about kale on her blog http://www.365daysofkale.com/: "The standouts are the high content of calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin K, potassium, manganese, copper, and even the plant form of omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid). In addition to the carotenoid beta-carotene, kale contains other very important carotenoid molecules called lutein and zeaxanthin (both necessary for eye health) and numerous others (probably too many to count, and maybe even yet identified)."

In other words, Kale is REALLY good for you. And, I finally found a way to eat kale that I like- Kale chips! My kids also love these Kale chips and best of all, it's another super simple, quick recipe! We make big batches of these every other week.

Kale Chips:

• 2 bunches of kale (I like the Dino Kale- the Kale with the huge leaves. Savanna likes the curled types of kale- those are the ones you often see as garnish on your plate at restaurants- she says they make crunchier chips)


• Olive Oil (approx 3 Tb, depending on the amount of Kale used)


• Sea Salt (approx 2 Tb)


• Apple Cider Vinegar (optional- a dash or two)

I usually just eyeball this recipe, so you'll have to bear with me. First, cut the leaves off of the stalks. Set the stalks aside (you can save the stalks for soups or smoothies). Cut the leaves into chip-sized pieces. In a large bowl mix the leaf pieces with a fair amount of olive oil and sea salt and just a dash or two of acv. I like to massage the leaves to make sure that each chip is covered in the marinade. They taste better if you allow them to marinate for about 20 minutes. Spread onto a baking sheet in a single layer and bake on the lowest setting of your oven. Check after about 30-40 minutes. They will wilt at first, and then crisp up.

I usually don't bake them in the oven, so they I'm not positive how long that will take- on the lowest setting, it could be a while. I bake my chips in my dehydrator at 105 degrees for several hours until they reach the desired crispiness. They store really well in the gallon-sized Ziploc bags and do not need to be refrigerated. You can play around with the amount of oil and different types of seasonings.

Enjoy!