Strawberry Pumpkin Seed Salad

I am so excited to welcome myself back to my blog with this amazing salad recipe. 2013 is all about rediscovering myself. I've had my ups and downs with my devotion to nutritious food. I've always loved healthy food and recipes. I've always loved reading and learning about the POWER of food. It's just that sometimes I want to eat what everyone else is eating! I want pizza and french fries and cake. Lots of cake with lots of frosting...

 It's time to get back to what I really love and believe in for 2013. This salad comes from my recipe book from a program I'm doing right now. The Good Life Coalition's Lighten Up Program speaks to me on so many levels. The best part is that it came with over 100 recipes! I am loving the food on this program.

The pumpkin seeds are toasted and then tossed in honey and coconut oil so they are sweet and crunchy. The strawberries and Poppyseed dressing make me feel like I'm eating at Zuppas! Here is just a hint of the kind of food I get to eat everyday.

Ingredients: (serves 1)
1 small sheet of parchment paper
2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds (hulled)
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp honey
1/2 head red leaf lettuce (I used romaine, spinach, and spring mix)
1 green onion, sliced thinly
1/2-1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

Poppyseed Dressing: (serves 8)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 Tbsp organic red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons poppy seeds or chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon high-mineral salt

Instructions:

1. Set some parchment paper out on the counter. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add pumpkin seeds and roast 2-3 minutes until they begin to turn golden, but before they begin popping. Remove from heat and stir in honey and coconut oil. then transfer to parchment paper, spreading them out to cool and dry while you prepare the salad.

 

  Toss together lettuce, green onions and strawberries. Prepare the poppyseed dressing by adding everything to a small jar and shaking well.

When pumpkin seeds are completely cooled and dried, crumble them over the top of the salad, and top with the poppyseed dressing. 

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Sweet Corn and Avocado

What's up with the ode to Zucchini here? I was graciously given dozens of zucchini and if I don't eat them, they will rot and my house will stink. The only solution is to eat them.

I pinned this recipe after one of my favorite food bloggers, Maria at Two Peas & Their Pod posted it. The pictures were gorgeous and I wanted to have her exact salad special delivered to my house.

I admit I was a little nervous to commit to making this recipe myself because I've never had raw zucchini and I didn't want to be left with the whole salad to eat by myself if I didn't like the zucchini ribbons. I made it anyway and was so happy with the results!

I've eaten it by the bowl-full ever since I made it. Dan refers to it as my "free" salad...meaning I can gorge myself on it and not feel guilty! Don't worry, the gorging has ensued :)

 The only alteration I made was using a can of sweet corn because the grocery store didn't have any ears of corn to buy. LAME. I'm sure the addition of fresh corn would make this even more delicious.

You can check out the original recipe Here on Maria's blog, and the recipe below is her original recipe.

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Sweet Corn and Avocado

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 medium zucchini
• 2 medium yellow squash
• 2 ears cooked sweet corn
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 2 medium ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1/2 cup queso fresco (Mexican cheese)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil and lime juice together. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Trim the ends of the zucchini and yellow squash. With a vegetable peeler, shave lengthwise into long, wide strips about 1/16 inch thick. When you get to the center of the zucchini, turn the squash over and slice from the other side until you get to the center again.
3. Put the zucchini and yellow squash ribbons in a large bowl. Cut the sweet corn kernels off of the cob, cutting close to the cob. Discard cobs. Add sweet corn, cilantro, red onion, and avocado slices to the squash ribbons. Pour olive oil and lime dressing over salad and toss until coated.
4. Crumble queso fresco over the top of the salad and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve and enjoy!

*I found my queso fresco by the cream cheese at my grocery store. I also used whole milk queso fresco 

Printable Version

Sugar Sludge Salad

I have to give my awesome sister-in-law FULL credit for this recipe. I think it rivals the Cafe Rio salad in terms of wanting it over. And over. And over. And over again.

I have had similar salads at parties, but there is something about the combination of ingredients of this salad that make it the best. It has tart green apples, salty cashews, crisp romaine, and a poppy seed dressing that is to die for.

If you have a party coming up, this one will definitely be a hit! It is my new favorite party salad. Don't worry, it's not on your diet, but eat it anyway because it's that good.

Ingredients:
Salad:
1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
2-4 C spinach leaves ( As much as you'd like, no science here)
1 pound Muenster cheese, cubed (Muenster is the BEST, but I have been known to sub Mozz.)
1/2 C cashews
1-2 tart apples, cubed

Dressing (This makes a ton of dressing for later!)
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 T. chopped onion
Blend above then slowly add 1 C. vegetable oil
Add 1 1/2 T. poppy seeds before serving


Instructions:
1. Combine lettuce, spinach, cheese, cashews, and apples in a large bowl. Slowly drizzle dressing over salad until lightly coated. You will probably have enough dressing for 1.5-2 salads so don't be alarmed if you don't use it all. Toss well to coat evenly and enjoy!

Printable Version

Warm Quinoa salad with tofu and asparagus

Asparagus is by FAR my favorite vegetable. When Sunflower Market had it on sale for only $1.27 a pound this week, I bought 8 bunches because I know I will probably have to wait until next Spring before it goes on sale again. I would also classify quinoa as one of my favorite grains so a salad with both my favorites foods and a few other star foods like sun-dried tomatoes, lemon, garlic, and tofu is the best thing I've eaten in a long time. I used my Whole Foods cookbook as a guide but since I deviated from the original so far, I had to rename the recipe! This recipe is for a single serving so adjust accordingly.

Printable Version

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 C frozen peas
5-8 spears of asparagus, woody ends discarded, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 C cooked quinoa (May be cooked in chicken broth for extra flavor)
1-2 tsp minced garlic, the fresher the better!
1-4 tsp lemon zest, you decide
1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 block of extra firm tofu, diced. 1/4 block should equal 1 serving according to the package
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. To cook your quinoa, rinse your quinoa thoroughly to get rid of the bitter coating. After rinsing, place in a pot and cover with double amounts of water. It cooks similar to rice so if you have 1 C of quinoa, cover with 2 C water. Bring to a boil then turn heat down to low and cover for 20 minutes and don't peek or you'll let the precious steam out! This recipe works well with savory quinoa, so cooking in chicken broth instead of water would work too.

2. In medium skillet, saute the garlic in the olive oil on medium-high until fragrant. Add the sun-dried tomatoes. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice, cook 1-2 minutes.

3. Add chopped tofu and cook until almost browned, about 4 minutes.

4. Reduce heat to medium-ish and add the chopped asparagus and frozen peas. Cover and let cook until the asparagus is tender but not wilted.

5. Add cooked quinoa and stir until all combined. Continue cooking for about 1 minute. Salt and Pepper to taste and serve immediately.