Superfood Salad (and bonus skin treatment!)

Hi there folks! Long time no see. I've been busy with the holidays and FINISHING COLLEGE (yay!) and am now applying for jobs, so forgive my lack of posts lately. But now that I'm back, I'm excited to bring some new changes to the blog and start writing about more than just food!

I've actually been on a new, pretty strict eating plan as of late, so that's another reason there haven't been any new recipes lately.

But here's one I haven't shared yet, and it's one of my absolute favorites. This salad is a great meal to make on the weekend and eat for lunch all week. As a bonus, you can actually give yourself a little natural skin treatment after you make it! Cooking and a relaxing spa treatment, sounds like a perfect weekend, no?

Superfood salad with quinoa, kale, avocado, and more goodness

Serves 4-ish

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 1 cup dry quinoa (rinsed and drained)
• 1⁄2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 avocado, pitted and diced
• 1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped
• 1⁄2 cucumber, sliced
• 1⁄4 red onion, sliced

For the dressing:

• 1⁄4 cup lemon juice
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Note: The diet I'm on is very restrictive on oil and salt. Today I would blend the avocado right into the dressing instead of the olive oil, and use a salt-free lemon pepper seasoning instead of the salt and pepper. In case you want to up the health quotient on this even more!

Method

1. Cook the rinsed quinoa in 1.5 cups water, over low heat in a pot or rice cooker for about 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Set aside to cool, chill in fridge. (Quinoa can be prepared up to a day in advance)
2. Chop tomatoes, avocado, onions, cucumbers, and rinse black beans and combine in a medium bowl. De-stem and chop kale and place in a large bowl.
3. Mix lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over the kale and “massage” for a few minutes. This helps improve the texture and flavor of kale.
4. Mix all ingredients into the dressing and kale mixture.

Makes about 4 servings as a main dish, 6 as a side. Will last 5-7 days in the refrigerator.

Optional: Skin Treatment

Some of the ingredients used in this salad can be used as skin treatments after you finish making the salad! 

• Scrape the skin of the avocado and rub the extra into any dry skin as an intense moisturizer. 
• Leave on for a few minutes and set some cucumber slices on your eyes.
• After a few minutes, wash off the avocado with a warm wash cloth.
• You can use any leftover lemons/lemon juice as a toner.

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Hollylujah! Onion Rings

There's a burger spot in our neighborhood with vegan options, and my boyfriend and I like to go there after an active day, or when we're simply feeling indulgent. I love their vegan and portobello burgers, but their onion rings are the BEST, and probably the reason we go about once a month. They're beer-battered and deep fried and probably not even vegan though, so I've been jonesing to come up with a healthier alternative to make at home.

The idea to make them with almonds was always there, in order to lower the carbs and make the fats healthier. But I started off a bit over-zealous, planning to make the almond milk at home and dehydrate the leftover almond crumbles to turn into almond flour and a crunchy coating. This is exactly what I did, but it took forever, so next time I will probably simplify a bit. :) In fact, I have come up with a simple method, so I will share all of your options in this post, depending on where you fall on the zealous-ometer.

Note: I will continue to tweak this recipe and add more photos and an instructional video. But if you can't wait, give it a go!

On to the recipe...

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Healthy Pad Thai? YES.

Hello hello! I am back from a wonderful visit in Los Angeles with friends and family. I was anxious to get back to cooking, so I stopped at the store on my way back into town and stocked up on a bunch of fresh ingredients to fill my week with new recipes. Among them was a spaghetti squash and some powdered low-fat peanut butter, both of which were calling me the next day when I was craving pad thai.

Pad thai is delicious, but never really considered healthy, so I was on a mission to reduce the guilt of this incredible dish as much as possible. Using baked spaghetti squash instead of rice noodles cuts the carbs down by about 30g per serving, and by using powdered peanut butter, the fat is reduced by 85%.

Here's a nutritional comparison for this recipe vs the same exact one prepared with regular peanut butter and rice noodles:

This recipe: 135 calories, 3g fat, 21.1g carbs (full nutrition facts at the end of this post)
Traditional: 430 calories, 16.7g fat, 55.9 carbs

The numbers don't lie. Onward to the recipe!

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Lentil Walnut Burgers/Ninja Nuggets

The last few days before a vacation are a great opportunity for creative cooking. As I attempt to empty my fridge and pantry without having to buy more groceries, I always seem to discover or create new recipes that I continue to experiment with when I return.

I'm leaving for LA tomorrow, and I've already cleared out most of my perishables (hence the lack of exciting new recipe posts!), so I found myself experimenting with dry ingredients yesterday. I had a particular abundance of lentils and walnuts, so I started searching for a new burger recipe.

Enter Oh She Glows, one of my absolute favorite blogs, with a Lentil Walnut Burger recipe for which I had everything on hand. SOLD!

They look a bit like cookies, but they are delicious savory burgers, I promise!

I followed the recipe exactly, with one main exception: I didn't have bread crumbs. I had corn flakes, which I usually use as a substitute anyway, but I had something else I had been meaning to use up that would be perfect: almond pulp! This is the by-product of making almond milk: dry, crumbly almond bits that can be ground into almond meal or flour, and, so I've heard, used in place of bread crumbs in recipes. It's incredibly versatile stuff, so I like to keep it around.

So since that's the only sub I made, you can grab the recipe here, and substitute the bread crumbs, or not. The almond pulp worked great, and the recipe held together really well.

Oh, that brings me to this other thing I tried...I got these ninjabread men cookie cutters a while back, and have been meaning to use them. Since the batter was so solid and cookie dough-like, I molded some of it into ninjas. :) Ninja nuggets! I'm going to have to play with this idea a bit more and bread them next time. These were way too much fun to play with...

This is what happens when you put all of your ninja nuggets on the same plate...

And that's it! I'm off to pack for LA, and hopefully I'll have some delicious new posts for you while I'm gone. Have a great week!

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Marinated Portobello Burgers Recipe

My adventures in creating recipes from farmer's market finds continue...

There was a mushroom stand on Sunday with baskets of various mushroom varieties, all marked at $5 a basket. There was only one portobello basket left, and it was mine. I knew right away that they would become burgers, so all that was left was to decide on a marinade. Here's what I came up with...

Why I put the lettuce on the bottom, I'll never know.

Onward to the recipe!

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Zucchini Pasta with Walnut Pesto (low-carb and low-calorie)

I had a pretty great Sunday. It started with my first-ever Zumba class and swimming with my good friend Nena (whose awesome Tech blog you can find here, btw). Afterward, there happened to be a farmer's market in the parking lot, so we got some cash and went produce hunting. I scored on a lot of goodies that will be sure to inspire many new recipes this week. Here's my loot:

GET IN MAH BELLY

Inspired by the unhealthy hummus we found there, we went back to my house and made the hummus that I posted yesterday, and then I started to think about what else I could make this week. I got some extra long zucchini that would make great noodles, and so much basil would have to become pesto. So yesterday afternoon I got to work, determined to make a delicious new pasta dish that would be as healthy as possible.

If you've never made zucchini noodles, you're missing out. Cooked just a little, zucchini closely resembles the texture of pasta, and when you add some sauce you can hardly tell the difference. It makes a great lasagna noodle as well. 

To cut the noodles, a special slicer is ideal. I have a mandoline slicer (this one) that can make julienned strips, but this spiral slicer is officially on my wish list. If you don't have the appropriate slicer or the cash to splurge on one right now, you can use a vegetable peeler to create long, flat, linguine-like shreds. I don't recommend just using a knife for this, though. I tried it once, and the results were not worth the time and effort required.

Whether you peel the zucchini first is up to you - it's really just a question of aesthetics and nutrition. The skin adds a bit more color and fiber, but I'd recommend peeling your zucchini if it isn't organic, to reduce your chemical intake. However you choose to slice your noodles, stop when you get to the seeds. I like to save the insides for other recipes - they're good grilled! :)

If you want more info on the various ways to prepare zucchini noodles, check out this thorough Wikihow article. 

Ummm, hi.

Onward to the recipe!

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Chickpea Salad from Adventuresome Kitchen

Happy 4th of July! I hope you're all enjoying a nice relaxing day off with friends and family.

I'm headed to a potluck today, and found myself without a recipe last night. I texted some friends in a panic and told them I was thinking about a chickpea salad, and my lovely friend Jessica came to my rescue with this link. It was a miracle! I actually had almost everything on hand, and only needed to run to the store for a few things this morning. So this post is dedicated to Jessica, for saving my 4th of July :)

As usual, I made a few modifications (less oil, mostly!) to the recipe, which I'll explain in this post, but you can head over to Adventuresome Kitchen for the original recipe if you like.

Chickpea Salad (adapted from Adventuresome Kitchen)

Ingredients (Serves about 10)

• 4 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into cubes
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 bag, or several bunches of spinach, torn into smaller pieces
• 2 1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
• 3 tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 tbs dried rosemary
• 1 tbs herbes de provence
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Dice the sweet potato and onion. Place in a large bowl with 1/2 tbs oil and stir.
   
   Place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt. Cook until softened - about 30 minutes.
   
2. Drain chickpeas and place in a large bowl. Add tomatoes. When the sweet potato onion combo has finished cooking, add to the bowl.

   

   I had a few different brands of chickpeas lying around. Can you see the color difference?

3. Place the torn spinach and 1/4 cup vegetable broth into a large pan and heat over medium heat. Saute until the greens are barely wilted- about 2 minutes, adding more liquid if necessary. Add to the bowl.

   

   Magically shrinking spinach

4. Whisk together the remaining 2 tbs oil, red wine vinegar, and herbs, and pour over salad.
5. Using a large spoon, gently toss all the ingredients together.
   
6. Salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

We'll be heading to the potluck with this, some blue corn chips and salsa, and a red summer wine. Hope you have a beautiful day!

Nutrition (Per 1 1/4 cup serving)

• Calories: 219
• Total Fat: 6.7 g
• Saturated: 0.5 g
• Polyunsaturated: 0.4 g
• Monounsaturated: 2.5 g
• Trans: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 430.5 mg
• Potassium: 219 mg
• Carbs: 37.9 g
• Fiber: 12 g
• Sugars: 4.6 g
• Protein: 9.8 g
• Vitamin A: 114.7%
• Vitamin C: 18.8%
• Calcium: 9.5%
• Iron: 41%

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Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe

I have a bit of an obsession with tabbouleh. It's a middle eastern salad made with a refreshing combination of fresh parsley and mint, tossed with lemon juice, tomatoes, and bulgur wheat. As a vegan I like to pack in a little more protein wherever I can, so I prefer to make it with my favorite superingredient, quinoa.

I've tried several different recipes for quinoa tabbouleh that I've found online, but the one from Epicurious is by far my favorite. Recently I've made some changes to it to make it a bit healthier and easier to prepare. 

Behold: a nutritious, delicious summer salad that you can grab and take anywhere. You can substitute the cucumber or add just about any of your favorite salad veggies here, and it's also great served over shredded romaine lettuce (might want to make more dressing, though).

Hello, I'm delicious.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe (adapted from Epicurious.com)

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 large cucumber or 2-3 small, sliced into half moons
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) olive oil
• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2/3 cup flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup fresh mint
• 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

1. Thoroughly rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. This step is very important to remove the bitter coating.
2. Cook the quinoa in 1 1/2 cups water and a few dashes of salt. I like to make mine in a rice cooker, but a pot works too. Stir frequently to prevent burning, and cook until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, roughly 10-15 minutes. 
3. Set aside in a large bowl until cooled to room temperature, and then refrigerate. I like to prepare my quinoa several hours or even a day in advance, so that it is fully chilled when I prepare the rest of the tabbouleh.
4. Add chopped tomatoes, cucumber, and onion to chilled quinoa.
   
   
   
5. Pick leaves from parsley and mint and add to blender. A mini blender works great if you have one, but a large one will do. You can also just chop the herbs and then stir in the liquids.
6. Add the olive oil, vegetable broth (or water), garlic, lemon pepper, salt and pepper to the blender. Pulse a few times until the herbs are finely chopped (but not pureed) and the ingredients are all well mixed.
   
   
   
7. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine.
   
   
   
8. Eat joyously.

That's a happy bowl.

Nutrition (Per 1 1/2 cup serving)

• Calories: 314
• Total Fat: 16.3 g
• Saturated: 2.1 g
• Polyunsaturated: 2.5 g
• Monounsaturated: 10.9 g
• Trans: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 371.2 mg
• Potassium: 644.7 mg
• Carbs: 37.8 g
• Fiber: 4.4 g
• Sugars: 3.8 g
• Protein: 7.1 g
• Vitamin A: 26.1%
• Vitamin C: 53%
• Calcium: 7.3%
• Iron: 29.9%

Special thanks to my friend Nena for taking some of the photos for this post.
You can check out her blog here.

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