Zucchini Noodle Salad

Zucchini Noodle Salad

I have become completely addicted to zucchini noodles - both for salads and for pasta.  And they are SO easy to make!  I have been having a zucchini a day lately as a foundation with my greens.  I feel so healthy!

Ingredients:

One small zucchini about 6 inches long - either use the zucchini noodle maker or just shred with a mandolin or some other tool. 
Handful of spring mix/greens
tomatoes - diced
cucumbers - diced
mushrooms - sliced
microgreens (you can get these at Trader Joe's)
Hummus for salad dressing (put in bowl and dip fork in to use as a dressing)

Apple Cider Vinegar Salad Dressing

Apple Cider Vinegar Salad Dressing

 

1 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of Apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of onion powder
2 tablespoon of whole grain mustard or dijon type mustard
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried  basil
1 teaspoon salt

I don’t sweeten this at all, but for those not used to the bite of a vinegar dressing, you might need to. 

To sweeten, add:

A pinch of Stevia, or 2-4 teaspoons of sugar or natural sweetener

Combine all ingredients and mix well before using.

Mango, Avocado and Brocoli Salad from Young and Raw

Some people choose to get all of their protein needs met with fresh fruits & vegetables, nuts & seeds. Did you know that 1 bunch of broccoli contains 17.1 grams of protein? If you make this Mango Avocado and Broccoli Vegan Salad - you'll get 24.8 grams of protein total in one sitting.*  From Young and Raw

Ingredients:

• 1 Ripe Organic Mango diced
• 1 Ripe Organic Avocado diced
• 1 Head of Broccoli finely sliced
• 2 Dates sliced and chopped

Optional add ons

• A pinch or two of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
• 1 Teaspoon of Balsamic
• Fresh Ground pepper to taste

Instructions: Chop your broccoli and mango and toss together in a mixing bowl. Pit your dates (you can add extra if you like) and slice them into small pieces. Halve your avocado, remove the pit and slice the avocado into small squares with your knife. Use a spoon to push out the avocado into your bowl and stir generously until the mixture is very creamy and covered in goodness. You can serve immediately, or store for up to 2 days. Fresh is best though when it comes to live foods.

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Super Healthy Kids Fruit Salad

This recipe comes from Super Healthy Kids. 

I am so excited for summer.  I am especially looking forward to healthy eating.  Summer is the optimal time for fruits and vegetables and I am planning on cruising the Farmer's Markets this year.  This fruit salad just makes me want to sing.  I'm a sucker for berries of all kinds and wow, the color!  

4 lbs strawberries, washed and chopped
4 kiwi’s, skinned, and chopped
1 pint blueberries, washed
1 pint blackberries, washed
1 cup red grapes
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained 

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Balsamic Garden Pasta Salad

Balsamic Garden Pasta Salad by Robyn Dunbaugh

1 pound fusilli pasta
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 eggplant (about 1 1/4 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and pepper
2 cups mixed greens
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 ounce cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain, then rinse with cold water; transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat; add the eggplant, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until soft and golden, 7 to 9 minutes. Add to the pasta and toss; let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.

Add the mixed greens, bell pepper, mozzarella, onion, parsley and vinegar to the pasta and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Visit the Sanity Health Challenge for additional ideas!

Quinoa and Strawberry Salad - Karma Chow

Don't you just love Karma Chow?  I do!  Not just because Tony Horton is a fan, either.  It's National Strawberry month AND National Salad month!  Do you know what that means?  It means my world is happy since I love both!  I found this little beauty and would like to share it.  

Ingredients

• 1 c. quinoa, rinsed, cooked & cooled
• 1 c. strawberries, quartered
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 c. jicama, peeled and diced
• 1/2 c. red bell pepper, diced small
• 2 scallions, white parts only, thinly sliced
• 2 tbs freshly chopped mint

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over top and stir to combine.

Citrus Dressing

• ¼ c. olive oil
• 3 tbs lime juice
• juice of one orange
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• sea salt
• 2 tsp agave nectar
• 2 tbs rice vinegar

Mix dressing ingredients together in a blender or shaker bottle

Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad - Cinco de Mayo!

You will need:

1 c. quinoa
1 can black beans, drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
The juice from 3 small limes
1 Tbs. cumin
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbs. cooking oil (I use coconut)

Directions:

1. Bring 2 c. water to boil and add quinoa. Cover with lid and simmer until all water is absorbed (about 15-20 minutes), remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and set aside.
2. Sautée minced garlic and finely chopped onion in oil until translucent, adding spices.
3. Add cooked quinoa to sautéed mixture and stir well. Add can of black beans and combine.
4. Add diced tomatoes and cilantro, then pour lime juice over salad and stir well.
5. I like to serve mine with avocado slices and tortilla chips, but you could eat this by itself, as a side dish, on top of a salad, etc.…the possibilities are endless!

Best Salad Ever

Best Salad Ever

For the salad base you’ll need:

    Mixed Greens
    Finely shredded cabbage and carrots – I just bought the pre-shredded raw coleslaw mix from my local health food store
    1/2 an avocado, diced
    1/2 a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
    Lemon vinaigrette - recipe below
    1 Tbs Hemp Seeds

In a large bowl layer mixed greens, shredded cabbage, avocado and halved cherry tomatoes. Drizzle a small amount of lemon vinaigrette lightly on top. Focus mainly on the marinated shallots, they are the best part!! Then sprinkle your hemp seeds on top.

For the spicy Red Pepper Dressing you’ll need:

    7 ounces red bell pepper (about 2 medium sized peppers)
    1/4 cup raw walnuts
    1/4 cup hemp seeds
    1 Tsp lemon juice
    1 tsp Molasses
    1 tsp Cranberry Juice
    1 tsp Cumin
    3 garlic cloves
    1 tsp red pepper flakes
    1/4 tsp salt to taste
    2 Tbs water or more to blend

Add all ingredients to a high speed blender like a VitaMix or a food processor and blend until smooth.

Place several spoonfuls of the Red Pepper Dressing in the corner of a plastic bag and cut the tip with a sharp pair of scissors. This will act as a piping bag so you can make pretty designs with your dressing :) Use the piping bag to drizzle your dressing over the salad and prepare to be blown away by #1 how gorgeous it looks, and #2 how amazingly delicious it is!!

Lemon vinaigrette dressing

You’ll need:

    1/4 cup minced shallots or red onion
    juice of 3 lemons
    1 – 2 Tbs White Wine vinegar
    1/2 – 1 cup olive oil
    1-2 dropperfuls of stevia or 1-2 tsps honey/maple syrup
    1 tsp dijon mustard (optional)
    1 tsp sea salt or more to taste
    fresh ground black pepper to taste
    4 Tbs minced cilantro or herb(s) of choice – optional

Combine the shallots, lemon juice, vinegar and salt in a small bowl or mason jar. Set aside to marinate for 5-10 mins. This step is KEY! The marinated shallots are what make this dressing really POP! 

Original recipe at: http://lindawagner.net/blog/2012/04/best-salad-ever/

Oil-free Raspberry Vinaigrette

Oil-free raspberry vinaigrette:
1 12 oz box raspberries
juice of 2 medium oranges
juice of 1 large lemon
salt and pepper to taste.

The directions are just one word-Blend.

From Eat Fresh in the City

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Keysha's Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
chopped green onions
half of a peeled cucumber, chopped up
halved red grapes
3 T olive oil (to taste - could be more or less)
3 T white wine vinegar (to taste - could be more or less)

Directions:

2 cups water with 1 cup quinoa in a pot. bring to boil then cover and simmer on low for about 15 minutes (until water is absorbed). Then mix it with the rest of the ingredients.  Refrigerate until chilled. 

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is actually a seed that cooks up like a grain.  It has a mild, nutty flavor and is high in essential amino acids.

Serves 2 as an entree, or 4 as a side

1 1/2 cups quinoa

3 cups water

1/2 cup cooked organic chickpeas (or half a 15 ounce can of organic chickpeas)

5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds

1/2 English Cucumber, diced

2 tablespoons capers

3 large spicy olives, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

juice of one organic lemon

sea salt

Directions:

1.  To cook the quinoa, rinse well, then cover with the 3 cups of water; bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

2.  Put the quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes, hemp seeds, cucumber, capers, olives, and pine nuts into a bowl and mix well.  Drizzle with lemon juice and add salt to taste.  Depending on how juicy your lemon is, you may wish to add more.  You can serve this warm, chilled, or room temp. 

Spicy Thai Noodles

Rice and Bean Tacos

A few months ago as we transitioned our kids off of ground beef tacos, my husband came up with this creation.  We all loved it.  When we make it, the adults put it on top of chopped up romaine with some mango salsa and avocado.  The kids put it in taco shells.  We even had a guest kid tonight and he ate two of them and loved them.

2 1/2 cup of brown rice w/3 cups of vegetable broth

(cook it according to directions in a Black & Decker Steamer or Rice Cooker)

1 can of black beans

1 can of pinto or kidney beans

1 can of corn

1-2 T of Kirkland Organic No-Salt Seasoning

2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

3-4 T of the mango salsa of your choice (we buy ours at Costco.  You could also use regular salsa.)

1/4 of a sliced avocado

Taco shells 

Mix the cooked rice, beans, and corn in a big bowl along with the seasoning (add more or reduce to taste).  Spoon into taco shells and top with romaine lettuce and salsa.  Or, put the mix on top of the romaine.  Top with mango salsa and avocado.  Yummy stuff!

Eat to Live Salad Dressing

Eat to Live Salad Dressing

Put all into your Vitamix, food processor or blender:

1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed well, stems removed (just cut off the top with scissors)
4 stems of basil, rinsed, stems removed.
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar (to taste)
½ cup Rice Vinegar
¼ cup Red wine vinegar
2 Artichoke hearts or bottoms, diced (for thickening)
8 drops of Lime Essential Oil

Taste and adjust with more vinegar, agave or lime oil, and Himalayan sea salt to taste (optional).

For more information about the Sanity Health Challenge, click here.

Spicy Thai Noodles

This is going under salads, because you serve it cold like a pasta salad.  The original recipe can be found here.  I modified it to make it a bit healthier with less oil and agave nectar instead of honey.  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 boxes of whole wheat linguine

1 T of crushed pepper (if you don't like heat, reduce.  If you like more heat, add another Tablespoon)

1/8 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of sesame oil

5 T of agave nectar (agave is sweeter than honey or sugar)

5 T of lite soy sauce

Green Onions, Cilantro, Peanuts, Bell Pepper, and Toasted Sesame Seeds

Directions:

Boil noodles.  Drain.

Heat both oils and crushed red pepper over medium heat in a small pan.  Do not let it burn.

Strain out the pepper and reserve the oil in a wire mesh strainer.

Add to the oil - agave nectar and soy sauce

Toss the mixture with noodles and put it in the fridge until cold.

Before serving:

Top each individual serving with green onions, cilantro, peanuts and toasted sesame seeds.

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Bottled salad dressing is nasty! Most contain high fructose corn syrup and canola oil and TONS of preservatives. It's very easy to make your own. This vinaigrette is delicious and so simple to make. It keeps for about a week in your fridge too!

Makes 16 servings.

Ingredients:

1/4  cup   balsamic vinegar

1  Tbsp   chopped garlic

1/2  tsp   salt

1/2  tsp   black pepper freshly ground

3/4  cup  extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Beat the vinegar in a bowl with the garlic, salt and pepper with a whisk until blended. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, whisking constantly. (You can also put all ingredients in a screw top jar and shake to combine.) Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Makes about 1 cup.

From Clean Eating Online

Chalene Johnson's Berry and Nut Salad

This recipe comes from Chalene Johnson's new book "PUSH".  I have been reading it over the past few days and so far I am smitten with her ideas, recipes, and goal setting challenges.  I highly recommend it!  This makes a very large salad around 350-400 calories.

2 cups of spring mix

1 cup spinach

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 cup blackberries

1 cut up fuji apple

some chopped up raw almonds

a sprinkling of feta or blue cheese (optional)

a drizzle of Newman's Own Light Balsamic Dressing (my favorite for spinach salads!)

For more information about the Sanity Health Challenge, click here.

Kashi Black Bean Mango Salad

Looking for a fast and healthy lunch idea? My husband discovered that putting the Kashi Black Bean Mango frozen entree onto a bed of romaine lettuce makes a great salad! Or it makes a fantastic salsa/dip for chips. Each entree is 340 calories so if you add lettuce you are only around 350 calories for a whole grain/veggie/vegan meal!

Mexican Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 8 ounces chunky pasta ( such as rotini, wheels, medium macaroni, etc)
• 1 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn ( or the equivalent in frozen corn)
• 1/2 large red onions, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 large bell peppers, chopped ( green, red, yellow - whatever color you have on hand)
• 1 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 -2 tablespoon lemon juice ( you can also use lime juice)
• pepper, to taste
• tastefully simple ranch fiesta dip mix, to taste or 1 spicy seasoning mix (such as Mrs Dash Extra Spicy) or 1 garlic powder
• cilantro, chopped,to taste 
• Kirkland Organic No-Salt Seasoning, to taste (this is what really gives it flavor!)

Directions

1. Cook the pasta (al dente) During approximately the last 2 minutes of cooking time, add the corn.
2. While the pasta/corn mixture is cooking, combine all other ingredients (except for the cheese) in a large bowl.
3. Drain the pasta and corn.
4. Rinse the pasta and corn in cold water until the mixture is cool or cold.
5. Add the pasta/corn mixture to the other ingredients and mix

For more information about joining the Sanity Health Challenge, click here.

Taco Salad

About a month ago, my bestie and I bought a bag of sprouted dried beans at Costco.  Since then, we have experimented, putting it into salads and other recipes.  It actually makes a great taco filling!  We used the following recipe tonight for dinner.

Vegan Taco Filling - serves a lot, and can be used as a chili

2 cups TruRoots Organic Bean Trio 

1 cup organic quinoa

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 onion chopped

3 pieces of garlic chopped

1 can of organic diced tomatoes

1/4 cup lawrey's taco seasoning

2 tsp organic coconut oil

Make the Organic Bean Trio and Quinoa according to the instructions.  Sautee the chopped bell pepper and onion in the coconut oil.  Put all of the ingredients into a crockpot and turn on high for one hour, then turn down to low, mix every hour or so, and let simmer.

Serve as tacos with corn tortillas or tortillas of choice.  Or, put on top of a salad of romaine.

For more information about joining the Sanity Health Challenge, click here.