Category Archives: Stay Healthy

Dairy-Free / Dinner / Gluten-Free / Meals for Two / Salads / Savory / Stay Healthy

A Twist on Salade Niçoise

May 5, 2014

salade nicoise 1Yep, another salad recipe.  You know I can’t get enough salads — mostly because I’m a little lazy when it comes to cooking, and I like things that assemble quickly (ideally in one bowl).

Traditional salade niçoise doesn’t involve lettuce — it’s actually quite a stunning presentation of potatoes, olives, tuna, eggs, and various other things.  However, I had a bunch of arugula that I needed to use up, so I added it in.  Why be hemmed in by the expectations of what salade niçoise is supposed to be?  Do what you want, I say!

salade nicoise 2Potatoes in salad might be one of my favorite things.  (Who’s surprised?  No one — I love all carbs.)

salade nicoise 3A Twist on Salade Niçoise

serves 2 as a meal

  • 1 russet or handful of new potatoes, cut into chunks (peel the russet, if you’d like)
  • olive oil
  • dried herbs: thyme, basil, oregano
  • 1 small bunch green beans, cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
  • 1 bunch arugula, cleaned and spun dry
  • 2 handfuls tomatoes, chopped
  • big handful of kalamata olives, cut in half
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, diced
  • 1 can quality tuna (I used albacore in water, but packed in oil would be delicious here as well)
  • red wine vinegar
  • dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper
  • optional: roasted beets, sliced cucumber and/or radishes
  1. Preheat oven to 425°.  On a baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a big pinch (each) of the dried herbs.  Place in a single layer, then bake until tender and crispy (20-25 min).
  2. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add a big pinch of salt and green beans, then cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
  3. For the dressing, combine 1 tsp dijon mustard with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar in a small bowl.  Add a big pinch of salt and pepper and whisk to combine.
  4. Combine lettuce, tomatoes, olives, eggs, tuna, and green beans in a large salad bowl.  Add cooked potatoes, drizzle with dressing and toss to combine.

salade nicoise 4An easy meal for weeknight dining.  Oui oui!

Dairy-Free / Dinner / Gluten-Free / Meals for Two / Salads / Savory / Stay Healthy / Vegan / Vegetarian

Raw Beet Green Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

April 8, 2014

Raw Beet Green Salad 2

First off, I did think about titling this dish: Roasted, Toasted and Goat-ed Beet Green Salad, because there’s roasted beets, toasted sunflower seeds, and goat cheese in it.  But then I thought that was a little bit annoying, even for me.  I also thought that there was a very solid chance that this salad was going to be awful when I made it.  It’s pretty, sure, but beet greens?  RAW beet greens?  Not to mention that the spring onions I used were so freaking onion-y that it was all I could smell when I was putting this together…

I’m doing a good job selling this recipe to you, huh?  Totally.

I really don’t want you to think that I’m some kind of healthy-eating mutant who loves eating raw kale and chia seeds on the regular and would die before allowing red meat into her body.  Cuz I’m not.  I mean, go ahead and think that if you want to — your choice.  It sounds sort of nice to be thought of as some kind of crazy health ninja — completely inaccurate, but nice.

But no, I like junk food.  I love a big greasy burger.  And french fries?  Don’t even get me started.  I may or may not have a very trashy relationship with the McDonald’s drive-thru.  (PS: Did you know you can ask for your fries “fresh” there?  Yeah, it means they fry them up fresh for you and serve them to you so hot they burn your mouth off.  WORTH IT.)  But that’s not what this is about.  This is about everyday life where I make the conscious choice to not eat an entire jar of peanut butter in one sitting (and believe me, that’s a legit choice right there, because it could very well be reality), and instead work vegetables into some semblance of deliciousness.  And especially because I’m turning 30 this week (!) I did make a decision at the beginning of this year to get my healthy eating back on track so that I could ring in my 30’s wearing my skinny jeans.*

So, because of that and because our CSA has been giving us beets lately (sooo many beets), I decided I should try something new.  I roasted the beets like usual, but then opted to use the leafy tops of the beets as the base for this salad.  The beet tops are mild in flavor and a little more tender than raw kale.  However, these are still a pretty hearty green, so feel free to add the dressing to your salad and let it hang out for awhile.  If you end up having leftovers, this is even a salad that will hold up well in the fridge for a couple days.

Raw Beet Green Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

Raw Beet Green Salad with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

serves 2 as a meal, 4 as a side

For the salad:

  • 1 bunch beets with fresh-looking greens attached (I used 2 large golden beets and 1 large striped beet, but red beets would also work just fine here)
  • 4 spring onions (scallions), white and light green parts thinly sliced
  • 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
  • 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds (just place them in a dry pan over low heat for a few minutes, tossing regularly until fragrant)
  • 2 oz crumbled goat cheese*

For the dressing:

  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 1-2 tsp agave nectar (start with 1 tsp, then taste and add until desired sweetness is reached)
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives (optional)
  • hefty pinch of salt and pepper
  1. Remove beet greens from beets and roast the beets.  Once cooled, remove the skin and chop the beets.
  2. Remove beet leaves from the stem and tear or chop into pieces.  Rinse leaves and spin dry, then add to salad bowl.
  3. Add chopped spring onions, beets, quinoa, toasted sunflower seeds, and crumbled goat cheese.
  4. Whisk together all ingredients for the dressing (add a little water if the dressing is too thick), then add to salad and toss to combine.

*To make this salad vegan or dairy-free, feel free to sub in avocado for the goat cheese.

Raw Beet Green Salad 3

*Um, I should probably note that I did follow up this salad with half a dozen mini Cadbury Cream Eggs.  Real life, y’know.

Dairy-Free / Dinner / Gluten-Free / Savory / Stay Healthy

How to Roast Beets

April 7, 2014

We’ve been getting beets pretty much non-stop in our CSA box, which means we’ve been eating many a salad with roasted beets.  I was initially kind of intimidated by beets.  They’re delicious, obviously, but beets in their raw form look a little insane.

Luckily, with a little googling and sister-texting, I figured out that roasting beets is actually crazy-easy.  So here’s how you do it:

  1. Preheat oven to 450°
  2. Remove the beet tops and leaves (reserve them if they’re fresh — I have a salad recipe using beet greens up on the blog tomorrow!) and trim the bottom (it looks like a little tail).
  3. Rinse and scrub the beets clean, then lay them on a large sheet of foil.  If you’re roasting a bunch of beets which are different sizes, you can cut your larger beets so that everything is around the same size:
  4. roasting beets
  5. Drizzle beets with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt, then bunch the foil tightly around them to form a foil pouch.
  6. roasting beets 1
  7. Place the pouch in the oven and roast 45-55 minutes, until tender (a knife should slide in easily).
  8. Once cooked, remove from oven, open the foil pouch and let cool.  Once cooled, the skin should peel off easily with help from a clean paper towel.

roasted beetsAnd voila!  Roasted beets ready for salads, or whatever your little heart desires.

Dairy-Free / Meals for Two / Salads / Savory / Stay Healthy

Warm Brussel Sprout Salad

February 26, 2014

Brussel Sprout baking sheet

Given that it’s a cold, drizzly, gray day, I think it’s the perfect day to post this warm salad.  It’s hearty, filling, and just generally comforting — perfect for winter.  And since it’s got some good-for-you green things in there, you don’t have to fall into a pit of self-hatred after eating it (even if it does taste a little indulgent).

Warm Brussel Sprout Salad

Warm Brussel Sprout Salad

serves 2 as a meal, 4 as a side

  • 1 lb brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered (depending on size)
  • 1 large yellow onion, quartered and sliced
  • 4 thick slices bread (I used sourdough), cubed
  • 3 thin slices prosciutto, diced (feel free to use bacon or pancetta instead)
  • 1 bag (5oz) lettuce (I used arugula, but baby spinach or baby or mixed greens would also work well)
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
  • red wine vinegar (you could also use apple cider vinegar here)
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Toss brussel sprouts and onion in olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 20 minutes.
  3. After the brussel sprouts have been cooking for 8 minutes, toss bread cubes with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add bread and prosciutto to baking sheet (in a single layer), and bake remaining 12 minutes with brussel sprouts and onions.
  4. Place lettuce and chopped eggs into a large salad bowl.  Add cooked brussel sprouts, onion, prosciutto, and croutons, right out of the oven.  Add 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, then toss to combine.

*Don’t over-dress this salad — it can taste a bit heavy if you’re too heavy-handed with the dressing.

Date Night at Home / Gluten-Free / Salads / Savory / Stay Healthy

Valentine’s Sweetheart Salad

February 18, 2014

I made this salad for Valentine’s Day this year, and it was so delicious and full of purples, pinks, and reds that I just had to share it.  It’s a perfect seasonal recipe also, using produce that’s readily available around this time (grapefruit, avocado, mixed lettuces).

This salad would be perfect for a little date night at home (I’d cut the recipe in half for 2 people — and you’ll have plenty of room for apps and/or dessert), or made to impress someone you’re having over for dinner.

And even though this is quite the fancy-looking affair, this salad comes together in no time flat.  I mean, like 10 minutes.

My kind of dish, for sure.

Valentine's Sweetheart Salad

Valentine’s Sweetheart Salad
because Shrimp and Bleu Cheese Salad with Chicory, Avocado, and Grapefruit with Grapefruit Shallot Vinaigrette was way too long of a name

serves 4

  • 1 bag TJ’s Les Salades du Midi (mix of butter lettuce and radicchio) or one bag/one head butter lettuce
  • 2 heads white and one head red belgian endive, sliced (they come together in a pack at TJ’s)
  • 1 ripe avocado, sliced
  • 1/8 red onion, sliced
  • 2 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
  • 1/2 pound cooked shrimp meat (available at most fish counters)
  • 1 medium to large red grapefruit, segmented, juice reserved*
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper**
  1. Combine lettuces, avocado, onion, shrimp, bleu cheese, and grapefruit segments in a salad bowl.
  2. For the dressing, whisk together reserved grapefruit juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
  3. Dress and toss to combine.

*To segment a grapefruit, cut the peel off the top and bottom, making flat surfaces on both sides (no pith should remain). Run your knife down the side of the fruit, removing the remaining peel and pith until you’re left with only the center of the fruit.  Cut segments out, running a paring knife between the segments (you’ll see the faint lines in the fruit), until you’ve segmented the whole grapefruit.  Take what remains of the fruit you just segmented, and squeeze the juice into a bowl for the dressing.  Compost the peel and fruit center (once segmented and juiced).

**Make sure to test your dressing for the appropriate amount of salt — this dressing can taste a little flat if it’s lacking salt because you’re using mostly grapefruit juice rather than a heavy-hitting vinegar in it.