Tag: healthy salad

Fall Farmer’s Market Salad

I can’t believe how time is flying and my little munchkin is already 2 months old. And you know what that means? It means that it’s back to life, back to reality. Time to wrap up these guest blog posts with a big finish from my pal Whitney Fisch from Jewhungry. Back when I actually had time to read blogs, Jewhungry was one that I actually READ. Whit has lots to say about food, parenting, and believe it or not, her husband is a real life marine biologist (I thought that only existed in a Seinfeld episode)! Whitney’s chocolate love muffins are a staple in my home, and if you make them, they will be in yours too. Welcome Whitney!

I am so honored to be on this beautiful website! I have been a fan of Chanie and her work for years! I’m doubly excited to be on here while she’s at home, loving on her new baby girl. Hurray!

The recipe I’ve got for ya’ll today is one of those that, once assembled and enjoyed, you think to yourself, “ahhhh, the secret is most definitely in the sauce!” I have been a fan of salads since I was a kid. Truly. My grandfather used to love to take my brother and I out for lunch when we would visit our grandparents in Louisville, KY. He would take us all over town and my go-to order as a spritely 7 year-old was salad. I’m not sure what calls to me in a salad. Maybe it’s the fact that the toppings can be endless. Maybe it’s the crisp freshness of the lettuce itself or the variations one can make on the same thing. I can’t really pinpoint what the one thing is that I truly love about salad other than the dressing. Good Lord, gimme all the dressing. I remember reading Michelle Bernstein’s cookbook, Cuisine a Latina, in which she unabashedly proclaims that she LOVES drenching her salads in dressing. That’s my kinda lady! And therefore, for you today, I have a simply beautiful Fall Farmer’s Market salad in which I actually did, in fact, get all the ingredients from the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. It’s a beautiful salad regardless of dressing but the pesto vinaigrette really takes it up a notch, if you ask me. I also like to use this dressing as a dip for french fries or polenta fries. That’s the great thing about salad dressing . . . it goes with everything!

Fall Farmer’s Market Salad

4 carrots, sliced in half, length-wise
1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
4 cloves of roasted garlic, (directions for this below)
1 1/2 cup of mixed green lettuce
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1/8 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
pesto vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place carrots and broccoli in a large bowl and toss with 1/8 cup olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place on roasting pan, making sure not to overlap, and roast for roughly 20 – 30 minutes. I like my veggies to be blackened so keep an eye on yours if you like yours a little less roasty and toasty.
Directions for Roasting Garlic Cloves:

To roast the garlic cloves, place garlic cloves on tin foil. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil. Wrap the tin foil tightly around the garlic and the oil so it does not drip out. Place on your veggie roasting pan and place in the over for 20 minutes or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

To assemble the salad, artfully place your mixed greens on a large plate. Top with your roasted vegetables and garlic. Drizzles on dressing and top with pomegranate seeds. Enjoy!

Pesto Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup basil
1/4 cup curly kale, de-stemmed
1 garlic clove
(optional) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 walnuts or 3 tbsp pine nuts
1/8 cup honey
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Method:

Place all ingredients, up to the olive oil, into a blender. Turn blender on and gradually add the olive oil in an continuous stream until it is smooth and full incorporated into the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference. For best flavor, use immediately or store in the refrigerator in a tightly-closed container for up to 3 days.

Related Recipes:

roasted veggie quinoa salad
Israeli couscous with honey roasted root vegetables
spicy roasted carrot fries
gluten free pesto zucchini fries

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Grilled Chicken Salad with
Jalapeno Honey Mustard Dressing

It was one of those nights, after many days of eating the wrong foods (read: fried, takeout, you-name-it), when I decided I needed to eat a salad for dinner. Luckily, we always have a stash of oven grilled chicken in the fridge (see my super easy recipe below!), so I just threw together whatever I had in the fridge and pantry and this salad was born. I’ve been making this dressing forever, so that wasn’t exactly an afterthought, but it turned out to be the perfect compliment to the composed salad dish.

If you’re an avid follower of mine, you already know that I post almost everything I eat on Instagram (whenever people stop me in the street to ask me what I’m up to foodwise, I just tell them to follow me there, ‘cuz I post just about everything that goes into my mouth!!), so when I whip together a healthy salad for dinner, I try to plate it up nice and pretty, you know, #eatingfortheinsta. So I fanned out my avocado all  fancy and stuff, and the recipe requests poured in. Next thing I know, my inbox is filled with pics of this salad – all composed and perfect, and this recipe-afterthought became an instant sensation.

The dressing is a hit in it’s own right, and lots of readers have told me it’s become a family favorite. So…I finally decided it was time to blog about it! As a recent text message from a reader reminded me, not everyone uses Facebook or Instagram, so I gotta think about the readers that just come here for the good stuff. Rikal, this is for you ;) !

If you’re not a fan of composed salads (salads that have been neatly arranged on a platter, like this), then just go ahead and and mix everything up in a big ‘ole bowl. I promise it’s just as delicious!

Happy Grilling you guys! Check out the links below for lots of other grilled chicken salad recipes that are perfect for summer or when you get that healthy-eating-binge!

Grilled Chicken Salad

1/2 head napa cabbage, thinly sliced
1-2 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 avocado, diced
1/3 cup cashews
handful of golden raisins, optional
2 grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced (recipe follows)

On a platter, spread out the cabbage. Top with broccoli florets, avocado, cashews, raisins and chicken and drizzle with jalapeno honey mustard dressing.

NOTE: You may use raw broccoli or thawed frozen broccoli and roasted or raw cashews.

Easy Grilled Chicken

2 chicken breasts
Montreal steak seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste (optional, the steak seasoning is salty)
olive oil

Drizzle olive oil over chicken and sprinkle generously with Montreal steak seasoning. Grill or broil on high for approximately 5-6 minutes per side.(depending on thickness)

Jalapeno Honey Mustard Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup mustard
1 small jalapeno, veins and seeds removed
1 clove garlic

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

NOTE: You may use dijon or yellow mustard. The dijon will be slightly creamier, while the yellow mustard will have a sharper mustard flavor.

#eatingfortheinsta!

Related Recipes:

grilled chicken shawarma salad
grilled marinated chicken
Asian chicken salad
sesame linguini with marinated chicken breasts

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Melon Carpaccio

The term carpaccio is usually used to refer to thinly sliced cuts of meat or fish that are served as an appetizer. In recent years, however, chef’s have reinvented the idea of carpaccio, preparing  dishes of thinly sliced veggies or fruit, like zucchini and melon, carpaccio-style. The trick to making a carpaccio is to keep the ingredients thin and uniform by shaving them down with a mandolin or vegetable peeler. Ever since slicing my palm on a mandolin last year, I have a hard time using it without cringing, so peelers are a welcome substitute in this case!

When working with melon, you don’t want your fruit to be too ripe, otherwise the thin shavings won’t hold up after plating. They’ll let out too much juice and turn to mush. Use just-ripened fruit that’s cold (warm melon will be harder to peel) and shave it over a bowl to catch the juices. If using a mandolin or peeler doesn’t work for you, you can also slice it thinly with a knife.

What I love most about this melon appetizer, is the combination of sweet melon with spicy jalapeno and tart lime.  It celebrates the best of summer produce –  melon, tomatoes & basil – at their prime. This unconventional melon salad is not only a party on your palate, it looks beautiful on your plate too.

Melon Carpaccio

1/2 green melon (canary or honeydew)
1/2 orange melon (cantaloupe or orange flesh honeydew)
1 handful yellow grape tomatoes
1 handful red grape tomatoes
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
1/3 cup tomato juice
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp lime zest
5 basil leaves, chiffonade
pinch of salt
additional basil, for garnish

Method:

Over a bowl (to catch the drippings), thinly slice melon using a mandoline, peeler or knife (see above for tips). Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently to combine. Serve in glasses and garnish with fresh basil.

 

1 year ago: cherries in red wine syrup
2 years ago: fried fish sandwich

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Summer Tomato Feta Salad

Believe it or not, I’m not the biggest tomato person. I’ll happily leave them out of my burger, and I never put them in my tuna sandwiches. My husband, on the other hand, is tomato-obsessed. Ask him what he would take to a desert island, and I know without a doubt, that it would be a boat-load of tomatoes. So when it comes to salad-making, you can imagine that we are not always in agreement.

Summer, though, is the exception. There’s just something about summer tomatoes that is so deliciously sweet. Instead of arguing about adding tomatoes to the salad, we end up making tomato-only salads. Using an assortment of tomatoes like red and yellow tomatoes on the vine, or colorful heirloom tomatoes, makes for a beautiful presentation. With summer tomatoes being so juicy and delicious, you really don’t need much to make them sing. A simple drizzle of good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar is enough to dress them up. Feta adds protein, color, and saltiness, to balance out the tomatoes sweet flavor.

Needless to say, my husband is in LOVE with this salad. I hope you will be too.

Summer Tomato Feta Salad

Red & yellow tomatoes on the vine (or heirloom tomatoes)
Feta cheese
Good quality olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt
Black pepper, optional
Chopped parsley, for garnish

Method: Slice the tomatoes, about 1/4″ thick. Lay the tomatoes on a platter, alternating between red and yellow. Sprinkle the feta cheese over the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with kosher salt. Garnish with parsley.

1 year ago: picture perfect teacher’s gift
2 years ago: Asian bigger bowl soup

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