Warm arugula salad w/ pears

A salad that appears on every menu. Kind of nice for the winter though!


In a pan sprayed with oil, or a little bit of coconut oil:

• 1 shallot, chopped in tiny pieces
• 2 pears, cubed

Cook until the shallots and pears have softened.

Take a bag of arugula salad (16oz) and put in a large pan and allow it to warm up a little bit (and wilt)- do NOT over cook it.. this should take 1-2 minutes. Just want to wilt it- not cook it completely.

Remove all the stuff from the pan and put in a large bowl.

In a small bowl- mix 3 tbsp water with 1 tbsp maple syrup. Mix well.

Pour the water/ syrup on the salad mixture and mix well. Top the salad with 12 oz of fresh blueberries and slivered almonds. If you're the cheese-eating type, you can add a sprinkling of goat cheese crumbles.

Kale is also a nice substitute for arugula-- and of course, in the winter is widely available for cheap!

Lemon cucumber salad

I've been trying to get more vegetables in my diet-- but I'm SO tired of salads with lettuce.

Here's a new one I tried from my recipes: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemony-cucumber-salad

In a big bowl, combine:

• 1 cup thiny sliced radishes
• 1/2 cup finely chopped orange bell pepper
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley chopped
• 2 english cucumbers thinly sliced (~ 6 cups)

In a little bowl, combine:

• 1 tsp lemon rind (grated off a lemon)
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1-1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Pour the little bowl of stuff on the big bowl of stuff- toss well and serve.

Peanut Coleslaw

Taken from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/peanutty-coleslaw


This is an excellent alternative to cole slaw!


In a bowl mix:
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onion
3 TBSP white vinegar
1 TBSP sesame oil
1 tsp grated ginger (or, I use 2 tsp sliced ginger that you buy in a jar... not pickled)
1 tsp wasabi powder (or 2 tsp wasabi paste)
2 TBSP mayo (add more if you like a creamy coleslaw)
salt & pepper

Then mix in a bag of cole slaw mix... when you're ready to serve, throw some peanuts on top.

It is pictured here in the top portion-- it's the stuff that looks like cole slaw ;-)

Peach-Basil Salsa on Grilled Chicken

Here's a good end of summer dish. We're having this in our meal that we're taking to blossom tonight (pictured) in the container that's packed and ready to go!

This is really simple- and is delicious. I've put it on top of tuna salad, salmon, and chicken. It is also delicious topped with some blue cheese crumbles. Just sayin.



In a bowl mix:

• 2 large tomatoes, cut in chunks
• 2 peaches, cut in chunks
• 1/2 packet of splenda (or you can use the equivalent sugar)
• 2 tsp molasses 
• 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup of fresh sliced basil 
• salt/ pepper

Store in the fridge. Delicious on meat, salads, or by itself!

Recipe adapted from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-peach-basil-vinaigrette

Roasted Sweet Potato & Pepper salad

Roasted Sweet Potato and Pepper Salad

This has become a staple at our house-- for quick weekday sides, BBQs-- all sorts of things. Can be enjoyed warm or cold.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Ingredients:

• 6 sweet potatoes, cubed (bite-size)
• 2 bell peppers (I used green and red for color)
• 5 garlic cloves, sliced 
• Olive oil
• Salt/ pepper
• Dried rosemary

1. Cube the potatoes and toss in olive oil (about 2 TBSP) and sprinkle with seasoned salt (or regular is fine too!). Sprinkle 2 TBSP crushed rosemary. 

2. Spread taters into single layer on baking sheet- and bake until potatoes are browned on one side (about 25 minutes).

3. While the taters are baking, chop the bell pepper into bite size pieces. Put in a bowl with 2-3TBSP olive oil, salt/ pepper, garlic cloves. Add another 1 TBSP rosemary.

4. When taters are done-- add to the bell pepper mixture and toss together. Enjoy this dish warm if desired (maybe with some goat cheese sprinkled on top :-) )

5. Or... put it in the fridge for later, and enjoy it cold.

Italian baked chicken

I found a good (easy) recipe for baked Italian chicken. It has a very refreshing taste to it because it uses fresh herbs. It sure beats chicken marinated in Italian dressing! I served it with bacon brussel sprouts (and some white cheddar- not paleo). 

Recipe: http://cleanfoodcrush.com/fresh-italian-herb-chicken-breasts/

Essentially you blend these things in your blender:

1/2 cup Olive Oil

2-4 garlic gloves (I did 4, and it was delicious)

One package of fresh basil (the package was the size of a dollar bill... that's the size you want)

1/2 package of Oregano

1/4 package of Thyme

1 tsp salt (or less if you're not into salt)

1/2 tsp pepper

Blend...

Then smother on top of 6 chicken breasts that you've washed and dried. 

Bake in the oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes (until the chicken is cooked--ie: clear juices come out of it, or use a thermometer). I used a foil lined dish for easy clean up.

I used it for a couple meals (served like this... cold on top of salad... I feel like you could even make a chicken salad out of it with tomatoes, mozz, and olive oil).

I found this cute little lunch container at the grocery store and it was the perfect size for my lunch! I packed my bacon brussel sprouts and chicken in one part (so they could be microwaved together... because who has time to microwave two things separately!), then I put grapes and a packet of almond butter in the other side.

All packaged up and ready for Monday!

... Plus I found this creepy grape. Something tells me these "organic" grapes are maybe not so organic. Oh well! It was delicious :-)

Refreshing summer green smoothie (paleo-zone)

I love smoothies, however, I rarely get them because they're loaded with fruit and other sugars that make them too carby. However, I was at my yoga studio the other day and they make this awesome smoothie that is refreshing and not too sweet! Below is my paleo-zone rendition...

Paleo-Zone Green Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1/2 a medium cucumber sliced (made about 1.5-2 cups sliced cucumber)
• 6 chunks of pineapple (I used fresh)... 
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup mint water (I used MetroMint)--you could also throw in a bunch of mint leaves if you have fresh... or maybe a few drops of mint extract?
• 1/3 of a frozen banana
• a scoop or two or ice...depending on how you like your smoothies

Directions

1. Blend thoroughly

2. Enjoy immediately!

This is roughly 1 block of carbs and 1 block of fat