Eat: Roasted Vegetable Salad

This salad is absolutely delicious. The dish is warm, colorful, and filling. A perfect salad for a cold summers days. The weather in Calgary has been depressing and Vancouveresque lately; complete with endless rain. The warm roasted root vegetables are sweet and mix nice with the tang of the mustard dressing. Roasting and prepping the veggies takes a bit of time, but the salad will export you to a wonderful summer utopia void of bad weather blues. 

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Dijon Dressing

Ingredients:

Roasted Vegetables

1 large yam peeled and diced

2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

1 fennel bulb quartered and sliced thinly

1 red onion sliced, and chopped

2 zucchini quartered and sliced

1 lb mushrooms halved

1 eggplant, cubed

3 beets peeled and quartered

1 bulb garlic (less two cloves)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

dressing:

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic minced

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup fresh basil, julienned

4 cups baby spinach

Preparation:

preheat the oven to 375

prep all vegetables, and divide into 3 different mixing bowls. 

(beets in one, yams, fennel and parsnips, and all other veggies).

Whisk together the olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. Pour the oil evenly between the 3 bowls. And cover vegetables evenly. 

Transfer the veggies to baking trays. One for the beets, yams, parsnips and fennel (as they take longer to cook), and one for the remaining veggies. 

Roast for 20 minutes,  flip the roast yams/beets and return to the oven for an additional 20 minutes. 

Take out the remaining veggies and let cool.

In a small bowl combine the salad dressing, and whisk until smooth. 

In a large salad bowl toss the cooled roast veggies with the spinach and dressing. 

-enjoy!

Eat: Ginger Wasabi Tofu and Miso Salad

In honor of the lilac bloom, Spokane Hosts "Bloomsday," a 12 km (7.46 m) road race. Bloomsday is one of the largest road races in the world, accommodating 50,000 plus runners. Bloomsday 2012, is the 36th annual run. Today, I'm running Bloomsday for my 3rd time. I love Bloomsday! It is a riot. 

My goal is to run the entire race, no walking. I always get competitive with my self in race situation. My adrenalalin is already racing. I find it hard to eat before an event so my breakfast was light. After compition I'm always starved for protein. I've prepped my lunch and I am so motivated to come home and  enjoy a tasty ginger wasabi tofu salad! 

Wasabi Tofu & Glaze

 1/4 cup tamari (soy sauce) 

 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger 

 2 Tbsp. sesame oil 

 1/4 cup rice vinegar 

 1lb. extra-firm tofu, drained, and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices 

 2 Tbsp. wasabi (japanese horseradish paste) 

 1/4 cup agave syrup

 2 Tbsp. shallots 

Preperations:

In a small bowl combine the: tamari, ginger, shallots, sesame oil and rice vinegar. 

Cut up the tofu into cutlets, and place them into a resealable container. Pour the marinade over the tofu, shake well and refrigerate for a few hours. 

Just before grilling, combine the agave syrup and the wasabi to create a tasty glaze. If the paste is too thick thin it with a dash of vinegar. 

Brush the glaze onto both sides of the tofu and grill until crisp/tender. 

Serve the Tofu with a spinach miso salad. 

 Miso Salad dressing 

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp miso paste

2 tbsp ginger (Fresh)

1/2 tsp wasabi

1 tsp sesame oil 

2 tbsp olive oil

 salt and peper to taste

Prep:

In a small bowl mix all the ingredients above well. 

Salad 

2 cups spinach

2 cup mixed greens

1 cup red onion chopped

1 cucumber sliced

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup sliced radishes

2 carrots shredded

1 large bell pepper sliced 

Prep:

In a large bowl toss the salad. 

Add the tofu, and slowly pour in the dressing. Toss well. 

-enjoy!

Eat: Citrus Beet Salad with Avocado Dressing

My Great-Grandma was born in the Ukraine. She lived to be 102. She had fetish for beets. The colorful root vegetable contains powerful nutrient compounds that help protect the body against heart disease, and colon cancer. Beets are a great source of carotenoid, vitamin C, magnesium, and iron. Beets are a great natural anti-inflammatory; they help support the body in detoxification. Beets have a unique composition, they are low in calories just 42 per 100gr; and contain the highest sugar content of any vegetable. Beets are a great healthy way to boost energy.

Citrus Beet Salad

Hot Plus Cold

Hot Salad:

3 large red beets

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 red onion

1 Bunch Kale

1 cup mushrooms

1/4 cup orange juice

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp paprika

dash of salt

Cold Salad:

4 cups raw spinach

2 large oranges

Avocado Dressing:

1/2 cup ripe avocado 

3 cloves garlic minced

1/4 coconut cream (or other creamer)

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tbsp agave nectar

2 tbsp orange juice

1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Wash the beets, and gently drizzle them with oil before wrapping them in tinfoil. Bake the beets for about an hour or until soft. Once cooked set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dressing. Blend until to smooth. 

In large wok, heat the oil and add the onions. Stir the onions until soft, add the kale, lime juice, orange juice and salt. Cover for a few minutes or until the kale turns a bright green. Add the mushrooms, thyme and paprika. Check your beets; if they have cooled enough slice them up and add them to the wok. Stir well.

To assemble: 

Fill a large salad bowl with the spinach and the oranges. Add half of the avocado dressing. Slowly fold in the hot kale/beet mix. Add the remaining dressing, and toss well. 

-Enjoy!

EAT: Cucumber Dill Salad

This Salad, is one of my all time favourite eats. It is light, tangy, and refreshing. It is a cleansing salad, with flavour.

Cucumbers, like watermelon are 95% water; so they help keep the body hydrated and temperate. Cucumbers are one of the best foods for helping the body flush out toxins. Cucumbers are rich in both potassium and magnesium. Studies on the vegetable have been shown to suggest that eating cucumbers can help lower blood pressure, and hypertension.

Salad: 

5 cucumbers peeled and thinly sliced

1 red onion, diced

2 cups of spinach 

2 bunches chopped dill

In a large salad bowl combine the cucumbers. onion, spinach, and dill.

Dressing: 

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp sea salt

5 cloves of garlic; peeled/minced

In a high speed blender, or by hand combine the dressing ingredients and blend until smooth. 

Fold the dressing into the salad, and mix well.

Enjoy! 

EAT: Chipotle KALE Salad!

My love for kale has been slow to develop. I like it, sure, when some else prepares it. Preparing it myself, has been frustrating and un-delectable. While home in Alberta I had the chance to catch up with Alicia Silverstone who was in town for a "Waterkeeper Alliance Fundraiser." Alicia, who wrote the "kind diet," and recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy told me, that what most people don't know about kale is that it has to be worked/beaten/massaged before it is served. 

Kale is a super food, green and powerful. At only 35 calories per serving, the green provides a days worth of: potassium; which supports bone growth, and regulates blood clotting: Vitamin A; which helps with vision, growth, bone formation, tissue repair, and red blood cell production: Fiber; which helps regulated the digestive system. 

To make your kale dishes as tasty as possible, remove the leaves from the thick middle stem, and wash/dry the leaves. Then tear the kale into bite sized pieces. Toss the leaves in a bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil and salt. Work the leaves, getting your hands dirty until you notice the leaves turn from a dull green to a bright and beautiful color. 

Wilted Kale Salad with a Chipotle Dressing:

2 heads of kale

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup grape tomatoes -sliced

1 red bell pepper -chopped

2 carrots -grated

1-red onion- chopped

1 cucumber -sliced

Dressing:

1 avocado

1 cup lite silken tofu

1 chipotle pepper in abodo sauce

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp agave syrup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

So first prep the kale with a little salt and olive oil. Then add the  tomatoes, grated carrots, red bell pepper,  onion, and cucumber. Mix together and set aside. 

In a blender combine the avocados, chipotle pepper, lemon juice, agave syrup and vinegar. Blend until the mix is smooth, combined, and somewhat creamy. 

Slowly mix the dressing into the kale salad, by hand making sure to toss the salad well. 

I personally like to add some baked sweet potato bites to this salad, because the sweetness of the potato cools down the spice of the chipotle brilliantly. Bake the sweet potatoes before you make the salad to ensure perfect salad timing. 

-Enjoy!