Adventures of a healthy-ish pseudo-foodie

    I don't think the photo captures how impressive it was that it perfectly fit into this container This came about for Thanksgiving, in an attempt to get fresh green vegetables without the bulk of a salad taking up half of the plate and then getting soggy next to warm food. I'd previously had broccoli salads with mayo-based dressing, but  this one from Cookie and Kate  had good reviews and used a honey mustard dressing, so I thought I'd try it. It's good! I definitely prefer it to green salad on a cluttered plate. My changes: I doubled the dressing (after haphazardly kind of increasing but not quite doubling the other ingredients), I used pepitas instead of sunflower seeds, I used pomegranate seeds instead of dried cranberries (though dried cranberries would be great too), and I omitted the optional cheese. I also added more salt to taste after mixing it all up. The Recipe (adapted from  Cookie and Kate ):  2 large heads broccoli, chopped (I omitted the s...

Served alongside BBQ tempeh Every time I want to make basic coleslaw, I google a recipe, and sometimes I like it better than other times. This one is good, so I'm finally saving it for the future. I followed  this recipe  from Farmgirl's Dabbles. I haphazardly scaled it down, used freshly shredded cabbage instead of coleslaw mix, omitted the onion, and used fresh whole-grain mustard instead of dry mustard, though I wouldn't be opposed to undoing any of those changes down the line. The Recipe: 1/4 small cabbage, shredded finely 1/3 c mayonnaise 1 tb sour cream 1 tb sugar 1 tb mustard 1 tsp white vinegar salt and pepper, to taste Combine everything except the cabbage in a medium bowl, and season to taste Toss in the cabbage Optionally, let it sit in the fridge to soften for a couple of hours The Verdict: Overall grade: A Overall reason: What coleslaw should be. Simple, tangy, a little bit sweet, a little bit salty. Time to prepare: 5 minutes 9-year-old quote: "More peppe...

So good with rice. I came across  this recipe  for what promised to be addictive, Izakaya-style salted cabbage, and was excited to try it. I didn't have anything resembling chicken bouillon powder, so I left that out altogether, and even so, it was absolutely delicious and definitely addictive. I'll be trying it again with bouillon powder. The Recipe: 1/4 of a medium-sized cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 tb sesame oil 1/2 tb toasted sesame seeds 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper 1 garlic clove, grated Optional for the future - 1/8 tsp bouillon powder Place all ingredients in a bowl and massage the seasonings into the cabbage to distribute evenly. The Verdict: Overall grade: A Overall reason: The easiest possible delicious healthy side dish! Time to prepare: 5 minutes Husband quote: I was too focused on the cabbage to pay attention, but I think he liked it too.  

  Shredded brussels sprouts! I never would have thought of this. This recipe is a victory, because brussels sprouts were one of my two most hated foods as a kid (the other one was lima beans). I've since come around to eating them in roasted form, but I've never really LIKED them. But this salad is so delicious that I will actually intentionally buy brussels sprouts to make it again. The recipe is from the Martha Stewart meal kit, and we had it alongside some breaded cod, which was a great pairing. The Recipe: 1/2 lb brussels sprouts, shredded 1 tb mayonnaise 2 tsp lemon juice 1 garlic clove, grated 1 1/2 tb olive oil salt and pepper, to taste 2 tb parmesan cheese, grated In a medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Whisk in olive oil. Add brussels sprouts and parmesan, and mix to coat. The Verdict: Overall grade: A Overall reason: I finally like brussels sprouts! Time to prepare: 5 minutes Husband quote: I don't remember. I was too excited about...

Seasonal secret weapon: garlic scapes instead of green onions This is one of the child's all-time favorite foods. He will eat any quantity of it that I put in front of him. I like it too. I follow  this recipe from Kimchimari , making no changes except that I either leave out the chili powder completely, or I set aside only a small portion to get the chili powder, since the 5-year-old will be consuming most of it. I also increase the amount of sesame seeds. The Recipe: 1 small English cucumber (if bigger, I double the rest of the ingredients), sliced 1 tb soy sauce 2 tb rice vinegar 1 tb sugar 1 tsp sesame oil 1/2 tb toasted sesame seeds 2 green onions, finely chopped optional: 1/2 tsp gochugaru Mix together soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar Add the rest of the ingredients Toss to combine The Verdict: Overall grade: A Overall reason: Simple and delicious Time to prepare: 10 minutes Child quote: "FAVORITE FOOD!"

Also makes for a good wrap. Ever since Jess confessed that he really doesn't like tempeh, I've been searching for a good alternative to  buffalo tempeh . I've been eager to make chickpeas in the instant pot, so I was excited when I saw this  Kitchen Treaty recipe  for buffalo chickpea salad. First of all, chickpeas that have been cooked from dry beans are SO much better than canned chickpeas. It's night and day. I actually snacked on some chickpeas plain, straight from the instant pot. I will be making many more chickpea recipes now that I can make good ones so easily. In the original recipe, she outlines instructions for just sauteeing the chickpeas but she mentions that she used to go to the trouble of roasting the chickpeas to get them crispier. I sauteed them and thought they were good, but the idea of crispy roasted buffalo chickpeas, especially in the context of a salad, sounds worthwhile. I will roast them next time and update this post accordingly...

Carrots optional. I put together this salad for Thanksgiving from a mixture of different recipes. It seemed like it would be a good basic salad to complement the Thanksgiving flavors. I underestimated just how good it would be! The dressing is simple but so, so good. The toppings worked perfectly together, and they were indeed complementary to a Thanksgiving plate. But the salad itself ended up being one of my favorite things on my plate. This one is a keeper. The Recipe: 1 small shallot, minced 3 tb balsamic vinegar 1 tsp brown mustard 1/2c extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper, to taste 10oz baby greens  1 c pomegranate seeds 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled 1 pear, chopped 1/2c toasted pecan halves Combine shallot, balsamic vinegar, mustard, olive oil, salt, and pepper. (I used a magic bullet.) Layer other ingredients and toss with dressing. The Verdict: Overall grade: A+ Overall reason: Simple, delicious, and versatile Tim...

Next time maybe I'll put the seeds under the bacon so they meld more with the farro? I came to this recipe in a circular pattern of events, and it is one of my new favorites. It started with lunch at the fantastic  Camas Country Mill , which is a magical place with magical bread and, on that visit, this magical salad. I loved it so much and I thought about trying to make it at home, but I wasn't sure where to start with the dressing and also I've never cooked farro, so I was willing to leave it as a magical memory and hope to see it again on a future return. Except the pepitas. Miles ate many of them off of my salad and he loved them so much that he asked me to buy some. So I bought a big tub of pepitas the next day. And in true toddler fashion, by the next day he didn't like them anymore.  This led to a Pinterest search for recipes involving pepitas. And what did I find before my very eyes?  This salad from food52 . Now, maybe they stole it from Camas ...

If you put the feta under the veggies, it hits your tongue when you bite into the sandwich This is one of those meals I turn to after a stretch of eating poorly. It's light and healthy and has lots of veggies, but if also has bread and cheese, so I don't feel deprived. It's perfect on a hot day, too. I have varied ingredients depending on what I have and what's in season. This time, I had good lettuce in the garden, so I went with pretty typical salad ingredients. Other times, I've roasted vegetables and used that as the base of the salad. I would have added banana peppers if I'd had any, and I imagine that other people would enjoy olives in this. It's worth home-making the  hummus , especially if you have fresh parsley in the garden that can be blended into it. (See the green specks? So good.) And I recommend buying whole feta and cutting it into slices. It's less messy than crumbled feta, it tastes stronger, and it's usually ch...

Spring! This recipe comes from  Joyful Healthy Eats , found via Pinterest. It's simple, delicious, healthy, and easy to make. It's good warm, cold, or at room temperature, so it's perfect for potlucks. This is a keeper! My only changes from the original recipe are that I used walnuts instead of pecans (because I had leftover walnuts from making charoses), I grated a clove of garlic into the mix instead of using garlic powder (I highly recommend this), and I used more goat cheese (because goat cheese).  This is such a versatile recipe; it could be made with many combinations of vegetables and other ingredients. I should eat more quinoa salads. With goat cheese. The Recipe: 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 1" pieces olive oil and salt for roasting asparagus 1/2 c quinoa 1 c water 1/3 c walnuts, chopped 4 oz goat cheese 1 garlic clove 1 tsp red wine vinegar 1 tsp olive oil salt, to taste Coat asparagus in olive oil a...

At a quick glance, the cucumbers with carrots look like fried eggs. Having bought miso for this  roasted vegetables recipe , the hunt is on for more miso recipes. So far so good. I'm not really sure why miso has never been a staple ingredient in my fridge before. This salad is delicious. And best yet, it tastes even better the next day, so it can be made ahead of time or made in large quantities. I worked from  this Snixy Kitchen recipe , which doesn't put the salad over rice, but we ate it over brown rice to make it a more substantial dinner. It's good both ways. I adjusted the proportions of ingredients a tiny bit from the original recipe. The Recipe: 2 large english cucumbers, sliced thin 12 oz frozen shelled edamame, boiled 2 carrots, sliced thin 1 tb toasted sesame seeds 1 sheet nori, cut into thin strips 2 1/2 tb white miso 1 1/2 tb hot water 2 tb rice vinegar 1 tb ginger root, grated 1 tb sesame oil 2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp soy sauce Whisk ...

A light coating of mushed avocado makes everything better. Two incredibly delicious salads in a row. I'm ready for summer. This one came from a friend who brought it to a potluck. My first reaction was puzzlement at the discovery of each component. The avocado was obvious, and combining it with peppers was intriguing but also apparent. But then I took a bite... is that a pear? There's pear in this salad, and it belongs perfectly. And what's this completely different texture in the next bite? Fresh mozzarella? No, it couldn't be. But oh yes, it was. The contrast of flavors and textures makes this salad addicting... I could eat a very large portion of it in one sitting. I made it for dinner with a side of tempeh, and it was perfect. The Recipe: 2 red/yellow/orange bell peppers, chopped 2 green-skinned pears, chopped 2 avocados, chopped 2 egg-sized balls of fresh mozzarella, shredded 1 tb fresh parsley, chopped 1-2 lemons, juiced 2 tb olive oil salt and...

Heavenly. This is my favorite salad. I make it a lot. I've been eating it since 2014, and I am not yet over how amazingly delicious this dressing is. I get SUPER excited when I unscrew the Magic Bullet container and taste it. This dressing is an important part of my life. I got it from  this recipe  from my favorite blog, Pinch of Yum. I have made no changes to the dressing, and seriously, I never will. I've made various modifications to the actual salad ingredients, depending on what I have; see suggestions below. Another sign that this is an amazing salad? The first time I made it, I included feta cheese as recommended in the  original recipe . But I didn't actually finish all of the cheese from my bowl, and I have left it out since then. A salad that is NOT improved by cheese? That's one special salad. The Recipe: Dressing: 3 tb almond butter 1 tb olive oil juice and pulp of 1/2 of an orange 3 tb water 1 tb stone-ground mustard 1/2 tsp honey ...

Must. Resist. Picking through to eat all of the mango immediately. Mission eat-more-protein took a step forward today... I found a way that I really like chicken! Turns out if I shred it and mix it with a bunch of crunchy things, tossed in a delicious sauce, it's pretty good. I pretty much followed  this recipe , making a few substitutions for convenience/availability and then adding the rice cake crumbles on top, because apparently cabbage and carrots and peanuts weren't crunchy enough for me. Big pile of crunchy things. The dressing is excellent. I will be using it again, not just on this salad. In fact, there's some leftover in the fridge, so I will be using it again soon. Maybe as a stir-fry sauce? The Recipe: 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded 1/2 head white cabbage, shredded 15 baby carrots, quartered length-wise 1/2 c green onions, chopped (I used red onion today, but green would be better) 1 mango, sliced into slivers 1/2 c peanuts, choppe...

Everything's better with avocado. Should you happen to have some leftover deliciously marinated tempeh (say, from  tempeh reubens ), this is a great thing to do with it. I apologize to the original source of this recipe, because I jotted down the ingredients without bookmarking it and I don't know who deserves the credit for this wonderfulness. If anyone knows, let me know. I think this will become a staple lunch for me. The Recipe: 4 oz tempeh, marinated and baked or prepared to your liking 1 avocado, gently mashed 1/4 c red onion, chopped 1/4 c carrot, chopped 1/4 c celery, chopped 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tb dijon mustard salt and pepper, to taste Mix everything together. Eat on bread or alone. The Verdict: Overall grade: A Overall reason: Easy, delicious, healthy, and keeps well in the fridge for a few days. Time to prepare: 5 minutes if you've already prepared the tempeh Husband quote: (No husband q...

So many different kinds of goodness on one plate. This recipe is so simple that I almost don't count it as a recipe. It's really just assembling a bunch of components and throwing them into a plate. But I love it so much that it deserves to be catalogued here. Here are my salad components of choice: 1) Romaine lettuce - chopped 2) Avocados - sliced 3) Cheddar cheese - shredded 4) Cilantro - chopped 5) Pickled jalapenos - chopped finely 6) Chips - sliced tortillas with baking spray and sea salt, baked at 350 for 20 minutes 7) Green salsa - Trader Joe's has a delicious one 8) Chipotle yogurt - chipotle in adobo mixed into plain yogurt 9) Black beans - canned black beans, simmered with a bit of green salsa 10) Chicken - rotisserie chicken, shredded and simmered with salsa and a bit of water It's a lot of steps, but they're all easy. And one head of lettuce, one avocado, and one can of beans leave us enough leftovers for lunch the ne...

One of the few salads I get really excited about. I used to be kind of neutral about kale, and I certainly wouldn't eat it raw. Then I read about a massaged kale salad and it looked like fun so I tried it. Now I like kale. With a little bit of salad dressing and clean hands, you literally just massage the kale until it wilts into a cooked-type texture. It's immensely satisfying.  Tip: Massage your kale in a LARGE bowl to avoid flinging it all over the counter. As far as the salmon goes, sometimes I marinate it in the dressing and then pan-fry it. But the easiest and least messy way, I think, is to bake it in a foil packet with some dressing and then just flake it onto the salad. This also eliminates any need to buy or cut filets in any particular size for each person. I just get one big piece, cook it, and distribute the flaked salmon when serving. Foil packet, pre-sealing. I use  this recipe . The flavors in the dressing are perfect. My onl...

Is it poor form to scoop off all of the pomegranate seeds for myself? With the exception of some of the vegetable components, this is exactly taken from  this recipe  by Aida Mollenkamp. Pomegranate gremolata is the magic here. Its name is pretentious and it takes a little more time to prepare than your average salad, but it's worth it. I might start putting it in everything I eat. Ready to go on a salad... or salmon... or a grilled cheese sandwich... or... The gremolata is just pomegranate seeds, parsley, shallots, and orange zest. Mix them together, season, and it's done. Put it on your salad, or anything else, for instant fancy deliciousness and texture. I really liked the dressing on this salad, too. If you don't have pomegranate molasses (and don't feel like reducing pomegranate juice to make it), it's also good without it. You could maybe substitute a little more honey and some kind of fruit juice for a similar effect. The Recipe: ...