Bikini Bod Asian Quinoa Salad

Hello friends...

I'm terrible at something called consistency. I'd like to say i'm too busy planning a wedding but really, i'm not. Truthfully, the 'big' things were ironed out months ago and the rest will be taken care of with the help of our amazing wedding planners. On the topic of weddings, I just read this article about being a bridesmaid. I feel like every girl should read this whether or not they are a bridesmaid right now. http://voices.yahoo.com/five-things-bridesmaid-bride-500805.html?cat=41

Anyway, in effort to get my desired wedding/bikini bod I am downing this salad. It is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan! Serve it after or alongside a green salad. Enjoy!

Asian Avocado and Corn Quinoa Salad

Dressing
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Tamari
1.5 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil

Salad
5 spears asparagus, chopped into small-bite-size pieces
10 grape tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 avocado, chopped
2 cups cooked quinoa (soaked overnight prior to cooking if you have time)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup (or more) of sprouts
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt and pepper, to taste

Place the first ingredients in a bowl and whisk till combined. place the remaining ingredients in your bowl and fold into the dressing. Make sure you stir once everything is in the bowl so that the quinoa doesn't soak up the dressing before everything else is coated. The sprouts make this dish!

P.s. thanks to my lovely sisters and friends that are my bridesmaids right now. You're the sweetest. 

Lemonade's 'Avocado and Tomato Salad'

pic from brunch philly

I came across this salad in the Delta terminal at LAX at a place called 'Lemonade'. It's a restaurant in the Los Angeles area but until I tasted their food... I never would've cared. They have an amazing Avocado and Tomato Salad among 15 other choices of delicious salads. Avocado's are so good for your body, skin, and weight loss efforts due to their 'Mono Unsaturated Oils' and Vitamin E content among other things. This is my take on it:

Avocado and Tomato Salad

1 avocado
10-15 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 Lime or Lemon, Juiced
1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Olive oil
1/4 cup slivered almonds or pine nuts

Prepare the avocado: Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit (hit the pit with the sharp side of your knife and twist, the pit should come out easily). Use a kitchen spoon and scoop out the flesh. Cut the avocado into large cubes. Add the grape tomatoes to the bowl.

In a small bowl combine the Lime/Lemon juice, balsamic, and olive oil. Whisk with a fork until emulsified. Pour over the avocado mixture, add the nuts, and stir.

Kale, Date and Almond Salad

Hi friends!

Cooking school has been... the bomb. I love it. Although, it's a bit like when you are 13 years old and your mother forces you to attend Dance class. You love it but you just don't want to go. Every Sunday I only want to go to the farmers market, hike, do pilates, make smoothies, and take a good hour to simply sit on the couch and stare at the wall (do you ever have those days?). Well, my mother isn't here but, Ryan is. I go, I learn, I smile.

Last class we learned about cooked veggies and fruits. A heavenly 'Carrot and Sweet Potato Puree' entered my mouth. I couldn't figure out how anything could taste so good and be so light and fluffy in texture. It tasted like pillows. In my mouth. It was divine.

Prior to that, we made 12 different salads... yes, twelve. One, a Kale Salad Recipe that has forever changed my life. Seriously, it's that good. So good... i shall provide you with this secret recipe. Shhh...

Salads Galore

Sweet potato Puree, botton left and orange. Accompanied by the rest of our vegetable concoctions. 

Kale is a superfood and one of the healthiest foods on the planet. Yes, the planet. It is packed with the antioxidant (cancer fighting properties) vitamins, A, E, K. The high fiber content helps to bind bile acids (think of bile as the body's soap; used to break down fats) and helps lower cholesterol (by carrying out the bad fats) and reducing the risk of heart disease.

The key to kale is massaging it. Massage the dressing into the kale, massing being a fancy word for smushing and rubbing the dressing into the kale. Let it soak the goodness and up and the kale will  decrease in size.

Kale, Date and Almond Salad

1 bunch curly kale, washed, stemmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup dates, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup blanched and slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 an apple, julliened

Dressing
1/4 cup honey
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 green onion (optional)

Blend all the dressing ingredients. place kale in a bowl and pour the dressing over the kale. With your hands, massage the kale and dressing for about 2 minutes. The kale will darken in color and reduce in size by half. Add the dates, almonds, and apple, to finish. 

Notes: I find this salad to be very sweet and to make it healthier I use 2 tablespoons of honey instead. This dressing makes a lot of dressing and i wouldn't be surprised if you could use two bunches of kale. Also... I add veggies-baby tomatoes, cucumbers, anything. Enjoy, just the way it is. You will love it.

Pork Tenderloin Salad with Grilled Nectarines.

Let me start by saying, Yes, I am the lame person that brings their own food to a stadium. I brought this salad to the game the other day... I sat completely content with my meal and the game. Twas a good day.

Anyway, My love of peaches isn't much of a secret. When i was younger my parents buckled me into the backseat before taking their place in the front. They'd left me with a bucket of peaches... what would you do? Yep, i did it. They looked back at my young-- <5 self, covered in peaches and it's juice--happy as can be- saying, 'Pich, Pich, Pich'.  Since then...each year Peach season strikes i'm a happy girl.

The original recipe is from 'Cooking Light' and is served with Nectarines but I served it with Peaches. Don't sweat that swap. Also, I eat meat once a week but due to the fact that it was so yummy I ate the leftovers the next day. If you don't eat meat try replacing the Pork with tilapia or mahi-those would be delicious!

 There are 366 Calories for one serving of 3 oz. of pork, 5 wedges of peach, and 1.5 cups of the salad. ENJOY, HAPPILY!

Picture and Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light

PorkTenderloin

andGrilledNectarineSalad

• 5 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
• 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 2 large nectarines, halved and pitted
• 6 cups gourmet salad greens
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. 2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Divide mixture in half. Combine half of balsamic mixture with 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Reserve 2 tablespoons maple syrup mixture. Brush remaining maple syrup mixture evenly over pork; sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Place pork on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 16 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning occasionally and brushing with reserved maple syrup mixture. Remove pork from grill, and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
3. 3. Coat cut sides of nectarines with cooking spray; brush with remaining 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Place, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 5 minutes or until well marked and tender. Remove from grill; slice into 1/2-inch wedges.
4. 4. Combine remaining half of balsamic mixture, greens, and onion in a large bowl, tossing to coat. Divide mixture among 4 plates; top with pork and nectarines.

Basil Quinoa Salad with Roasted Veggies.

Okay. I did it. I ate this salad every day for four days. I'm skinnier. Eureka!! Sort of;  It's not a magic salad... but it is super duper healthy and yummy. We don't care for healthy food that tastes like grass. Not here. No, no, no, never. We want healthy food that tastes 'nom nom nom,' good, right?

Here we go, Basil Quinoa Salad with Balsamic roasted veggies. Nom nom nom. 

Start with your veggies, you can use anything but i like baby tomatoes, red onions, eggplant, and zucchini. (Forgive the little eggplants in most of these pictures... the second time around i made it my eggplant had browned a little much in the fridge, i don't suggest letting that happen.)

P.s. I would peel the eggplant. The first time around i didn't peel it and it looked beautiful but it was annoying to continuously get little peels in my mouth.

Mix your vinaigrette in a bowl and pour over veggies to marinate.  

Place the veggies onto a roasting pan/Baking Sheet and Roast for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

Take the veggies out. The tomatoes should be ready to pop if they haven't already and the veggies tender.

 Find the corner of your condo where you house your little basil plant that you got from Metro market and snip snip snip (from the top). 

 Boil your quinoa and mix the remaining half of the vinaigrette and basil into the warm quinoa. Serve 1 cup quinoa with one cup of the veggies and smile. You just fed your body something it will appreciate.

Here's the detailed recipe!

Balsamic  Grilled Veggies with Basil Quinoa Salad.

for balsamic dressing
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper

for grilled summer vegetables
1 small italian eggplant (about 2 cups when cut into big cubes)
1 small zucchini (about 2 cups when cut into big cubes)
1/2 small red onion (1/4 of a large red onion)
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped. (i used 1 tsp. of oregano)

for basil quinoa salad
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1/4 cup basil leaves loosely packed, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk together all the balsamic dressing ingredients and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, boil water for the quinoa salad. Add quinoa and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer covered, till all the water has been completely absorbed, about 20 minutes.

While quinoa is cooking, cut the eggplant and zucchini into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Cut the red onion into rings. Place cubed eggplant, zucchini, red onion, tomatoes and thyme leaves in a bowl. Pour half the balsamic dressing over the vegetables and toss well.

Place into an oven at 450 degrees F' for 15-20 minutes. Tomatoes will cook faster and blister.

Reserve the balsamic dressing that remains in the bowl, to serve with the meal.

When the quinoa finishes cooking, toss it with the second half of the balsamic dressing. Stir in chopped basil, salt and pepper. 

Serve with 1/2 cup Quinoa Mixture and 1 Cup Veggie Mixture. Top with walnuts, tofu, or pine nuts. 

I adapted and changed this recipe to my liking from Veggie Belly. >>http://www.veggiebelly.com/2010/07/balsamic-grilled-summer-vegetables-with-basil-quinoa-salad.html