CHRISTMAS SALAD

 

Christmas Salad tweaked by me 
 from the recipe by same name
compliments of Julie's Album

I don't know about you, but I do not want to gain weight during the holiday season.  Therefore, I try to eat as healthily as possible with as many fresh fruits and veggies as possible and no desserts during the week. It's hard.  Now that I'm not teaching, I don't see sweets all day long that parents  and staff used to send us. In fact, I've only made one batch of Christmas cookies so far and I made sure they were healthy and low sugar/no fats and I froze almost the entire batch. Some will come out for Xmas Eve and some will be saved until our Family Gathering on the 29th. I did set aside a few for Dave and I to enjoy in the next week. However, this past week, I had to attend a Christmas Brunch so I made the above salad and snapped the pic at home before  bringing it to church. I knew there would be a plethora of pasta dishes (and there were) so I wanted to bring something different. It seemed to be a hit with the other ladies as I had none left at the end of the morning!

I found the recipe at a website but tweaked it to add extra fruit, different cheese and mustard,  and changed the type of nut. 

CHRISTMAS SALAD

1 container of raw baby spinach (5.5 oz carton)

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

1 c. blueberries

1 c. raspberries

1 small can of mandarin oranges, drained

1/2 c. pomegranate arils

1 c. of chopped cashews

1/2 c. sharp vermont cheddar cheese

DRESSING

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

3 Tablespoons of spicy brown mustard

3 tablespoons of organic honey

2 Tablespoons of lime juice

• Place baby spinach in a large clear glass or wooden bowl. I used clear so that people could see the gorgeous colors. 
• Add in the rest of the salad ingredients and toss gently. 
• Prepare the dressing in a glass mason jar or dressing bottle. Shake well.
• Drizzle on to salad and toss gently.
• Keep in fridge until time to serve. 

Note: I prepped the salad the night before so the flavors of the dressing really soaked into the spinach/berries, etc. It was divine!

MY TIPS

Serve with a loaf of  garlic or french bread for an easy, quick dinner.

Serve on the side with grilled salmon or chicken (or even baked salmon/chicken). 

ENJOY!

Lemon-Herb Bowtie Pasta Salad

 

We had friends over for dinner Saturday evening and I wanted to make a light, summer-y pasta salad with some different ingredients than your typical pasta salad.  I took 2 salad recipes and kind of tweaked them into one, creating my own!  Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Of course I made an entire pound so we do have  a lot of leftovers...I'm serving some tonight with BLT sandwiches. 

Faith's Summer-y Lemon Herb Salad

1 box of bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

(cool off with cold water 

after pouring pasta into colander...

I used a 1 lb box)

1/4 c. sliced radishes

1/2 c. halved purple  seedless grapes

1 small can of mandarin oranges, drained

2 c. lightly steamed french green beans

1/4 c. chopped sweet onion (or scallions)

1/2 c. chopped raw zucchini

1 cup of Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

• After rinsing and draining the cooked pasta, place in a large bowl.
• Add in the fruit and veggies.
• Mix well.
• Drizzle 1 c of the Lemon Herb Vinaigrette over the salad and toss well.
• Chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours before serving. 

If you want to make a meal of this salad, simply grill some chicken and cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the salad mix.

We served it with Grilled Chicken Breasts, Garlic bread and Green Iced Tea. 

Please note: the leftover pasta salad will soak up the vinaigrette so just add more when you eat the leftovers! 

ENJOY

As with all of the recipes under the "faithfixes" label, you do have permission to copy and print out this recipe as the recipes are not under my copyright label. 

CHICKPEA SALAD

 

A friend of mine asked me to post my Chickpea Salad recipe.  You can find all kinds of different chickpea salads on the internet in various online magazines and in cooking apps.  I just kind of made this up when we decided to go more plant-based.  Feel free to copy or print out.  The copyright law doesn't apply to my recipes. 

FAITH'S CHICKPEA SALAD

1 can of low sodium garbanzo/chickpea beans, rinsed and drained

1 tomato, cut into chunks OR a cup of cherry tomatoes

1 avocado, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 seedless mini cucumber, halved and chopped 

1/4 c. red or sweet onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup of low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

(optional....we like it for extra protein)

1 boiled egg,  chopped 

(if a pure vegan isn't eating with you!)

Lemon vinaigrette or honey mustard dressing 

• Place chickpeas into large serving bowl and lightly toss with a sprinkling of sea salt
• Add in all of the other ingredients and toss with lemon vinaigrette or honey mustard dressing.

Serve with cheddar biscuits or garlic bread!  

TIPS:  You can really make this with any fresh vegetables that you have on hand.  Sometimes I toss in a chopped green or red pepper.  Sometimes I shred a carrot.  Sometimes I do all of those with the above recipe.

Sometimes I add chunks of watermelon and blueberries as a side dish.  Or any kind of fruit to make a fruit salad on the side. 

Remember:  eat the rainbow for optimal health!

CUCUMBER SLAW

image courtesy of Taste of H*me site

I love having the time to try new recipes and yesterday was one of those times!

Here in eastern NY we have had some very nice weather this month.  In fact, the last two days have been cool but humid with rain which we badly need.  I decided to make a refreshing cucumber salad I saw in a recent copy of a cooking magazine someone gifted me with.

The recipe is  titled Cucumber Crunch Coleslaw but I tweaked it a bit with ingredients we had on hand.  It's perfect for a summer meal. I've renamed mine Cucumber Slaw.

CUCUMBER SLAW

2 English Cucumbers, julienned

2 c. fresh baby spinach or spinach-spring mix, gently torn

1 c. fresh snow peas, cut into pieces 

1/2 c. sliced almonds

1 c. dried cranberries (optional)

• In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers (I used a veggie slicer that has an attachment for julienned veggies) and greens.  
• Toss in the snowpeas and almonds and gently toss.
• JUST BEFORE SERVNING, DRIZZLE THE DRESSING over the salad and serve chilled.

DRESSING

1/3 c. olive oil

1/4 c. sparkling orange water or dry white wine

1 Tablespoon of minced fresh basil

1 Tablespoon of lime juice

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp raw sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

dash of sea salt

1 tsp of grated lime zest

dash of cracked black pepper

(please note: the original recipe calls for molasses and fresh mint along with a serrano pepper....I chose to leave those out as I didn't have the ingredients and just replaced with the red pepper flakes and i didn't feel like the dressing needed molasses!)

• In a small bowl or right in a glass shaker, combine all the dressing ingredients.  
• Shake well!
• Chill, and upon serving dinner, simply drizzle over the salad or allow each person to add their own to their specifications.

DINNER MENU:  

Ziti with Earth Balance butter and 2 tablespoons of Italian seasonings

Steamed Peas

Cucumber Slaw

Note:  If you want to add in protein to your meal, simply toss into the pasta dish a cup of rinsed, drained black beans or chopped cooked/browned tofu

You can also serve the salad as is and add a loaf of garlic bread.

Another dinner option:  the Cucumber Slaw and Grilled Salmon or Chicken

ENJOY!!

as with all the posts under the faithfixes label, you do have permission to print/copy this recipe.

3 Bean Citrus Salad

Meatless Dinner

I discovered a really good meatless meal!  I actually found the main recipe on the back of the pasta box.  The pasta is Ancient Grains Pasta by Ronzoni Healthy Harvest.  It was super easy to prepare!

I served this main dish with baked crispy chicken strips for the rest of my family.

I also sauteed fresh, local zucchini by slicing it and then halving it, adding a half of a chopped sweet onion, and a cup of chopped fresh tomatoes.  I used a bit of coconut oil to sautee them.  Normally I would have sprinkled the entire dish with a bit of Parmesan cheese but we were all out of it.

I also had a bowl of fresh blackberries and blueberries.

I put out some leftover fresh corn off the cob too for my daughters.

This meal was a hit!

THREE BEAN CITRUS SALAD

1 box of the ancient grain pasta, cooked according to directions

1 c. fresh green beans

1 (15 oz) can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz) can of great northern beans, rinsed and drained

(note: I used the low-sodium beans for both)

1/2 c. citrus vinaigrette

1/2 c. scallions, chopped 

1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

• Prepare the pasta and rinse in cold water.  Set aside after draining well.
• In a large bowl, combine all the beans.
• Add the pasta, parsley and scallions and toss together.
• Add the vinaigrette and toss well.

ENJOY!

as with all of my recipes under the faithfixes label, you do have permission to copy this post.

Pretty and Sweet Fruit Salad

Fresh fruit.....so good for you!

It's nature's candy is what I tell my daughters and over the years I've been blessed that they like a fair variety of fruits.....they actually enjoyed more as preschoolers than they do now as teens but....at least they still choose fresh fruits when it's on the table or in the fruit bowl.  Of course it helps that we don't buy soda or candy bars.

Fruit is naturally sweet and a fun way to make it is with all fresh fruits and a little surprise.  Here is something new I do, especially now that it's spring when fresh local fruits are more in abundance.

image taken from evernewrecipes.com

COCONUT FRUIT SALAD

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1 can (small) pineapple chunks, drained

1 banana, sliced

1 Empire Apple (or any of your choice), chopped

1 cantaloupe (melon), halved, scooped then balled or cut into chunks

2 c. fresh watermelon chunks

1 kiwi, peeled and sliced

1/4 c. flaked coconut

OR

1/2 c. mini marshmallows

• Place all the fruits into a pretty serving bowl.
• Chill for about 20 minutes.
• Top with the coconut or marshmallows just before serving.

TIPS:  To stop the bananas and apple pieces from turning brown, simply cut them first and place in a small bowl of lemon juice. Once the other fruits are cut and in the serving bowl, simply drain the small bowl and add the bananas/apples to the serving bowl!

This fruit salad does NOT have to be chilled but that is how we like it!

During the summer months, I leave out the bananas and apples, and replace them with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.  (for the girls, I add strawberries as they don't care for the other berries).  This salad is one in which YOU can decide just what fruits to use.  Our favorite way is the one printed above plus the blueberries.

I often serve this with cinnamon pancakes OR cappuccino muffins for breakfast.  I also serve it as a side dish with grilled chicken, cucumber-tomato salad, and piping hot garlic bread. Makes a super easy, light summer meal!

OTHER TIPS:  neither of my girls like coconut or mandarin oranges so I serve them a bit of the salad in little bowls minus the oranges and with marshmallows rather than the shredded coconut.

ENJOY!! 

Summer-y Salad!

I just love summer!

I much prefer cooking dinner in the summer, than in the winter months.  

Probably because I much prefer fresh, raw veggies/fruits & grilled anything, with salads,  to casseroles, stews/soups, steamed veggies....you know..those "heartier" meals.  I really do enjoying cooking in the summer.....

I want to share a salad I "invented".  It is one that I made for a deck dinner on Saturday evening.  Most of the day I had the windows open with a nice, summer breeze blowing the curtains.  However, by 2 pm I had to turn the AC back on.....it was starting to get really hot again.  I had made some potato salad with fresh herbs (chives that we grow, and basil that I bought) and I had already planned on giving the girls grilled hot dogs (ugh....a treat for them...I rarely buy them).  I wanted something light to go with the potato dish, & I wanted to use up an extra grilled chicken breast I had saved in the fridge.... so I "tweaked" a spinach salad recipe and came up with this one.  It was FANTASTIC! (my girls do not like these kinds of salads, so they ate leftover mixed veggies and sweet potatoes!)  We all had the rest of a yummy watermelon with cappuccino brownies for dessert later in the evening while watching an old classic movie.  Recipe for the brownies will be posted later in the week so check back!

(You have my permission to copy the recipe.)

Faith's Fruity Salad

1 bag of fresh baby spinach

1 grilled chicken breast, cut into strips

1 small can of mandarin oranges

1/4 c. fresh blueberries

1/4 c. chopped scallions

1/4 c. chopped walnuts

About 30 minutes before serving dinner, place fresh spinach in large serving bowl.

Add the oranges, blueberries, scallions, and walnuts; toss gently.

Place strips of chicken across top of salad.

Drizzle with the following dressing (Chill the bottle before mixing the ingredients. I place in freezer for 10 min).

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1/2 c olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

dash of pepper

Place all these ingredients in a glass salad cruet (chilled) and shake vigorously

Drizzle over top of salad.

NOTE:  refrigerate left-over dressing. When you want to re-use it, simply take it out for 30 min before using and let it stand at room temp. Shake well. This really works for oil-based dressings. ALWAYS refrigerate dressings when not in use.

TIPS:

• You can also substitute fresh, sliced strawberries for the mandarin oranges, and pecans for the walnuts.  I make another salad similar to this one, minus the chicken, with chopped tomatoes and pine nuts. All of those flavors go well together!  I guess you could try fresh raspberries, too, in place of blueberries or in place of the oranges.  Be creative!! 
• Serve just the salad with a loaf of grilled Italian or French bread.
• Serve salad minus the chicken with grilled pork chops.  Serve ice-cold applesauce with the chops or place a dollop of mango salsa on top of the grilled meat.

Do you like salads?  Which salad is a favorite?