Tag Archives: green stuff

May 22, 2013

Raw Detox Salad with Apple Miso Dressing

We’re back from Mexico!

Translation: It’s time for this detox salad.

Raw Detox Salad with Apple Miso Dressing

Did I mention that we leave for a wedding on the East Coast on Friday morning? This is going to have to be some quick detoxing.

We didn’t go too crazy with the food and drink on our little vacation, buuut we were staying at an all-inclusive resort. AKA I had ice cream at lunch everyday (amazing!). Also, one night we tried about four dessert wines. They were reeeeally good. I’m hoping to do a little trip recap later in the week with pictures etc., so stay tuned. In any case, some healthy food can’t hurt over the next few days.

Raw Detox Salad with Apple Miso Dressing

Now usually I’m wary of words like “detox,” “cleanse,” etc. I’m not sure I really buy it, you know? But you can’t deny there’s some healthy stuff packed in here. And according to the ever-trustworthy interwebs, beets, kale, apples, and ginger all have detoxifying properties, not to mention a ton of nutrients. Nutrients that I desperately need this week.

The great thing about this salad is that it is totally delicious and satisfying and doesn’t feel like a “detox” at all. In fact, this dressing is my newest obsession (the third miso dressing I’ve posted in the past few weeks?) and I dare you not to dip your finger in it. Sooo good.

Raw Detox Salad with Apple Miso Dressing The key to making this salad is to not go overboard. (And I learned the hard way.) Two cups of any fruit or vegetable is really not very much, and it’s crazy easy to underestimate the amount of veggies you’re chopping up. Maybe it’s just me that has this problem? I tend to throw the measuring cup out the window when it comes to things like soups and salads, assuming that more is always better. And I mean, who wants to have half a beet leftover? The first time I made this salad, I probably ended up doubling all the ingredients except for the dressing.

Yeah… it tasted much better the second time around.

I think you’ll enjoy this salad, whether you’re looking for a healthy lunch or dinner, or a yummy side dish for a barbecue this weekend. Don’t be afraid to get out the mandolin and go to town!

Raw Detox Salad with Apple Miso Dressing

Hands-on time

20 mins

Total time

20 mins

This nutrient-rich raw salad is so tasty and satisfying, you would never think of it as a detox!

Author: Erica

Serves: 3

Ingredients

For the salad:

2 cups julienned golden beets (1 medium-large beet)
2 cups julienned Granny Smith apples (1 to 1 1/2 large apples)
2 cups finely chopped kale

For the dressing:

juice of 1 lime
2 small cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp minced or grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 Tbsp white miso paste
1 Tbsp rice vinegar

Instructions

Combine vegetables in a large salad bowl.
Blend together all dressing ingredients. Pour over vegetables and toss to combine.
Serve immediately, or will also keep up to 2 days in the fridge.

Notes

Adapted from Emily Geizer.

Warm Lentil Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach

At first, I wasn’t going to post about this meal. I started out following Grab a Plate’s lentil salad recipe for dinner one night, but turned it into something slightly different when I didn’t feel like making yet another roasted red pepper dressing. It came out amazing, but I still thought maybe I didn’t need to blog about it.

Then Nate went back for seconds. And in case you didn’t know, that is rare enough to qualify a recipe as blog-worthy 100% of the time.

Warm Lentil Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach

So here we are with this weeknight lentil salad. It fits the mold for what I’ve been making so often this spring (grain or green + roasted vegetables + sauce or dressing), but with one thing that sets it apart: To me this feels very much like a recipe rather than a loose set of suggestions (the opposite of my usual salad posts)… because I wouldn’t change a single thing.

The sweet roasted peppers, the acidic dressing, the way the creamy goat cheese melts into the lentils… nope, it’s perfect exactly the way it is.

I love using red lentils here because of their quick cooking time. Dinner can be on the table in just over half an hour, start to finish! And even that time is reduced significantly if you buy jarred roasted red peppers or have the foresight to roast them ahead of time, which clearly I never do.

I can’t decide whether I prefer this salad hot or cold, so I’ve been compromising by eating it hot for dinner, and then cold for lunch the next day. I recommend you do the same!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Warm Lentil Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach

Hands-on time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Erica

Serves: 3

Ingredients

For the salad:

3 red bell peppers, quartered (or jarred roasted red peppers)
1 cup dried red lentils
3 cups loosely packed spinach
3 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp prepared mustard
1 tsp honey
2 small cloves garlic, roughly chopped
pepper to taste

Instructions

First, roast the peppers. (If you are using jarred roasted red peppers, skip to the next step!) Preheat your broiler. Lay quartered peppers, skin up, on a baking sheet. (I like to cover my baking sheet with foil for easier clean-up.) Broil until skin of peppers is completely charred, which will depend on your broiler, probably about 6-8 minutes. You want the skins to be totally black! Remove from oven and immediately place peppers in a large ziploc bag and seal. Set aside for 10 minutes to steam. (This can also be done ahead of time.)
Add lentils and 1 1/2 cups water to a small pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender but not mushy, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain any excess water, and stir in spinach. Cover and set aside.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by blending all ingredients together.
After peppers have steamed for 10 minutes, remove from bag. Peel the charred skins off and discard. It’s OK if some charred bits remain – we’re not going for perfection! Chop into bite-sized pieces and stir into the spinach and lentils.
To serve, top spinach/lentil/pepper mixture with goat cheese and dressing. Enjoy hot! This also makes awesome cold leftovers.

Notes

For a heartier option, serve over short pasta such as fusilli. Adapted from Grab A Plate.

7 Comments

Filed under Main Dishes, Salads, Vegetarian

Tagged as bell pepper, goat cheese, green stuff, lentils, quick & easy, salad, spinach

May 10, 2013

Massaged Kale and Veggie Salad with Toasted Ramen

This was originally supposed to be a soba noodle salad.

The other day at work, I got really fixated on making one. I just knew it would be perfect with the various leftover veggies lurking in my crisper. I wouldn’t even have to go to the store! Major success.

Then I got home and found we had no soba noodles. Major failure.

Massaged Kale Salad with Veggies and Toasted Ramen

So I went to the grocery store. AND THEY ALSO HAD NO SOBA NOODLES.

What. The. Hell.

So back home I went, dug wayyyy to the back of my (very deep) cabinet, and pulled out some ramen noodles. Cha-ching! Salads with ramen noodles are totally a thing. I know because my mom and grandma make one, and that makes them official. And also delicious. A few minutes later, I was digging into this!

Massaged Kale and Veggie Salad with Toasted Ramen

So now that I’ve taken you on the little journey of how this salad came to be, let me tell you about it! Ramen noodles, obviously. Toasted to crunchy perfection! And I officially massaged my kale for the second time ever, woo hoo! Getting to be a pro at this. Then some crunchy and colorful veggies to really make you feel like you got your nutrients for the day.

And the dressing I had actually made for the roasted carrot and chickpea salad last week, but didn’t end up using it. I regretted the soy sauce as soon as I added it – it wasn’t at all what I was going for with the carrots and chickpeas. But it was perfect with these veggies! And that, my friends, is how I came to post two salads with miso dressing on consecutive weeks.

Fascinating, I know.

Anyway, this salad was so crunchy, flavorful, and fun. I know you’ll love it!

Massaged Kale Salad with Veggies and Toasted Ramen

And finally, because I’m so happy it’s Friday, here’s what’s in store for the weekend: Tonight is a costume party (lifeguard/surfer themed – not sure what I’m wearing!), and tomorrow night is a wedding. I’m excited to kick off the 2013 wedding season (and thankful that this one involves no travel)! I’m also looking forward to the wedding because it’s my excuse to get my first pedicure since September, if you can believe that. I’ve been au naturale in the toe department all winter!

Anyway, in between parties and pedicures, I’m running a 5K race on Saturday morning. We’ll see how that goes! It’s my first race of the season and the first 5K road race I’ve run in a LONG time. (I did a 5K last summer, but it was a trail race – this should be easier!) I’ve been running 3 to 4 miles, 3 times a week, but no speed workouts or anything. If I can run the whole thing at about an 8:15 pace, I’ll be pretty happy. Wish me luck!

Massaged Kale and Veggie Salad with Toasted Ramen

5.0 from 2 reviews

Massaged Kale and Veggie Salad with Toasted Ramen

Hands-on time

15 mins

Cook time

3 mins

Total time

18 mins

Author: Erica

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

For the dressing:

2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp white miso paste
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup water

For the salad:

1 bunch curly kale, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup shredded red cabbage
3-4 green onions, sliced
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
2 3-oz packets ramen noodles, flavoring packet discarded
1 avocado, sliced
sesame seeds

Instructions

Prepare the dressing by blending all ingredients together.
In a large salad bowl, pour half of the dressing over the kale. With your hands, toss the kale leaves and massage the dressing into them for about 30 seconds. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Break up the ramen noodles into chunks. Preheat a toaster oven or regular oven to 350. Spread crumbled ramen on a baking sheet and toast until golden, several minutes.
Toss veggies (pepper through edamame) with kale. Top with toasted ramen, avocado, and sesame seeds and serve alongside extra dressing. (You may have some dressing leftover.)
Enjoy!

Notes

Dressing adapted from Food52.