Kale Waldorf Salad

I found a basic salad recipe while looking through the Whole Foods App on my iPhone, I highly recommend this app, it has great healthy recipes that are easy to prepare. I have made a few changes to the original recipe and find it to be heavenly. The dressing works so well with the Kale as well as on other salads or used as a dip or marinade.

Serves 4-6 people 

Ingredients:

4 cups packed finely chopped raw kale

1 large red apple, such as Honeycrisp or Fuji, chopped, divided
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons craisins, divided

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped, divided

 

For Dressing:

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water, more if needed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon sea salt 

Directions:

Place kale in a large bowl. Add half the apple to kale along with celery, 1/4 cup walnuts and 1/4 cup raisins. Put remaining apple in a blender along with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts, remaining 2 tablespoons raisins, mustard, water, vinegar and salt. Purée until well combined and slightly thick, adding water if needed to thin. Pour dressing over kale salad and toss to combine.

*place the salad when dressed in the fridge for 15 minutes once dressed, it allows the kale to soak up the dressing and the leaves fill with flavor. 

Pea and Beet Salad

This unusually warm winter in New York has me eating plenty of salads lately and I decided it was time to think of some new recipes. This one is quickly becoming a favorite! 

Ingredients:

- Arugula

- Sugar Snap Peas

- Pea Shoots

- Cucumber

- Roasted Beets

- Goat Cheese

For dressing:

- EVOO

- Balsamic Vinegar

- Egg Yolk

- Water

Directions:

Well folks, this is a salad, not reinventing the wheel so I will make this short and sweet.

Place arugula in a large bowl, dice up the peas, pea shoots, and cucumber and add to bed of arugula. As for the beets I bought prepared beets at Trader Joes and diced them up and tossed in the salad. You can also roast your own beets it time permits.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle with goat cheese (feta also works well). I also like to sprinkle some roasted flax seeds on top as well for added benefits.

For the dressing add 1 part EVOO,  1 part water, 2 parts vinegar and an egg yolk to a bowl and whisk until it all turns to a balsamic vinaigrette.

 

Toss dressing into salad and serve. 

5 Minute Meal

2 Vegetables

1 Protein, 1 Pan, 

1 tbsp EVOO, Sea Salt and sauté

Ingredients:

Mustard Greens

Sweet Potato

Broccoli Rabe (of course an extra green)

3 oz chicken cutlet

1 tbsp EVOO

Heat pan with oil and add vegetables and sauté. Toss in chicken to heat and then serve warm.

See how easy and quick it is to make a fast easy meal! Just keep fresh vegetables around the house and a protein option or two and you are never a few minutes away from your next meal.

Fun Fruity Salad

I read a recipe in a magazine a few years back that incorporated Asian Pears into salad. I have since been addicted to the costly fruit, so I do try and put it to good use. Here is a recipe for one of my favorite salads.

Ingredients:

For Salad:

- Handful of Spinach Leaves

- Handful of Romaine Lettuce

- Handful of Pea Shoots

- 4-6 Strawberries

- 1/2 Asian Pear

- 1 stalk Hearts of Palm

- 1/4 Cucumber

- 1/4 Avocado

- 3oz Chicken

For Dressing:

- EVOO

- Balsamic Vinegar

- Water

- 1 Egg Yolk

For the Salad:

Well folks it’s a salad, so I will keep it simple. Cut up the lettuce, dice up the vegetables, slice the fruit and chicken and mix it all in a bowl.

For the Dressing:

I use this container to make measuring easy and so I have dressing for a few days. 2 parts vinegar, 1 part water, 1 part EVOO, 1 egg yolk... then SHAKEEEEEE!

Pour some dressing on top of the salad and enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

With Fall in full swing it is important to take advantage of both the fruits and vegetables the season has to offer. Fall is all about grounding foods and what is more grounding then a Butternut Squash?

Butternut Squash Soup

- Total Prep time 25 minutes - Total Cook time 45 minutes - Serves 4 (large bowls) 

Ingredients:

 - 2 tablespoons butter

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

- 2 garlic cloves, chopped

-  2 3/4 pounds small butternut squash, prepared and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice

- Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and squash; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Stir in 4 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until squash is tender, 20 minutes.

 3. Puree soup in two batches.

*Note - When blending hot foods, allow the heat to escape to prevent splattering. Remove the cap from the hole of the blender's lid, and cover with a dish towel.*

 

3. Stir in juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Serve hot,

Optional to top with sour cream, pepper, and pumpkin seeds, if desired, or try some Greek yogurt to maintain this healthy meal.

Quinoa Salad

In the past year, Quinoa has quickly become my favorite grains. I love the subtle crunch that it has when cooked and that it is so high in protein.

Quinoa is a grain-like crop grown for its edible seeds. It’s considered a “pseudocereal,” — not a true cereal, not a grain, since it’s not a grass. It’s related to species like beets, spinach and tumbleweeds and is 6,000 years old and is native to the Andean region of South America. 

The main reason its star is on the rise here is because of its incredible nutritional value, as well as it's ability to take on so many other flavor. 

Quinoa and Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:

- 1 Cup Quinoa

- 2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

- 2 Handfuls of Kale

- Cherry Tomatoes

- Yellow and Orange Bell Peppers

- Japanese Eggplant

- EVOO

- Sea Salt

1. Instead of cooking the Quinoa in water I choose to use Chicken Broth in order to give a little added flavor.

2. While the Quinoa is in the pot cooking I diced up all of the vegetables.

 

3. Next I took all of the vegetables and tossed them in a pan with some EVOO and sea salt. 

4. Once the Qunoia was finished cooked I added into the pan of vegetables and let it sit covered for a few minutes. 

This recipe is easy as can be and can be done with any vegetables you have sitting around. Quinoa is also a great addition to salads as well. 

I decided to pair the Qunioa Vegetable salad with 3ox of Rotisserie Chicken Breast to make for a filling balanced lunch.

Meatless Monday

Through the Health Coach program at IIN I am learning a great deal about nutrition, dietary theories and the best part is applying them to not only the life of clients but to my life as well. After learning a great deal about raw foods I made the decision that I would go raw 1 day a week as well as incorporate a day of no meat to my diet to better allow my body to digest, heal and work to its full potential. 

After a weekend that included red meat, fresh fries and more I decided today would be a good day to go meatless and incorporate mainly raw foods. 

I started the morning with Tons of Greens Juice - Spinach, Cucumber, Apple, Parsley, Ginger, Lemon (I substituted Kale for Spinach since I had it on hand) 

After an hour workout it was off to the farmer's market to pick up some fresh vegetables. I then headed home and made myself a Meatless Monday sandwich.

- Whole foods hummus

- Shredded Carrots

- Sprouts

- Cucumber

- Heirloom Tomato

- 2 slices of Bread Alone Organic 9-Grain Bread

Now, what to make for Meatless dinner? Perhaps some tomato soup with quinoa and broccoli rabe... stay tuned

What to do with an Heirloom

If you find yourself walking through a farmers market or grocery store lately then you are sure to find plenty of heirloom tomatoes.

Walking through the Union Square Farmer's Market early this morning I decided to pick up 6 tomatoes a clove of garlic and head home to make some soup.

This recipe is quick and easy and can be eaten as is for a nice gazpacho feel, it can also be added to for a filling dish, and for those with no dairy allergy feel free to add some cream for a thicker texture. 

Ingredients:

6 Heirloom Tomatoes

2 Cloves of Garlic

E.V.O.O.

1 tbsp Butter

Salt and Pepper (light seasoning)

First place the butter and oil in the pan and let heat up, once the butter is melted place the crushed garlic cloves and let simmer. Next add the sliced up tomatoes to the pot. Stir the tomatoes for a minute and then cover and let sit.

Check the pot every few minutes to stir. Once the tomatoes have softened and fallen apart lower the heat to let the pot simmer. 

Once the soup is made you can go ahead and choose to eat alone, place in a bowl and top with some fresh basil and parmigiana if you do not have a dairy allergy.

As I mentioned there is a lot that can be done to this dish, stay tuned for a follow up recipe...

A Day Full of Liquids and Workouts... and more

I started the day catching up on some Nutrition School work. Last week had been extremely busy and it was time to get back on track. While I was home doing my work I made myself a Boars Head Low Sodium Turkey Sandwich and had it with a BluePrint Red Juice containing Apple, Carrot, Beet, Lemon and Ginger. The flavor of the juice packs a big punch, it is really refreshing and an enjoyable way to add fruits and vegetables into a diet. 

After I finished a good portion of my work I headed to spin class at NYHRC. I had broken my foot back in February and was unable to spin until this past weekend. This was my third class in four days, I am an addict!!!! The class was fantastic I really got in a good burn. There were quite a few hills and the perfect amount of sprints. While there was no jumping today I was glad because I figured both my legs and foot could use the break. 

When spin was over I headed downstairs to the attached to-go Organic and Vegetarian restaurant, Terri. For some reason I had never noticed it before but my friend Nikki mentioned dropping in after a recent workout and walking out with a great juice and some kale chips and mentioned some salads they had on the menu. Since I knew I would be going to Core Fusion at Exhale later in the day I thought it would be good to grab something on the go since I would be running errands for a bit and not home before class.

I decided to order the Brazilian Bombshell Smoothie which contains acai, acerola, blueberry, mango, banana and I replaced soymilk with almond milk, I also got a container of Kale Chips and took a menu to go as I knew this would be the first trip of many to Terri. (PS – they offer a 3 day juice cleanse for $155!!!)  The juice was absolutely fantastic and the chips were the perfect consistency, it was exactly what I needed to take me through the day until Core Fusion.

After some further school work, searching for jobs and running some errands it was time to head to Core Fusion. Thanks to Ruelala.com bought a 10 pack for classes otherwise I would be sticking to the DVD’s right now. Well, I am so glad that I was able to go to class today, the teacher Michael who was a substitute for the day was great and I felt thoroughly challenged throughout the class (and just 4 hours later I am feeling sore.)

I ended the day with a favorite, SUSHI! A brown rice California roll, brown rice Alaska roll and one piece of Ikura sushi followed by a Blueprint Green Juice containing romaine, celery, cucumber, apple, spinach, kale, parsley, lemon and ginger. 

Day’s like today do not happen as often as I would like but I look forward to challenging myself these days more of a common occurrence in my life.  Of course I am headed out of the city for a good portion of the next two weeks and I hope I can find options equally as good for me.

100 Summer Recipes from IIN

Summer is finally here! It’s time for BBQ’s and outdoor dinner parties with friends and family. We want to make it easy for you to make healthy dishes for your family, but still enjoy the cooking activities that define summer. We collected a list of 100 healthy recipes for you to enjoy all summer long!

Appetizers

1. Pizza Caramel by Nourish Nutrition
2. Artichoke Pesto Stuffed Tomato by Making Good Choices
3. Vegan Spring Rolls with Mango Ginger Dipping Sauce by Wholesome Kid Food
4. Easy Hummus by Andrea Beaman
5. Mango Salsa by Terry Walters
6. Spicy Slaw by Elana’s Pantry
7. Peaceful Parsley & Pistachio Pesto by Peacocks and Moonshine
8. Creamy Curry Sauce with Summer Veggies by Collective Nutrition
9. Sesame and Thyme Pancakes by Wholepromise
10. Asparagus Sundried Tomato and Goats Cheese Pizza on Spelt by Wholepromise

Soups

11.  Roasted Tomato Soup by Love, Life and Lollipops
12.  Farmstand Gazpacho by Eat, Live, Run
13.  Really Easy Spice Pumpkin Soup filled with Beta-Carotene by Scott Mathias
14.  Summer Herb Soup by Kath Eats Real Food
15.  Cold Beet and Fennel Soup by Clean and Delicious
16.  Easy Asparagus Soup with Seasoned Dill Yogurt by Cook me Healthy 

Salads

17.  Quinoa Summer Salad by Alicia Somma
18.  Raw-Vegan Som Tum by Tina Leigh
19.  Radish, Celery and Apple Salad by Seven Spoons
20.  Roast Chili Butternut and Fig Salad by Me Organic
21.  Watermelon, Feta and Tomato Salad by Lemons and Loafers
22.  Refreshing Chopped Salad by Miligirl Wellness
23.  Jicama Salad by Raw, Radiant Health
24.  Quinoa Salad for all seasons by Chronic Wellness Coaching
25.  Orzo Super Salad by 101 Cookbooks
26.  Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with Apricot Lime Vinaigrette by Terry Walters
27.  Southern Style Cobb Salad by Find Your Balance Health
28.  Rustic Pesto Potato Salad by Clean and Delicious
29.  Pumpkin Seed Salad by Feed Your Life
30.  Delicious Life Beet and Walnut Salad by Live a Delicious Life
31.  Crunch Salad by Live a Delicious Life
32.  Ribboned Asparagus Salad with Lemon by Smitten Kitchen
33.  Radish, Asparagus and Mint Salad by Coloring the City
  Fresh Corn, Tomato, Avocado and Black Bean Salad by Whole Nutrition
35.  Black Lentil and Quinoa Salad with Citrus Dressing by Infinite You
36.  Green Light Salad by My Healthy Vision
37.  Spicy Curry Kale Salad by Natalie Duhamel
38.  Curried Cauliflower Quinoa Salad by Maureen O’Neal
39.  Roasted Butternut Squash and Wheat Berry Salad with Goat Cheese by Cook me Healthy
40.  Spinach Salad with Mango and Avocado by Linda Poynter
41.  Raw Kale & Beet Salad by Beth’s Botanical Scents

Refreshments

42.  Watermelon Aguas Fresca by Elana’s Pantry
43.  Summertime Blueberry Coconut Smoothie by Frank Giglio
44.  My Green Smoothie by Muscle Chick
45.  Watermelon Lemonade by Smitten Kitchen
46.  Pineapple Ginger Cooler by Maureen O’Neal
47.  Peachy Green Smoothie by Natalie Duhamel
48.  Super Simple Strawberry (Shh, and Spinach) Smoothie by The Nourished Life

Breakfast

49.  Veggie Frittata by Frank Giglio
50.  Sweet Corn Pancakes by Smitten Kitchen  
51.  Japanese Style Breakfast by Integrative Nutrition
52.  Coconut Spelt Pancakes by Wholepromise
53.  Homemade Granola by The Sublet Kitchen
54.  Buckwheat Banana-Walnut Pancakes by Cook Me Healthy
55.  Breakfast Casserole by Integrative Nutrition

Dinner

56.  Sautéed Chicken with Caramelized Onion-Tomato Relish by Cook me Healthy
57.  Mixed Green Salad with Tilapia and Clementine’sby a Hint of Greens 
58.  Coconut breaded Mahi-Mahi Tacos with Mango Salsa by Coloring the City
59.  Grilled Salmon Paprika by Elana’s Pantry
60.  Spiced Turkey Burgers with Green Olives and Feta by Pinch My Salt
61.  Sesame Chicken and Orange Salad by Wholepromise
62.  Sweet and Hot Chicken with Eggplant and Mushrooms by Destiny Kelley
63.  Quinoa and Spinach Burgers by Winspiration Wellness

Vegetarian Dinner 

64.  Thai Coconut Stir Fry by Selkis Whole Foods
65.  Bean Burgers by Kath Eats Real Food
66.  Pasta with Green Beans and Cannelloni Beansby Mary Curran
67.  Cashew and Ginger Stir-fry by Laurel Staples
68.  Sweet Potato Burgers by Making Good Choices
69.  Bean Stir Fry by Making Good Choices
70.  Spicy-Sweet Arugula Sautee by Pure Potential Wellness
71.  Spring Panzanella by 101 Cookbooks
72.   Peanut Soba Noodle Bowls by Eat, Live, Run
73.  TLT Sandwiches by 101 Cookbooks
74.  Gluten Free Veggie Burger by Whole Health Designs
75.  Vegan Pot Pie by Curvy Gals
76.  Brussels Sprout Pizza by Simply Seeking Life
77.  Avocado Pesto Pasta by Landry Fuller
78.  Rice Soba Noodles with Tea Spice Veggies by I Wanna Cookie
79.  Quinoa Grilled Vegetable Salad by Monica Delgado Chaffee

Side Dish

80.  Grilled Summer Vegetables by Your Wellness Tree
81.  Spicy Jicama “Fries” by 2Good2beRaw 
82.  Summer Squash Saute by Integrative Nutrition
83.  Sautéed Summer Squash, Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Basil by Andrea Beaman
84.  Vegan Stuffed Red Peppers by Becky’s Kitchen
85.  Sweet and Spicy Kale Chips by Get Healthy with Lindsay
86.  Spicy Asian Cabbage Slaw by Chef in my own mind

Dessert

87.  Detox Blonde Macaroons by Healthy Hoggin
88.  Rawberry Rhubarb Pie by Me Amoeba
89.  Banana Peanut Butter “Ice Cream” by Lemons and Loafers
90.  Healthy Jell-O by Becoming Raw
91.  Healthy Popsicle by Becoming Raw
92.  Ricotta Millet Pudding by Lottie and Doof
93.  Blackberry, Honey and Yogurt Pops by Lottie and Doof
94.  Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp by Clean and Delicious
95.  Strawberry Mango sorbet Popsicles by Live a Delicious Life
  96. Coconut Pudding by Edna Michaeli
97.  Awesome Raw Coconut-Almond Fudge by Aamina Barbara Arnoth
98.  Heather’s Maple Squash Muffins by I Wanna Cookie
99.  Coconut Cherry Chia Bomb by Maureen O’Neal
100. Tropical Mango Banana Sherbert by Delicious Nutrition
Need more summer recipe inspiration?

Check out these recipes from IIN!