Author: Jennifer

Love sharing and exploring interesting food.. Especially plant based dishes. Traveling, movies, audio books, exploring outdoors with friends and family all fill my heart with joy and peace.

Healthy Eating Tip: Adding Protein to Salads

“Sometimes you feel like a nut…”🎶

As I’m adding some peanuts to my salad today, that catchy tune popped into my head. More often that not, I add nuts to my salads. Today it is a simple handful of dry-roasted Planter’s Peanuts. I have different nut mixtures ready to go, however, so that way I can mix it up and have a variety of flavors on salads.

Nuts proteinToday’s salad is loaded with a variety of goodness, including:

  • Mixed greens
  • Beets
  • Lemon cucumber
  • Hummus
  • Mini bell pepper
  • Chia seed
  • Kalamata olives
  • Dijon Balsamic dressing

I love a variety of texture and flavor, so that’s why my salads are often loaded. Look for fun ways to make your salad an explosion of flavor, texture and taste. If you want some crunch, definitely add some peanuts. How are you adding protein to your salad today?

I’ll see you at the table!

 

Lemon Spinach with Dijon Balsamic Dressing

spinach lemon saladI’ve never tried lemon spinach before. Packed with lots of citrus flavors, this leafy green made a wonderful tart salad. Wish I bought more at the Farmer’s Market so I could also try cooking with it.
Ingredients:
1. Bag of freshly picked and cleaned lemon spinach
2. Lemon cucumber, cubed
3. Caramelized walnuts
4. Tiny amount of thinly sliced red onion
5. Your favorite dijon balsamic dressing

Directions:
1. Toss together all ingredients and eat immediately.
2. For the meat lovers, add grilled cubed chicken, egg slices or blue cheese crumbles.

Recipe: Vegan Cauliflower and Potato Curry

Easy to make Vegan curry that’s great stand alone dish, or side dish.

Cauliflower and Potato Curry

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, medium cube
2 cups carrot, diced
1 white onion, small dice
2 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1-15 oz can cooked potatoes, medium cube
2 cup frozen peas
1-15 oz can coconut milk
1 cup water

Directions:
1. Using soup pot, water sautee onion over medium heat for 4 minutes.
2. Add garlic and additional water as needed for water sauteeing.
3. Turn heat up to medium-high and add cauliflower, 1 cup water, coconut milk, curry and turmeric – bring to slow boil and then turn heat down to medium-low for 15 minutes.
4. Pulse 3 cups of mixture in a high powered blender (I use @Blendtec) until smooth and add back to the pot. [WARNING: Blending hot food has a high potential of exploding out of the blender, so blend carefully with the lid tightly secured]
5. Add carrots and potatoes, covered and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Add frozen peas, mix through and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.

Serve with lightly toasted naan, basmati rice. Chopped cilantro and sriracha for garnish.

I’ll see you at the table.

Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

brussel sproutsDinner is going to be good when there are roasted Brussels Sprouts as a side dish!

Ingredients:
4 cups of Brussels Sprouts, rinsed, ends cut off, cut in half
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line cookie sheet with #parchment
3. After cutting the Brussels Sprouts, place in bowl. Toss to coat with the olive oil then spread evenly on parchment lined cookie sheet.
4. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. If you really wanna kick in the pants, add a little Ghost Pepper salt (like a tiny teensie weensie sprinkle. Seriously.)
5. Bake for 30 minutes, checking at 15-minute mark. Rotate cookie sheet if your oven heats inconsistently.
6. Eat as soon as they come out of the oven.
Enjoy those little bites of roasted heaven!

I’ll see you at the table!

Recipe: Loaded Salad

Loaded salads are baaack!

I remember planning for a vegan pregnancy. 2 months into the pregnancy and I craved a hamburger. I still ate a lot of #veggies and fruit, but meat was back on the menu. Salads weren’t satisfying anymore, which totally bummed me out. Any of you who’ve dealt with pregnancy cravings KNOWS what I’m talking about when I say, “What baby wants, baby gets!” Now I’m past breastfeeding and starting to feel more in control of my eating. Enter stage left, the grand and ggloriousLOADED SALAD!! This salad tastes great and fills my belly.
Ingredients per salad:
5 oz lettuce
1 roma tomato, diced
3 sweet mini bell peppers, diced
1/2 cup hummus
3 tablespoons spicy nut mixture
1/4 cup salsa for salad dressing
5-6 kalamata olives, pitted

Directions:
🍅Using large bowl, layer in this order
🍅Lettuce
🍅Salsa sprinkled on lettuce
🍅Hummus in corner with kalamatas on top
🍅 Tomatoes in 2nd corner
🍅Bell peppers in 3rd corner
🍅Peanut mixture in 4th corner

Optional toppings:
Radishes
Avocado
Celery
Carrots
Seeds – chia, sunflower, and/or #pumpkin

Fill your belly and feel great! I’ll see you at the table!

Restaurant Review: Tosh’s Ramen – SLC

tosh ramenRestaurant Review: Tosh’s Ramen in SLC ⭐⭐⭐

Dishes:
Vegetarian Ramen with vegan yam noodles (3/5 ⭐)
Vegetables included baby bok choy, two different mushrooms, bean sprouts and green onions – the best was the marinated shiitake mushroom. Vegetable broth was pretty robust for vegetable broth. The yam noodles were the weird chewy kind and not enough. Definitely not enough food to be a complete meal on its own.

Vegetarian Gyoza (3/5 ⭐)
More of a pot sticker, the gyozas were filled with diced cabbage and onions. Pan fried too much for my liking and making it difficult to bite in half. The dipping sauce was a tart garlic soy sauce very strong flavor.

Vegan: 👍
Vegetarian: 👍
Meat lover: 👍
Gluten free: 👎
Family friendly: 👎
👎High chair missing clips to actually keep toddler in seat
👎Foul language rock music
Hubby: 👍 Enjoyed the spicy pork ramen
Return: Yes. I will have them custom make ramen #soup next time. No toddler either.

Cherries

cherriesCherry season is here, heralding summer! A few ways to enjoy this little treat:
🍒 Keep a bowl on the kitchen counter for a quick sweet treat.
🍒 Cut in half, pitted then add to green salad with nuts.
🍒 Add to pancake batter.
🍒 Add to stuffing for side dish.
🍒 Sprinkle on granola.
🍒 Layer with yogurt.

Thank you cherries for showing up – you sweet little round packages of delight!

I’ll see you at the table!

Recipe: New Green Smoothie

new green smothieStart your week off with a nutrient packed green smoothie… You’ll feel awesome!

Today’s green smoothie recipe:
3 kale leaves
1 banana
10 baby carrots
1 apple
1 cup pineapple orange juice
1 cup water
2 cup ice

Blend in your Blendtec until smooth and enjoy a healthy way to start your week!