Kale Salads Are In Fashion

by Kim on May 18, 2013

Kale Salads Are In Fashion!

Kale Salad

I found a neat little article yesterday that I thought I would share with you. According to the New York Times Kale Salads are popular! The great thing about Kale is the concentration of vitamins within the green leaves. This can make Kale a fantastic base to any salad.

The New York Times point to several different restaurants in the New York area and gives a highlight overview of the salad including price. Kale is in season, I fully recommend this spring trend!

Read the full story on the New York Times website.

In the interest of fashion here is a quick little delectable salad for this spring that may become one of your favorites…

I can not take credit for this recipe, I was told about this salad by one of my readers. Thanks Anne!

5-Step Kale Salad
vegan, makes 6 cups

4 cups chopped raw kale (about 1/2 small bunch)
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1 small avocado, diced
1/2 cup sweet onion, diced
2-3 Tbsp seeds or nuts (I added some mineral-rich pepitas)

*you can easily change up the veggie and other add-ins as desired.

Simple Sweet Tahini Dressing
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice + pinch of zest
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)
2-3 pinches cayenne
pinch of salt + a few pinches of black pepper

5-Step Kale Salad

Step 1. Wash your fresh kale greens. Run each thick leaf under warm to hot water and massage any grit away. Then refresh the leaves by running them all under ice cold water. (The hot and coldest settings on your tap will work.)

Step 2. Prep your ingredients. Remove the thick vein from your kale leaves and discard. (You could keep this on, but it is quite chewy.) Also prep your other veggies however you’d like. Chop, dice, cube, shred… Add the chopped kale and veggies to a large mixing bowl.

Step 3. Make your dressing. In a small bowl, whisk your dressing together.

Step 4. Toss! Add the dressing to your bowl of veggies and kale and start tossing! You could massage if you’d like Fluff and toss until the dressing is well absorbed into the greens and veggies.

Step 5. Chill it! Allow at least an hour for the dressing to really sink into the ingredients. Plus chilling everything makes it refreshing and tasty as a cold salad side. You can even make this salad the night before you serve it. Overnight chilling works! The greens should be eaten within 48 hours though.

I suggest that you look at the pictures of this 5 step kale salad.

Take Care,

Kim

Please Spread The Word!

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Salad Diversity – Easy Salad Asparagus Salad And Other Goodies

by Kim on May 13, 2013

Salad Diversity – Is a regular article that is like a wrap of different things happening in the Salad World. I realized that is was a little selfish of me to just bring you creations from myself, so I thought I would expand by writing a regular Salad Column called “Salad Diversity”. This will showcase interesting, tasty, wholesome salad and salad dressings that are new and refreshing. I hope enjoy.

The are many great salad ideas, I just found these on several different sites… I will be trying these salads this week.

1 - Easy Asparagus Recipe: Asparagus Ribbon Salad - By Elizabeth Stark and Brian Campbell at www.brooklynsupper.net

This recipe come all wrapped up with a little story that the authors give to introduce the recipe, nice a refreshing change to all the boring food blogs out there right now.

2 – For Nat’l Salad Month, Chef Maricel Presilla’s award-winning salads - By Betty Cortina from NBCLatino.com

In this article there is a recipe for Maricel Presilla’s Cuban Birthday Party Chicken Salad. There is also a supporting recipe for Chicken Fricasse, Cuban Style.

3 – Do you think ordering a salad at a restaurant is always the best bet?

Think again!

Here is a recent article from Metronews.ca by By Rose Reisman that indicated three amazing things from a particular salad from Chili’s (Quesadilla Explosion Salad with balsamic dressing) had the following stats:

1,300 calories: 1300

Grams of Fat: 86

mg of Sodium: 2470

The sodium alone is enough for 2 day s of the recommended daily allowance. Hmmmm, you might want to think about that one for a few second before ordering it. The article goes on to tell you a better salad choice from chili’s, you might want to take a look.

I hope you enjoy these recipe for these delectable salads.

Take Care,

Kim.

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Homemade Spring Salad Dressings – From Care2

by Kim on May 11, 2013

I wish I could take credit for these amazing salad dressings…

But I can not… But i can help spread the word about them. Here are some excerpts from an article from Care2.com (click here for a link to the article).

I know springtime is here when salad bowls begin to fill up and become increasingly colorful as fresh lettuces, herbs and edible flowers such as violets come into season. And for every springy salad, there are a dozen zingy salad dressings to garnish your mix and pack a flavor punch that really says, “this is what life is all about.”

The problem with most store-bought salad dressings is that they offer too much of certain things — too much sugar, too much salt, too much non-preferred oil or too many unrecognizable ingredients — instead of playing up natural, herbaceous flavors and the delicate perfumes of rich, high-quality oils. Quality ingredients are key, and customizing the proportions you use of each is an art you owe it to yourself to cultivate.

A good vinaigrette is basically just the result of good oil (1 to 2 parts) meeting good vinegar or citrus juice (1 part), plus a little seasoning with herbs or spices. Though it’s best to balance bitter greens with sweet dressings and vice versa, there are few rules to follow when it comes to blending your own dressing. For example, I often adapt sugary recipes to my personal taste by halving the sugar.

The six recipes below make good use of oils and vinegars. Use this handy vinegar guide to discover what different types have to offer, from herb and balsamic to rice and wine vinegars. And as a final note on cooking oils, learn to read their labels to ensure quality. Cooking oil designations can be confusing and inconsistent.

Rhubarb Vinaigrette

Yields about 2 cups.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water
4 stalks rhubarb (about 2 loosely packed cups), cut into thin slices
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch coarse sea salt
Several twists freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

Heat water and honey over medium heat. When the mixture begins to boil, add rhubarb and boil five minutes more, stirring often. Stir in vinegar and lemon zest, and cook five to 10 more minutes, until dressing is reduced by about half. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly. Whisk the olive oil into the dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or cold over fresh salad greens.

Roasted Shallot Blue Cheese Vinaigrette - click here

Classic Caesar Dressing - click here

From-Scratch Thousand Island - click here

Read more for the other recipes – click here!

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Read Your Labels! Whole Foods mixes up chicken, vegan salads at some Northeastern stores

by Kim on May 11, 2013

It is extremely important to read your food labels, it can cost you…

The following article contain excerpts from an article posted by the Washingpost (click here to read the full article).

“AUSTIN, Texas — Whole Foods Market Inc. said that labels on a chicken salad and those on a vegan version were reversed at some of its cold food bars in the Northeast.

The mislabeled salads — a curried chicken salad and a vegan curried “chick’n” salad — were sold in 15 stores in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, Whole Foods said. In some locations, the company said the salads were sold in the cold food bars where customers can scoop food into containers, which are then weighed at the register. In other locations, it said the salads were displayed in the prepared food sections behind glass. The salads were sold on Tuesday and Wednesday.”

The switch in the labels could have cause some serious medical conditions according to the report. the articles says that “…people who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to soy or eggs run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they eat the salads…”

I just wanted to pass along this information, I thought you would like to know it

Take Care,

Kim

click here to read the full article.

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Salad Dressings – Salad Dressings – It’s All About The Salad Dressing

by Kim on May 11, 2013

It’s All About The Salad Dressing

It’s all about the salad dressing! Typically you’ve got your lettuce, other vegetables, maybe some cheese and other fixings. What is the hardest choice? What salad dressing should I choose! This can be a frustrating proposition because there are so many to choose from, so let’s talk about it for a few minutes.

Why is it so hard to pick a salad dressing? It is what completes a perfect salad in most cases. The idea that bigger is better or I should say the more the merrier when it comes to salad dressings is a common notion. What if you’re watching your weight or you just want a healthy meal? Keep in mind that most salad dressings are loaded with calories and carbohydrates so you may want to keep that in mind.

There are many different kinds of salad dressings, but what is best for you?

Personally, I like to make my own salad dressing, but you might not have the time or desire to make one yourself. What is your next best choice? You run to the grocery store. When you get there you have a difficult task because of the sheer number of choices you face. The shelves are lined with literally dozens and dozens of choices. There are many brands which include Kraft, Hidden Valley, Wishbone, Newman’s own and others. There are vegan brands like Spectrum Organics, Drew’s All Natural, Brianna’s and Annie’s Naturals. It is very overwhelming to make this decision at times.

Then again, there are other times when only ONE salad dressing will fit the bill. For instance: Caesar salad, which for obvious reasons only really works with a Caesar salad dressing.

If you like Cobb Salad then you might want to try a Basil Green Goddess Salad dressing (A great Recipe is just below*) It only takes about minutes to make. You will notice the recipe below that I do not include anchovies, this is a personal decision, by all means add them if you are so inclined.

Ingredients

1 cup good mayonnaise

1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (6 to 7 scallions)

1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup sour cream

Salt and pepper to your liking

Directions

Place the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the sour cream and process just until blended. (If not using immediately, refrigerate the dressing until ready to serve.)

Salads have a reputation of being a healthy meal, or at least the healthier part of a meal. As mentioned earlier though, salad dressings are sometimes overlooked and if the truth be told, the salad dressing is going to be the least healthy part of your salad. Don’t think exclusively about the taste if you are concerned about your waist line or health.

If you choose a pre-packaged salad then you should be reading the labels on the salad dressing bottles. Keep in mind that a serving size is only two tablespoons. The average American puts on 4 to 6 tablespoons of dressing for every salad they eat. This would equal about 40 to 60 grams of fat. This is something to consider.

How can we find healthier dressings? Look no further than the same grocery store shelf. Many companies are now adding low fat, low calorie dressings to their product lines. For many the taste is not that much different and the price is about the same, making them worth the difference for your health.

If you want to try to make your own salad dressing at home it can be fun to experiment with new flavors and making salad dressing is quick and easy. Some staple items for making salad dressings are Olive

oil, flavored vinegars, lemon and/or lime juice (or you could have the fresh fruits), salt, pepper and various spices. So, start experimenting and enjoying your creations.

Take Care,

Kim

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How To Store Lettuce for Crispness & Freshness

by Kim on May 4, 2013

How To Store Lettuce for Crispness & Freshness

When hunger strikes and you want something light and delicious, you might think that a robust zesty salad will hit the spot. You hurry to the refrigerator in anticipation, looking for lettuce as the base of your salad, only to find that your lettuce has turned brown and soft. Oh well, back to the drawing board. Has this happened to you? I know the feeling and frustration.

Storing lettuce can be tricky, but if you want fresh lettuce the following tips will help you…

Lettuce is a staple in the mind of most people and depending on what you choose lettuce is not cheap. If not stored properly you could end up throwing out a ton of lettuce. It is like throwing money away, there really is no reason it for it. As you already know most lettuce can be bought in a bag or by the head. It doesn’t matter which way you buy it, if not stored properly lettuce can and will go bad in a very little amount of time.

The first step to keeping lettuce fresh and crisp is to buy fresh lettuce, sounds pretty logical right? How many times have you bought lettuce all wrapped up in plastic? Buying lettuce that is already wrapped will turn brown faster, often times in less than two days your lettuce will start to decay.

The same holds true for lettuce that has already been chopped up by a metal knife. You can tell because the edges will turn slightly brown, sometimes this happens in the matter of hours.

A decent grocery store will have a system to keep vegetables hydrated. This system usually involves misting the vegetables. Unless you’re loaded, you can’t really afford to have a misting system at home. So, you should make it common practice to thoroughly rinse off your lettuce (or any other vegetables). After rinsing off the lettuce you should thoroughly dry.
The storage container can be a plastic bag, it just has to be seal-able Another thing to consider is condensation. Moisture will sometimes gathering inside the storage container, but if you line the inside with a paper towel you can keep your lettuce fresh for about a week.off the lettuce leaves before placing the lettuce in an air tight seal-able container.

These days most refrigerators have a crisper bin, always keep your lettuce in there. Some refrigerators have elaborate temperature control settings such as humidity settings. By keeping the humidity setting low the lettuce will remain hydrated. This may sound counter intuitive, but if this setting is set to high, you run the risk of freezing the excess moister. If this happens your lettuce will decay very quickly.

Another tip for storing lettuce freshness is to always store the lettuce by its self. Any vegetables or any other things that you are going to add to your salad should be stored in another

container. If stored together the excess moisture and juices will cause your lettuce to wilt and get mushy. Never add salad dressing then store a salad for any period of time, this will turn lettuce extremely fast.

The last tip is simple is a little trick that I learned through a friend, it has now become a personal preference of mine. I pull apart my lettuce instead of cutting it. It has been my
By storing your lettuce properly you can have a fresh made salad anytime you wish. There’s nothing like a good, healthy salad. Go ahead and buy that head of lettuce today and feed your craving whenever the urge strikes, not whenever you’re lettuce feels up to it.experience that lettuce will not last as long if you cut it with a knife.

If you are in need of storage containers I found this 50 piece set for less than $35 with free shipping.