Apple Manchego Salad

This salad is a family favourite around here! My mum makes it fairly often for big family gatherings because it’s super simple to make, looks really fancy, and tastes amazing! I always just serve mine up without the cheese :) just as tasty!

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp sherry vinegar (or pear vinegar)
• 1 tsp honey
• 1tsp grainy mustard
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• 8 cups mixed greens
• 1/3 lb manchego cheese, shaved thin
• 4 apples, very thinly sliced

Directions

1. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a pan over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. When they’re nice and golden, season with some salt and transfer to a paper towel to cool. Really important to keep an eye on them while they’re toasting and constantly stir them – they tend to burn very easily!
2. To make the dressing, combine the rest of the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, and salt and pepper.
3. Now to assemble the salad! In a large salad bowl, throw in your greens, apples and cheese. Top with the pumpkin seeds and drizzle on the dressing. Serve and enjoy!

Grilled Asparagus and Mushroom Salad

This salad is seriously a keeper. It was such a nice side to go along with BBQ chicken, as well as a break from traditional lettuce salads :) The original recipe is from Gwenyth Paltrow’s beautiful cookbook, It’s All Good.  The dressing is absolutely fantastic! I’ll definitely use it again for lots of different salads :) ENJOY

Ingredients for Salad

1. 1 bunch of asparagus
2. 2 portobello mushrooms
3. 2 tsp toasted black sesame seeds (optional)

Ingredients for Dressing

1. 1 shallot
2. 1 tsp rice vinegar
3. 1 tsp plum vinegar
4. 1 tsp tamari (or soy sauce)
5. 2 tsp water
6. 1 tbsp sesame oil
7. 1 lime, juiced
8. pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

1. To make the dressing, peel and finely chop the shallot. Throw it in a bowl with the rest of the dressing ingredients. Give it a good whisk. Set aside.
2. Heat the BBQ or grill pan to medium heat and brush with olive oil. Grill the mushrooms (cap side down) for about 20 minutes. When the mushrooms are about half done, throw the asparagus on the grill as well.
3. For the last few minutes of grilling, turn up the heat to high to let them all crisp up.
4. To serve, thinly slice the mushrooms and asparagus. Arrange on a platter and top with the shallot dressing. Garnish with the black sesame seeds. Wooooooo all done :) Enjoy the yumminess.

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpea and Kale Salad

This recipe originally comes from the Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook “It’s All Good.”  Right now, it is BY FAR my favourite place to find healthy, delicious recipes.  Everyone needs to run out and grab this cookbook ASAP!  I switch up the recipes a bit to suit my own taste, but I haven’t seen a single thing in the book that doesn’t sound delightful.  The few things that I’ve made so far have been heaven :)

Makes 4 side servings        Prep Time: 15 min        Cooking Time: 45 min

Ingredients

1. 1 can organic chickpeas
2. 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
3. 2 cups kale
4. Olive oil
5. Unrefined sea salt, a few pinches
6. 1 tbsp dijon mustard
7. 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
8. Black pepper
9. 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rince the chickpeas and pat them dry with a paper towel.  On a large roasting pan or baking sheet, toss the chickpeas, cauliflower, a few tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt.  Roast for about 45 min or until everything is dark brown.
3. To make the dressing, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, pinch of salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Next, rinse, de-stem and dry the kale.  Massage with a paper towel to soften it up.  Place in a serving bowl along with the parsley and dressing.  Toss to coat the kale evenly.
5. Once the cauliflower and chickpeas are done, let cool a few minutes then add to the bowl and give it a good mix. Serve and enjoy!

Kale Caesar Salad

I saw this recipe on Instagram and was instantly in love! I made it that night for dinner along with some baked chicken and was AMAZED! Even Cale said it tasted almost exactly like regular, unhealthy caesar salad dressing.  Woohoo – that’s definitely a win in my books.

I used to absolutely LOVE caesar salad but gave up eating it because it’s just soooo unhealthy.  It’s amazing that there are healthy substitutes for almost all the comfort foods out there.  It just takes some time to experiment and be creative in the kitchen with clean recipes :)

Note – Don’t skip out the nutritional yeast in this dressing – it’s really what gives it that classic caesar salad parmesan taste.  Nutritional yeast is found in the bulk section of pretty much any grocery store.

Ingredients for Dressing

• 1 ripe avocado
• 4 cloves minced garlic or 1 head of roasted garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• pinch of unrefined salt and black pepper

Ingredients for Salad

• Spinach or any type of lettuce
• Kale
• Asparagus, steamed (optional)
• Green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Throw all the dressing ingredients in a blender and pulse until just combined.  The more you blend it, the fluffier it will get because of the avocado.
2. To make the salad, wash the kale and dry it with a paper towel.  Massage the kale until it becomes soft.  Throw it into a large bowl.  Add some caesar dressing in and give it a good mix and press the dressing into the leaves.  I let this sit for about 10 minutes while I was chopping up the other veggies to let the kale absorb the flavours from the dressing (and really so it tastes less bitter and well…like kale).
3. Throw in the remaining salad ingredients into the bowl and toss. Add more dressing if needed.

Cale and Shasta on our hike up Quarry Rock in North Van 

Everything Salad w/ Green Coconut Curry Dressing

Ingredients for Salad

1. Lettuce
2. Broccoli, steamed
3. Golden Beets, steamed
4. Cucumber, chopped
5. Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
6. Roasted pumpkin seeds
7. Onions, chopped

Ingredients for Dressing

1. 1/4 cup cashews
2. 1/4 cup coconut flakes
3. 1/4 cup cilantro
4. 1/2 tsp salt
5. 2 tbsp lemon juice
6. 1 garlic clove
7. 1/4 inch piece ginger
8. 1/4 tsp cayenne
9. 1/3 cup water
10. 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined.  You might need to add more or less water/olive oil depending on the consistency you want the dressing.  Makes about 1 cup of dressing so there will be lots leftover :)
2. To assemble the salad, throw all the ingredients into a large bowl, top with dressing, and give it a good mix! Enjoy :)

Note – add a grilled chicken breast to make this a great meal!

Thank you to the Gorilla Food cookbook for this great salad dressing recipe!!

Celery Parmesan Salad

I’ve kind of been obsessed with celery lately.  Other then carrots, it’s my new favourite snack food.  So of course I would LOVE a salad made of celery. My mum made this a few weeks ago and I was in love.  Amazing side dish to go along with some baked chicken :) YUM!

Makes 4 – 6 servings       Prep Time: 1 hr 30 min 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp minced onion
• 1 tsp celery seed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 cups celery, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Directions

• To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, 1/4 cup lemon juice, onion, celery seed, salt and pepper.
• In a large mixing bowl, toss the sliced celery with 1 tbsp lemon juice and pinch of salt.
• Next, toss the celery with enough dressing to moisten well.  Cover and refrigerate for about an hour to marinate.
•  When ready to serve, place the mixture into a serving bowl.  Top with the parmesan, pumpkin seeds, and parsley.  Serve and enjoy!!

Original Recipe: foodnetwork.com

Kale Quinoa Salad w/ Pine Nuts and Feta

My lovely, beautiful sister made this salad for a family BBQ.  Thank god she made a ton because I seriously couldn’t get enough of it!! I was eating leftover quinoa for about 5 days after :) It was so flavourful! This recipe is a definite keeper.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cups quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 cups chopped kale, washed and taken off the stem
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 cup feta cheese (I used goat feta)
• unrefined salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

• In a medium pot over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil.  Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes or until translucent.  Next, add the quinoa keep stirring for about 2 – 3 minutes until lightly toasted.
• Add the water and kale.  Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed.  Remove from heat and pour quinoa into a bowl.  Stir occasionally.
• To make the sauce, whisk together the vinegar and mustard in a small bowl.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Slowing add 3 tbsp olive oil while whisking.
• Pour the dressing over the quinoa and give it a good stir. Next, stir in the pine nuts and feta cheese.  ENJOY!  You can serve this salad warm or cold it’s up to you!

Original Recipe: from Epicurious

Warm Lentil & Kale Bowl w/ Poached Egg

Wow…where the hell did summer go?! It disappeared in a day! Amanda and I were absolutely cooking out for a run on Friday and now it’s freezing and raining! I needed something to warm me up last night for dinner and barely had any groceries in the house…so this is what I came up with. It sounds a bit weird but it was actually pretty good! Simple, easy, HEALTHY dinner :) ENJOY!

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1/4 head of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 large stems of kale, chopped (remove stems)
• 1 can lentils
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups chicken broth (organic, low sodium)
• pepper to taste
• 2 eggs

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan or pot, heat up the olive oil. Add the carrot, onion, cauliflower and garlic and sauté for about 5 – 8 minutes.
2. Add the kale and continue to cook until the leaves wilt (about 3 minutes).
3. Next, add the lentils, bay leaf and chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil.  Cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Poach up your eggs once the lentils are done and you’re good to go. Salt and pepper to taste. You can also serve this with a scoop of brown rice if you like.

Note – you can use whatever vegetables you have in your fridge that need to be used up

Caprese Skewers

These little skewers were so much fun to make! Thank you Pinterest for the great appetizer idea and my lovely sister for helping assemble all these little guys :) Great alternative to the unhealthy appies that are normally served at dinner parties. If you’re not a cheese eater, substituting avocado for the mozzarella would work perfectly. If I had been making these for just myself, that’s exactly what I would have done.

I think assembling the skewers is pretty self explanatory, but I’ll write up instructions anyway lol.

Ingredients:

• grape tomatoes
• basil leaves
• little mozerella or bocconcini balls
• little wooden skewers
• balsamic vinegar or balsamic reduction (optional)
• olive oil

Directions:

• To assemble, place one tomato, 1/2 a basil leaf, one bocconcini ball, and another tomato onto a wooden skewer.
• If you like, drizzle with a little bit balsamic and olive oil.

Heritage Tomato Salad

Thank you to my lovely mother for this recipe! She made it for dinner last night and I was very impressed :)

GUEST POST

Serves 6       Prep Time: 15 min

Ingredients

• 6 heritage tomatoes
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• To prepare the salad, slice the tomatoes to 1/4 inch thickness. Next, slice the cucumber and the onion into very thin slices. Layer the veggies on a serving plate.
• To make the dressing, add remaining ingredients into a shaker bottle and mix until very well combined.
• Pour the dressing over the salad about half an hour before serving.  This will allow time to marinate :) ENJOY!