Salad Jars

If you want to move away from processed food and gain control over what you put in your mouth, packing lunch to work is the way to go. But who wants to wash and chop veggies in the morning when you are half awake and barely have time to even eat breakfast?

Here is the solution - PLANNING, if you want to win in the kitchen. Make 3 or 5 of these on Sunday night and you'll have lunch the rest of the week. How about too tired to make dinner at night when you come back from work? Pop open one of these and you get something way better than a mediocre take-out.

Will the salad get gross after a few days? Honestly.... I've tried up to 3 days, even the avocados stay fresh in these air-tight jars!

But there is a technique in layering. I am giving you more of a formula than a  recipe. Be creative with your combinations!

Use a quart size mason jar, layer in this order from bottom to top - dressing, hard veggies, protein, grains, soft veggies or fruit, nuts, seeds and greens.  When you are ready to eat the salad, shake and toss and empty content in a bowl. 

Jar Recipe 1:

  • Creamy basil dressing*
  • Radish
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Red Bell peppers
  • Cucumbers
  • White beans / chickpeas
  • Avocado
  • Arugula mix / spinach mix
  • Pumpkin seeds / walnuts

*Blend 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup of tahini, 3 cups of fresh basil leaves, 2 tsp of ground ginger, 2 tsp of garlic powder, juice form 2-3 lemons, 1 1/2 tsp of salt.

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Jar Recipe 2:

  • Thai peanut dressing*
  • Cucumbers
  • Radish
  • Carrots
  • Tomatoes
  • Cooked cabbage
  • Cooked quinoa
  • Tofu
  • Spinach leaves
  • Sesame seeds

*Combine 6 Tbsp of almond or peanut butter, juice of 1 lime, 2 Tbsp of tamari, 3 Tbsp of sesame oil, 3 Tbsp of water.

Jar Recipe 3:

  • Ranch dressing* (Dairy Free)
  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Radish
  • Celery
  • Cucumbers
  • Steamed broccoli
  • Avocado
  • Cooked lentils
  • Baby kale leaves
  • Walnuts

*Blend 1 cup of raw cashews, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of dried parsley, 1 1/2 Tbsp of dried dill, 2 tsp of onion powder, 1 1/2 tsp of salt.

Noodle-less Pad Thai

If you love noodles but fear carb , here is a perfectly satisfying "noodle-less" noodle-like dish for you.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground pork (or other ground meat) marinated with salt, tamari, white pepper and sesame oil.
  • 1 small head of cabbage, sliced into flat noodle like thickness.

Cooking method:

  • In a large pan, add pork, break it up with a spatula and let it brown a little.
  • Add cabbage. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how "al dente" you like your cabbage to be. Add salt to taste. If there is excess water, cook uncovered for a few extra minutes.

Pad Thai sauce:

  • Combine 6 Tbsp of almond or peanut butter, juice of 1 lime, 2 Tbsp of tamari, 3 Tbsp of sesame oil, 3 Tbsp of water.
  • Pour sauce over cabbage mix, serve with sesame seeds, ground peanuts, scallions, cilantro, lime wedges and favorite hot sauce.

 

Quinoa fiesta with mango curry dressing

This recipe reminds me of the "sweet curry" U.K. style I used to love when I was a university student in London. It is slightly fruity and not at all spicy. I had something like that at a Whole Foods salad bar and had been trying to replicate it ever since.

Ingredients:

  • cooked quinoa
  • quartered grapes
  • chopped mangoes
  • chopped red bell peppers
  • chopped cashews
  • cilantro
  • scallion (or coriander as they call it in the UK)

Dressing:

  • 2 tsp of olive oil
  • 1/3 inch cube of fresh ginger
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/2 tsp of curry powder
  • pinch of cumin
  • pinch of paprika
  • juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • salt to taste

Mix everything together. Go easy with the dressing, you might not need all of it. If grapes and mangoes are not ripe or sweet enough, add dried cranberries for extra sweetness.

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"Casual" cookies

They were meant to be "cashew cookies", but my friend thought of a better name for them - a casual nibble with zero guilt, because they are gluten free, flour free and with no added sugar whatsoever. Eat them for breakfast, snack or dessert.

They really are yummy, seriously!

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of raw, unsalted cashews
  • 1 cup of unsweetened dried coconut
  • 2 large bananas
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 2 tbsp of almond milk

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2: Grind cashews in food processor with some small chunks remaining.

Step 3: Transfer to a bowl and mix in shredded coconut.

Step 4: Combine bananas, egg, vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt in a food processor and blend to create a thick, brown paste.

Step 5: Pour the paste over the cashew-coconut mixture. Mix well.

Step 6: Add almond milk to add more moisture to the mix.

Step 7: Scoop 1 Tbsp of mixture at a time to cookie sheet. Flatten them and make sure they are not too thick. You should have about two dozen cookies.

Step 8: Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool completely and store them in the fridge.

Baked chickpeas snack

It is much easier to eat well for the main meals, but a healthy snack? Forget about it!  There are very few healthy, unprocessed options out there other than nuts and fruits. But here is one - baked chickpeas or garbanzo beans. My daughter LOVES it (but she also loves kale and leaves in general...)!

I wish I could tell you that canned chickpeas work just as well in this recipe, but they don't. So I would start from scratch, soak the dried beans overnight. Make sure there is at least 4 or 5 inches of water above the chickpeas because they expand big time. (Now walk away and go to bed.)

The next morning, drain and rinse the chickpeas. Put them in a large pot and cover with a few inches of water, boil for 1-1 1/2 hours. If you have a pressure cooker or vacuum cooker, cook according to instructions. When chickpeas are cooked, drain again.

Dry the cooked and drained chickpeas with paper towel. Spread them on a baking tray. Drizzle olive oil on top. Mix well. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until crunchy and crisp.

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Remove from oven. While they are still hot, mix in salt and desired spices like cayenne, cumin or chilli powder. Let cool and transfer to an air-tight container. They should keep in room temperature for about a week.

How to cook the perfect quinoa

Quinoa is a low glycemic grain (or technically a seed) that doesn't spike up your blood sugar level like white rice or potatoes do. It is also protein-dense, so eat away.......white, red, even rainbow. It is also a perfect last minute thing you can whip up because brown rice just takes too darn long to cook.

Rinse 1 cup of quinoa in a mesh strainer under tap water, it washes away the saponins that make quinoa otherwise bitter.

Here is where I disagree with most folks out there. I like my quinoa kind of crisp and bouncy. My quinoa:water ratio is 1:1 1/4, radically less then the 1:2 ratio most recipes call for. I never know why. Maybe after the quinoa has been washed, it already retains some of the water.

So I repeat, add 1 1/4 cup of water to 1 cup of rinsed quinoa, a sprinkle of salt, bring it to boil, cover, turn the heat down to low, simmer for about 15 minutes. When cooked, let it sit in the pan for another 10 minutes or so. Fluff and serve.