Raw Pear and Bean Sprouts Salad

Wonderful lunch :-)
This salad turned out quite nice... It was very easy to put together and had a re-freshing zesty flavor.

How to sprout beans

Sprout People has some good info on sprouting.

It took me close to 4 days to sprout the mung beans. I prefer them when the tails are very small, if you want them to be longer it will take you more than 4 days - I don't know how many because I haven't really tried that :-)

I had no special tools for sprouting I simply soaked them overnight  in plenty of water and then drained them. I then spread the beans in a colander and put them in a warm place for 2 days. I chose my oven because its cold here, otherwise your counter-top would be fine. Twice or thrice a day I sprinkled them with water. And then after a couple of days they just sprouted :-)

They had no bad coloring, no funky smells or any kind of bitter flavor.
They tasted wonderful. Light and crunchy!

It is quite a commitment to start prepping for lunch 4 days in advance :-) just skip them if you don't want to trouble yourself too much.

(prep time 10 mins)
(serves 1)
Ingredients

Bosc Pear 1 large (a little over 3/4 cup chopped)
Mung sprouts 1/3 cup
Red peppers 1/2 medium sized (1/2 cup chopped)
Salad greens 2 cups *I used Organic Girl's I heart baby Kale!
(baby kale, tango, baby spinach, baby green chard, green romaine, baby green oakleaf lettuce)

Vinaigrette

Red onions 1/2 Tbs - minced very fine
Garlic 1/4 Tbs - minced very fine
Macadamia nut oil 1 Tbs *I used Brookfarm Natural Macadamia Nut Oil
(I tend to consider most cold press nut oils as raw... I know some might not agree. So please don't use this if you have concerns)
Fresh lime juice 1 Tbs
Lime zest  1/4 tsp
Pink Himalayan salt 1/3 tsp
Fresh ground coarse pepper 1/8 tsp

Whisk together all the ingredients in a large bowl and keep aside.
You can use olive oil instead but macadamia oil was wonderful... very buttery and delicious. I highly recommend it.

Method

Simply chop the pear and red pepper into chunky pieces.
Toss these in the vinaigrette along with the mung sprouts and pour over the greens.
Enjoy.

 



 

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Butter Bean Salad

A lovely refreshing salad that I had with some herb roasted chicken breast.

I took this picture on day 3 so the colors of the vegetables are less vibrant but the salad itself still tasted great if not better :-)

 

(serves 3-4)
(prep time 15 mins)
Ingredients

Butter beans 2 14 oz cans
Cucumber 1/2 cup (diced small and seeds removed)
White onion 2 Tbs (diced small)
Red pepper 1/2 cup (diced small)
Green beans 1/3 cup (blanched and cut into small pieces)
Roma tomato 1 (diced small and seeds removed)
Celery 1/2 cup (diced small)

You can play around with the amounts.
Just make sure all the veggies are cut into a similar size.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and pour the vinaigrette on top.
Toss well.

Vinaigrette

Olive oil 2 Tbs
Fresh lime juice 3 Tbs
Red wine vinegar 1/2 Tbs
Minced garlic 1/2 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Pepper 1/8 tsp
Chili flakes 1/8 tsp

Whisk everything together with a fork for a few seconds and it's ready.

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Salmon With Grilled Fruit And Acerola Vinaigrette

♥ healthy

(serves 1)
(prep time 30 mins)
How it's done

Alaskan king salmon fillet slightly less than a pound
Rub some olive oil on all sides.
Season with some salt, coarse pepper, thyme and some chili flakes.
Cook on a medium grill for about 5-6 mins each side.

Grilled fruit salad

Nectarine 1 - cut into quarters
Plum 1 - cut into quarters
Fresh pineapple 2 wedges

Rub some olive oil on the fruits and grill on high heat for about 3-4 mins each side.
Allow to cool and chop them into smaller pieces.

I also added these veggies to the salad

Celery 1 Tbs - very finely diced
Red onions 1 Tbs - very finely diced
Green bell pepper 1 Tbs - very finely diced
Red bell Pepper 1 Tbs - very finely diced
Raw beet root 1 Tbs - very finely diced
Radicchio 3 Tbs - cut into strips
Romaine lettuce 1/4 cup - cut into strips
Fresh parsley 1/2 Tbs - chopped finely

Toss the fruits and the veggies together in a bowl with about 1 Tbs of acerola vinaigrette.
Serve along side the salmon. I used about 1/2 the amount of salad that was made.

Acerola Vinaigrette

Olive oil 4 Tbs
White wine vinegar 1 1/2 Tbs
Acerola jam 1 Tbs
Fresh ginger 1/4 tsp *optional
Garlic clove 1/2 tsp
Salt
Pepper

Emulsify all the ingredients with a hand blender.
The result will be a rich creamy white dressing.

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Fennel and Zucchini Salad

Had a friend over for lunch... one of the a  things I made was this Italian inspired salad.

(serves 4)
(prep time 15 mins)
Ingredients

I used a mandoline to slice all the veggies very thin and then julienned them with a knife. You can use a grater that has a slicer side or a food processor with a julienne insert. You can of course minimize slicing time by using matchstick carrots.

Fennel (bulb only) 1 cup (julienned)
Zucchini (un-peeled) 1 cup (julienned)
Baby carrots 1/2 cup (julienned)
Red onions 1/4 cup (julienned)
Red bell pepper 1/3 cup (julienned)

Vinaigrette

Olive oil 6-7 Tbs
Red wine vinegar 2-3 Tbs *Raw foodies use your favorite freshly squeezed citrus
Garlic 1 tsp (minced)
Salt 1/2 tsp
Pepper 1/4 tsp
Chili flakes 1/4 tsp
Chopped golden raisins 1/3 cup *Strict raw diet followers you could  use Vivapura Raw Monukka Raisins or Bob's Red Mill

Combine everything except the raisins in a blender and blend for a few seconds.... It should turn cloudy.
Then gently mix in the chopped golden raisins.
Pour this over the veggies and toss well.
Refrigerate for 30 mins to an hour before eating.

My friend and I had this with desi food... and it was great.
But I will grill a halibut steak to go with this for my hubby tomorrow.
:-)

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Bean Salad with Salsa Verde

Zesty and uber delicious!

(prep time 30 mins)

(serves 2-3)

Ingredients

Garbanzo Beans 1/2 cup

Kidney Beans 1/2 cup

White Beans 1/2 cup

Garlic 1/2 tsp (minced)

White onion 2-3 Tbs (chopped fine)

Green pepper 2-3 Tbs (chopped fine)

Tomatoes 1 med (chopped fine)

Jalapeño 1 tsp (chopped very fine)

Salsa Verde 1/2 cup 

White wine vinegar 3-4 Tbs

Salt

Method

Just toss everything together in a big bowl.

Season with salt.

Let this sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before consuming.

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Panzanella

(Serves 2)
(Prep time: 30 mins)
Got stale bread?

Make some panzanella!
I used a day old demi french baguette.
Cut it up into big 1" chunks.
Drizzle some good herb infused extra virgin olive oil over the pieces.
Toss.
Spread the bread chunks on a cookie sheet or a baking dish.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 15 mins or until toasty brown.
Remember to turn the sides once in between.

Ingredients

English cucumbers 1 med
Zucchini 1 small
Roma tomato 1
Red onions 2-3 Tbs
Red bell peppers 1/4 cup
Dried cranberries 2 Tbs
Toasted almond flakes 1 Tbs
Italian flat leaf parsley - chopped fine 1 Tbs

No rules here just make sure the veggies are cut up the same size.
For more color you can use yellow zucchini and a combination green, orange, yellow bell peppers.
Combine all these in mixing bowl.

Vinaigrette

Whisk together the following.
Fresh orange juice 2 Tbs
Orange zest 1/2 tsp
Fresh lime juice 1/2 Tbs
Fresh pink grapefruit juice 2 Tbs
White wine vinegar 2 Tbs
Extra virgin olive oil 3-4 Tbs
Garlic crushed 1/2 tsp
Salt
Pepper

Toss the bread chunks, the veggies and the dressing together.
Chill in the fridge for about 20 mins so all the flavors really come together. Sprinkle with the roasted almond flakes just before eating.
Enjoy it on its own or a side to steak or fish.

Thats it :-)

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Tortellini Salad

Fabulous summer salad!
Leave the sausage out for a vegetarian salad.

(serves 4-6)
(prep time 30 mins)
Ingredients

Fresh cheese tortellini 1 Lbs (cook al dente according to package instructions)
Diced roma tomatoes 1 Med

Very thinly chopped red onion 2 Tbs
Basil leaves 4-5 cut into thin strips
Cooked peas 1/3 cup
Red pepper diced 2/3 cup

Chopped black olives 2- 3 Tbs
Diced beef franks 2-3 links
1/2 cup shredded fresh Mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Mayonnaise 4 Tbs
Homemade Pesto 2 Tbs

Make sure your pasta is cold otherwise the mayo will melt.
Mix the pesto with the mayo.

Toss everything together.
Chill well before eating.
No salt no pepper needed!

{heart}

Nabia

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Egg Salad croissant

(single serving)
(prep time 20 mins)
Very basic no frills egg salad

Hard boiled eggs (cooled) 2
Butter 1 Tbs
Salt
Pepper
And a very very small pinch of cayenne pepper

Put everything in a mixing bowl.
Mash it up with a back of a fork.
Speard it inside a lightly warmed croissant.
Good morning!

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