Posts Tagged ‘salad’

This is Why You’re Fat (Possibly the Most Disturbing Website Ever?)

Ok now, we all know the dangers of eating fried foods and food loaded with trans fats, sugar, and other unhealthy ingredients.  Right?

Well apparently there are still plenty of people out there who either don’t know…or don’t care.
When I first saw this website I was shocked by the foods on it, it’s a meat-filled calorie bomb photo gallery you wont believe! (Who knew you could batter and fry just about anything imaginable, and/or cover it in bacon?  Yuck.)

Fuyu Persimmon and Duck Salad

Fuyu Persimmon and Duck Salad with Hazelnut-Sherry Vinaigrette

What in the world is a Fuyu persimmon? The Fuyu (pictured at the right) is a non-astringent persimmon variety. It is sweet and delicious when it becomes orange to orange-red in color and is still firm. The Native American persimmon grown in the southern U.S. and the more common pointed Hachiya persimmon are astringent varieties that do not lose their bitterness until the fruit becomes soft.

Why do we care? Ripe Hachiya persimmons are great for making cooked dishes such as chutneys, relishes, steamed puddings or even pies. The Fuyu persimmon is perfect for this salad because its sweetness will cut through and balance the richness of the duck while maintaining its crisp texture.

Take a look at my post The Persimmon - More Than Pudding for additional persimmon information and recipes.

The Persimmon - More than Pudding

…[the persimmon's] bitter power of astringency is surprising, and seems capable of suspending for a time all the faculties of the lips, and binds up the risible muscles of the sufferer to the same extent that it excites those of a spectator.

- Charles Augustus Murray

Most Americans aren’t familiar with this delicious but misunderstood tree fruit. Not surprising, since it’s native to China and more prominent in the Far East, Middle East and Western Europe.

You’ll find persimmons in the market right now since they are usually available from late fall through the winter. There are over 500 varieties planted in the United States (originally introduced to California in the mid 1800’s) - each with a slightly different color, texture, shape and astringency. Persimmons can be classified into two general categories: those that bear astringent fruit until they are soft ripe and those that bear nonastringent fruits

ZapRoot: Killing Bambi for Your Salad

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From our friends at ZapRoot: Farmers take it to the extreme to protect their crops. The Auto Alliance has jump on the green bandwagon. These Guys are Full of **it returns.

Links for this week’s edition:

sustainablog - Killing for Crops
Gas 2.0 - Ecodriving with the AAM
EcoScraps - McDonalds Green Billboard
Shell and the Alberta Oil Sands
Sad Hippies

Lovin’ Fresh: Floral Summer Salad Recipe

Nasturtiums and borage flowers

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

Gardening brings so much pleasure and beauty to my life.  I’m really pleased with how my little plot has been progressing over the past few months.  A friend who stopped by my garden the other night asked me to explain my broad sweeping goals for [...]

Live Greenwashing about Healthy Food: McDonald’s Lettuce Growing Billboard

A 2007 McDonald’s billboard near Chicago featured growing lettuce plants stating, “Fresh salads”.  Considering the short life span of such a billboard, McDonald’s reputation for rainforest destruction, and the fact their salads are not organic, fresh (they are prepackaged), or healthy, I can’t embrace this campaign. Still, using plants for advertising is definitely a unique idea.  You can watch the billboard grow in this video.

Via:  Click to Continue Reading

Healthy Summer Grub Part 2: Spring Roll Salad Recipe

Well, after my last post on eco-friendly junk food, I feel like I need to redeem myself a bit with another healthy salad. (See, my Kale, Quinoa and Avocado Salad recipe for the first installment of this series.) This recipe came about when I had a craving for home made spring rolls, but couldn’t find any sheets of rice paper in the five block vicinity of my apartment that I was willing to walk.

I changed up the ingredients a little bit, and Spring Roll Salad was born. Depending on what you’re in the mood for, you can make this more of a green salad and go heavy on the lettuce and cabbage, or more of a pasta salad, heavy on the vermicelli.

I’ll simply list my ingredients and let your taste guide the quantity.

Popeye Had It Wrong: Local, Fresh Spinach Packs The Authentic Nutritional Punch

tagtowspinachgo.jpgSorry, Popeye. Your tin can of spinach just can’t compete with the brawny nutritional wallop from a bunch of fresh greens from a local farmers’ market or home garden.

Too bad Popeye didn’t know Angie Tagtow, an environmental nutritionist based in Iowa and a leading advocate championing public access to fresh, affordable, sustainably raised food. “Local food is a dream team blend of nutrients and health benefits,” explains Tagtow. “Food’s nutrient value starts to decrease right after it is harvested. Local food is picked and then quickly eaten at the peak of ripeness. It’s thereby fresh, tastes great and packs a more nutritious punch than what might be shipped and processed 1,500 miles away.”

Local, fresh spinach would have also gifted Popeye with a decent long-term health insurance plan.

Healthy Summer Grub: Quinoa, Kale and Avocado Salad Recipe

Quinoa SaladOk, so according to the calendar, it may not be summer quite yet, but in California, the avocados are just starting to ripen, which is how I mark the start of the season. And when the weather starts getting warmer, I start turning to lighter, fresh meals. This quinoa-based salad is easy to prepare, and contains so many of my favorite healthy ingredients.

I’m always surprised that quinoa hasn’t caught on mainstream, given how easy it is too cook, and its high nutritional content. Despite the fact that in cooking it’s treated like rice or barley, quinoa is actually a seed, not a grain. Known as the staple of the Incas (and also a staple of the vegans, as it’s a complete protein), this crop originated in the Andes Mountains. It’s used more often in Mexican dishes, but I really enjoy it in this Asian-inspired salad.

The kale is chock full of iron and the nori is rich in calcium and iodine. If you opt for a fat-free dressing, then the only fat comes from the avocado. (Which is, you know, a good fat… at least that’s what I tell myself when I’m scarfing down guacamole.) Here’s the full recipe:

Wild Harvested Redwood Sorrel Salad Recipe

Redwood SorrelSpring is upon us, and the redwood forest around my home has come to life. A friend told me recently that the lush clover-like ground cover that’s been popping up all spring in my yard is actually edible! It’s called Redwood Sorrel (Oxalis oregana), and its leaves have long been eaten by Native Americans on the Pacific coast. After a bit of research, I headed outside with a basket to collect some for our dinner salad.

Redwood Sorrel, not to be confused with the also edible garden sorrel, has a tangy, lemony flavor that is a great accent to salads. One thing to note, however, is that is should only be eaten in small quantities, because it contains oxalic acid that can disrupt digestion in large amounts. Since it’s a bit on the sour side, you probably won’t be tempted to overdo it anyway.

Green Diva’s Guide to Delicious Living: Easy Curried Chicken Salad Recipe

curried chix salad We periodically roast a chicken on a Sunday (will post that recipe another time). Depending on what time of year it is and how everyone’s health is, I use the leftover chicken to either make my famous chicken soup (famous to my kids) or my favorite curried chicken salad. It also depends on the quantity and type of leftovers!

If we can’t find an organic, cruelty-free, free-wheelin’ chicken, I don’t do the roasting bit and use some type of chicken meat substitute (soy or wheat gluten) to make this yummy salad. Works well either way.

Ingredients
Quantities are totally subjective - it is all dependent on how much chicken you are using. Use your best culinary judgment and do what suits you best!

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