By Sharon Troy •
June 11, 2008
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.
By Lisa Kivirist •
May 28, 2008
Sorry, 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.
By Sharon Troy •
May 28, 2008
Ok, 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:
Spring 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.
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!
Ok now, we all know the dangers of eating fried foods and food loaded with trans fats, sugar, and other unhealthy ingredients. Right?
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.
