Beet and Feta Salad

The Cheesecake Factory has a lovely “Beets with Goat Cheese” salad that, in addition to beets and goat cheese, includes apples, arugula, and pecans.  That salad -- which I have had on many occasions -- was the inspiration for this dish.

I cooked the three beets I received from my CSA by placing them in a baking dish with about 1 inch of water, covering the dish with tin foil, and then putting it in the oven at 400 degrees for one hour.  After removing the beets from the oven and letting them cool, the peels slipped right off and the beets were ready to dice into a salad.  I used only one beet for this recipe, and put the other two in the ‘fridge for another use.

1 beet, cooked, peel removed, diced

Greens from one beet, removed from stem and chopped

3 large leaves of kale, removed from stem and chopped

3 leaves of romaine, chopped

1 green apple, diced

1 small handful of raw almonds

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cracked black pepper, to taste

Arrange everything on a plate.  Drizzle with olive oil, balasmic vinegar, and cracked black pepper.  Enjoy!

Garlicky, Lemony Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad

I haven't been eating very well for the past couple of days.

Restaurant and convenience foods came back into my life in a big way in the past week or so.  With a stressful job and two kids, something's gotta give sometimes.  I'm okay with that.

But I'm learning the hard way that rich, salty, sugary, fatty foods don't agree with a healthy body.  I've had an upset stomach and a headache, and felt extremely sluggish, for the past few days.  It's no way to feel when you have a to-do list as big as mine.

So it was time to get back on track.

I wanted to make something outrageously healthy and fresh to remind my body what good food is all about.

I combined Bethesda Locavore's Garlicky, Lemony, Kale Salad recipe (I love her "nothing gets measured/everything gets tossed" style...) with Bon Appetit's Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad.  I read both recipes and then did my own thing.  I basically used Bethesda Locavore's recipe, but with the additions of Brussels sprouts and almonds from Bon Appetit.

The result was a bright and happy salad that seemed to have no place as a seasonal recipe in gloomy February.  It was like eating sunshine itself.  Which is, of course, the entire point of eating food at all.

The recipe is simple: Put all this stuff in a bowl and toss, according to your hunger and taste:

Kale, chopped
Raw Brussels sprouts, chopped
Juice of one lemon
Olive oil
Clove of garlic, crushed
Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Raw almonds
Black pepper

I was so excited to eat this, I just put a fork in the mixing bowl and chowed down.  I didn't even bother with a serving bowl.  :-)

Kale, Clementine, and Almond Salad

There's no magic to this recipe: Just put chopped kale, clementine sections, and raw almonds in a bowl.  No dressing needed!

Simple veggies, fruit, and nut salads are such easy, healthy go-to snacks or sides for me when I'm trying to lose weight.

The Whole Turnip

I really enjoy using as much of a plant as I can.

At the Anne Arundel County farmers' market yesterday morning, I bought four, gorgeous turnips, complete with nice, long greens from a farmer in my county.

I found two wonderful recipes for turnips; one from Dr. Oz and one from Novel Eats.  Together, they allowed me to use the entire turnip plant.

Turnip Mash 

4 turnips
1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
cracked black pepper (to taste)

Put pot of water on to boil.

Cut the turnips into chunks.

Boil turnip chunks for 20 minutes or until soft.

Drain and then mash with yogurt.  Top with cracked black pepper.  Serve as a side dish.

Quinoa with Turnip Greens and Almonds

1 cup quinoa, sorted and rinsed (it is very important to rinse quinoa prior to cooking it otherwise it will taste bitter)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch turnip greens, chopped
1/2 cup almonds, slivered or chopped

Rinse the quinoa well, then cook it according to package directions.

As the quinoa is cooking, saute the onion in the olive oil until it is translucent.

Add the chopped turnip greens and cook until they are wilted.

Once the quinoa is done, drain and rinse, then add to the onions and turnip greens.  Cook for a few minutes more.  Make sure you keep an eye on it because otherwise the quinoa will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

Serve with toasted almonds sprinkled on top.  This dish can be either a main dish or a side.

I served both of these dishes as sides to a meatloaf with roasted carrots.

It was a fabulous, healthy dinner with lots of local produce!

Green-Bean Casserole Topped with Shallots

Having just indulged in a delicious (if deadly) canned soup / fried onion version at an office potluck, I knew I wanted to try a green-bean casserole for my own Thanksgiving dinner.  I wanted it to be light and healthy, though, with a focus on the vegetables instead of the cream and "fried."  I also wanted a recipe that would have rich mushroom flavor without the risk that one of those slippery, slimy suckers would wind up accidentally in my mouth.  I HATE mushrooms.

The Gracious Pantry has a lovely recipe for Clean Eating Green-Bean Casserole that I was able to adapt to meet all of my needs.  I followed the instructions for the Clean Eating Mushroom soup, substituting low-sodium vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

Half a pound of mushrooms (whatever type you enjoy most)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 tsp. olive oil
1/8 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 cup non-fat milk

Wash and slice the mushrooms.

Saute the mushrooms in the oil. This is a very small amount of oil for one pound of mushrooms. But if you keep the heat low, the mushrooms will release their own moisture and before you know it you’ll have a bunch of water in the pan that won’t allow them to burn. Just get the pan hot over high heat and then immediately turn to low heat. Stir frequently.

When the liquid comes out of the mushrooms, add the balsamic vinegar. Then, the flour, which will soak up all the liquid pretty quickly.

Put the chicken broth into your soup pot. Transfer the mushrooms to the same pot and combine with the broth.

Add milk.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes.

Once the soup was made and sufficiently cooled, I pureed it in my blender.  This took away all of the slimy mushrooms and also made the soup very thick.  I was then able to pour it over the green beans without added extra flour or cornstarch to thicken it.

I topped my casserole with crumbs I made out of whole-wheat Ezekiel bread and almonds, and then layered on shallots that I had browned in a bit of olive oil on the stove.  I then baked the whole thing on 325 (the turkey was in the oven...) for about an hour.

It came out creamy and crispy, but left me wanting a bit for salt.  A sprinkle at the table made it perfect!