Smoked Salmon Spring Rolls

My family Easter dinner was a potluck this year, and I was very excited to be able to bring a healthy contribution to my family dinner! I don't normally think of myself as having many dietary restrictions as, when I cook for myself, I just cook the things I like to eat, aka lots of fruit and veggies; but when thinking about something to bring to the potluck and trying to come up with a healthy option everyone would like, I became a bit stumped. What could I bring that was gluten free, meat free, and dairy free? When you search Pinterest for potluck ideas, everything is laden with carbs, meat and cheese, not my idea of a healthy meal... So two days later while out for Thai food I ordered fresh spring rolls, and thought, oh wow, I'd love to be able to make these for the potluck! After doing a bit of research and deciding what ingredients I wanted to use, I went shopping found the necessary items required, and set to work! Spring rolls are surprisingly easy to make, and quite fun!

 

Ingredients :

Spring roll skin

Smoked salmon

1 Mango

1 Avocado

1 large cucumber

Purple cabbage - finely shaved/chopped

Spinach - de-stemmed

Cilantro also de-stemmed

Thai sweet chile sauce , peanut sauce and hoisin sauce for dipping the spring rolls in

A close up look at the hard spring roll skin!

Directions:

1. Chop and julienne your ingredients to go inside the spring rolls

A. Halve the cucumber when slicing and remove the inside seeds

B. make sure all ingredients will fit evenly inside the middle of the spring rolls

2. To soften the spring roll skin to be able to roll it, you will need to submerge it in warm water for 20-30 seconds

3. Once the skin is soft, don't leave in the water too long or it will become difficult to work with, remove it from the water and lay it out flat. I choose to lay down parchment paper to keep it from sticking to my cutting board.

4. Place your ingredients in the middle top of the skin wrap, making sure be aware which ingredients will be shown on the outside of the wrap when it is rolled

5. Fold the outside edges of the skin on top of the ingredients

6. Once the outside edges have been folded over, begin rolling from the top, pulling tight as you roll

7. The spring roll skin will stick to itself and form a tight roll after you finish rolling it, completing the process.

8. Slice diagonally across to eat and enjoy a variety of dipping sauces

Our family Easter dinner table was so bright and colorful this year, a testament to my family's new and improved healthy eating habits! We definitely ate a rainbow of healthy fruits and vegetables this year!

 

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Cauliflower Quinoa Fried 'Rice'

I have been thinking about making this cauliflower quinoa fried 'rice' all week! Mentally checking off that the necessary ingredients were stocked, salivating over the impending deliciousness to come during spin class this afternoon, and finally enjoying the end result!

Fried Rice is something I usually only get when I'm out for Chinese food or at those Japanese Hibachi restaurants. Generally it's something of special treat or indulgence, but this is a healthy recipe I could eat all day long! The best part, is that it's actually good for you, it's full of healthy nutrients and protein, via the quinoa, as well as as many veggies as you want to throw in! I used what I like, but feel free to just use this as a jumping off point and add whatever veggies you like! The more ways you can incorporate vegetables into your diet the healthier you will be! I love that the 'rice' portion of this meal is actually a vegetable and protein filled grain, not a starchy white carbohydrate!

This is definitely a feel good meal!

Ingredients:

1 small Cauliflower (riced)

3 cups cooked Quinoa, I used tri-color

1/2 Yellow Onion

2 stalks Green Onion

3 cloves Garlic

2 cups Mushrooms, roughly chopped

Large handful Broccoli, roughly chopped

I cup carrots, diced

2 large Eggs

1 TBSP fresh Ginger

Cilantro for added flavor

Sesame oil, a few splashes, probably 3-4 TBSP

Soy sauce, a couple swirls, yes I'm making up my own cooking terms.. Going to need a glossary to keep track

Siracha sauce, if desired!

 

Directions:

A. Cook the quinoa, I used my leftovers from the previous night, which made the process much quicker!

1. Mince the garlic, ginger, chop the onions, and sauté them in a large pan with a tbsp of sesame oil

2. As the onions start to appear translucent, add in the chopped mushrooms, carrots and broccoli to begin to cook along with a splash of soy sauce

3. Meanwhile roughly chop the cauliflower, and add 2 cups worth at a time into the Vitamix blender on the lowest speed, and using the dowel, push the cauliflower into the blades to 'rice' it. Once all the cauliflower has been finely grated into rice size pieces, you can transfer it and the cooked quinoa into a large sauce pan or wok

4. Add the eggs to the veggie mixture and allow them to cook thoroughly

5. As the 'Rice' aka cauliflower and quinoa combination is heating up, add a tbsp or two of the sesame oil and a swirl of soy sauce to the pan

6. Once the veggie mixture and eggs are completely cooked, transfer them into the pot or wok with the 'Rice' and stir together, add in cilantro and Siracha if desired!

7. Allow ingredients to heat for a few more minutes until pipping hot

8. Serve and enjoy!

 

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Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup

Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup

I generally try to venture outside my comfort zone with at least one item each farmers market trip. Which is how I ended up with a butternut squash sitting in my produce bowl for 3 weeks, before I finally got around to actually cooking it. I had previously tried roasting it for a butternut squash risotto, but found removing the skin to be a slow process when hot, and hard to peel before it was cooked (it broke my peeler..), so I was a little wary of this particular squash variety.  But for this savory soup, I decided to just leave the skin on when I blended it, and due to my Vitamix, a high powered blender, it magically disappeared into my soup. This creamy and slightly sweet soup was filling and scrumptious, perfect for a chilly winter evening! Sorry for not posting a picture of the finished soup, my camera died mid way through..

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash
1 large Sweet Potato
1/2 head of Cauliflower
3 Green Onion Stalks
4 cloves of Garlic
32oz Vegtable Broth
1 can Light Coconut Milk
2 tbsp Coconut oil
Olive oil cooking spray
1 tsp Parsley
1/2 tsp Thyme

Directions:

A. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

1. Wash the butternut squash, before cutting it in half, remove the seeds and then slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.
2. Cut sweet potato into half inch rounds
3. Spray both lightly with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle salt and pepper before placing into the oven to roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.


4. Chop onion, mince garlic, roughly chop cauliflower add to pan with coconut oil
5. Saute for 10 minutes on medium heat, stiring often
6. Add in the Thyme and Parsley and vegetable broth
7. Simmer for 10 minutes
8. Remove the butternut squash and sweet potato from the over and place into the blender with your broth mixture
9. Puree until smooth
10. Add the thick mixture back into the pan and slowly stir in the coconut milk until you have reached your desired consistancy.
11. Serve when hot and enjoy!

Fueled with Fiber a Green Smoothie

Today was a great Monday, how often can you say that and actually mean it? I LOVE waking up on a Monday and not having to go into work! Thank you Martin Luther King day, it was amazing being able to start my day with a 4 mile beach run and a delicious green smoothie! Happy Monday!

Ingredients:

2 fresh picked oranges

1 banana

1 carrot

1 slice fresh ginger

1 cup kale

1 cup broccoli slaw or florets

1 cup strawberries

1 cup frozen mango and pineapple chunks

1 tablespoon chia seeds

A few ice cubes

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into the blender

2. Starting with the peeled oranges at the bottom of the blender to make the juice that will ease the blending process for the rest of the ingredients

3. Make sure the frozen ingredients are near the top so the blender has a chance to adequately blend all the other ingredients before it becomes a frozen treat with bits of unblended kale throughout.

4. Turn on the blender and blend for few minutes until smooth

5. Enjoy your delicious and filling, fiber filled smoothie!

6. Be happy that you are feeding your body vital nutrients it needs to excel, strengthen your immune system, and be happy healthy human being :)

 

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Why I love Rice Vinegar..

After college I realized I needed to start making better food choices, as the ones I the ones I were making weren't doing my body any favors. Soon after I discoved my local Farmers Market was every Tuesday night and began buying local fresh produce weekly on my walk home from work. It was then, that I became obsessed with salads, I would make them for lunch and dinner most days, and the change in my body was immediate, I felt better, my skin looked better, I had more energy, I was addicted to salad.

Actually, I still am. Initially, I expirimented with different types of dressings, but didn't want anything too laden with oil and fats, as that defeats the purpose of salad.. until I eventually came across rice vinegar!

Rice Vinegar- Let me count the ways in which I love thee..

1. It's delicious! It is very flavorful and can be used on its own as salad dressing or seasonsing for your veggies!
2. Contains very few calories -  only 25 in a half cup!
3. It's low in sodium
4. Great source of Iron and Potassium
5. Helps to maintain a health immune system, one of the most benificial qualities of rice vinegar is its composition of essential amino acids, which help fight free redicals.
6. Shown to be helpful in lowering blood glucose levels
7. It aids in nutrient absorption, due to its content of acetic acid, which helps with digestive health by increasing the body's ability to asorb nutrients from foods. Vitamins and minerals are more easily absorbed from foods that are collectovely consumed with rice vinegar. 
8. Without rice viegar there would be no sushi!!!!
9. Powerful antiseptic -  It kills on contact, dangerous bacteria such as salmonella and streptococcus.

Yes, I do buy it buy the gallon, I go through it so fast, that the small bottles just don't do it for me anymore. I encourage you to try some on you salad tonight!

Further reading on Rice Vinegar, if you are interested..

http://www.livestrong.com/article/246887-health-benefits-of-rice-vinegar/ 

http://www.cnn.com/FOOD/key.ingredient/rice.wine.vinegar/

http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/health-benefits-rice-vinegar-16456.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/the-health-benefits-of-vinegar3.htm

About Me:

Health and fitness enthusiast, with a passion for creating amazing chopped salads! Salads are so versatile, they can be transformed to fit any mood, craving, or list of ingredients. My salad making philosophy - mantra- whatever you want to call it, is to combine as many healthy, colorful ingredients to create a salad that is immensely nutritious and tasty all at the same time. And yes I do eat salad with a spoon, try it! You might not want that salad fork back.

I'm creating this blog to share some of my recipes, ideas, and health tips with my friends and family who regularly ask me to send them the recipe for my Instagram/ Facebook food photos I post when I'm cooking. Many of the healthy changes I have been making in my own life have been positively influencing those around me, which brings me so much pleasure to be able to help other people on the path to becoming their best selves!

So I'm hoping this will expand the reach of my healthy choices to others wanting to eat better, exercise more, and live longer healthier happier lives! That's all I'm try to do, take care of my body, one day at time, making healthy choices, and hopefully helping you do the same.

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