Today’s back to school lunch is perfect for kids and adults. It features are super tasty salad that has a olive oil based dressing instead of mayonnaise so no need to worry about refrigeration!
In The Box:
Mediterranean White Bean Salad (recipe below)
Whole grain pita wedges
Bite sized veggies
Grapes
15-18 almonds for extra protein (optional)
Mediterranean White Bean Salad
Serves 2
1-15oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 cup roasted bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Toss together!
Tip: Prepare in advanced to really let the flavors marinate.
This weekend has been filled with great new recipes, great conversation and the most amazing chocolate I have ever had. On Saturday after a crazy morning filled with bagels, markets and lots of coffee the Hubz and I came home to prepare for our dinner guest. We took a break from cleaning and organizing to enjoy a Dominex Eggplant Burger over greens with tomatoes and avocado served with rutabaga flax fries.
Serves 2- pre heat oven to 425F. Peel and cut 2 small rutabaga into fries and place in a bowl. Toss the rutabaga with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of flax meal, 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon chili powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for 25-30 minutes until tender and browned.
More cleaning and a little napping happened and then it was time to make dinner for Allie from Healthy Balance, Healthy Life. Allie wanted to make hummus using her new food processor so that set the tone for the entire meal. I decided to go with a Mediterranean themed meal which included lemon-garlic-oregano marinated tofu, tomato, onion and pepper skewers, olives, pita, tahini-parsley dressing and carrot sticks and radishes with Allie’s roasted red pepper hummus.
tofu and tomato skewers
onion and pepper skewers
The marinade/baste for the veggies and tofu included:
1 cup vegetarian chicken broth (could sub vegetable broth)
2 Tablespoon chopped parlsey
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Whisk these all together and pour over skewered veggies and tofu and allow to marinate for 2-4 hours. Remove from the marinade and place on parchment lined baking sheets; pre-heat oven to 425F. Place the remaining marinade in a small sauce pan and place over high heat; bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer until the sauce has reduced by half. Remove from the heat and brush the veggies and tofu. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and baste with more of the reduced marinade; return to the oven and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from the oven once again and baste the veggies and tofu with the remaining marinade. Turn the oven on to broil and broil on high until the veggies and tofu are lightly browned.
carrot sticks and radishes
yummy mixed olives
tahini-parsley sauce and whole wheat pita
Allie's Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Serves 4- in a small sauce pan heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, add 1/2 a minced sweet onion and saute over medium-high for 5-6 minutes until the onions soften. Stir in the garlic and 1 (15oz) can of rinsed and drained chickpeas; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1 (12oz) package of defrosted frozen spinach, 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste; cook until heated through.
For dessert we enjoyed Lulu’s raw chocolate which is easily by far the most amazing raw chocolate I have ever had. I find a a lot of raw chocolates do not have enough of a chocolate flavor and are sometimes chalky tasting but this chocolate was amazing and not only is the best raw chocolate I have ever had but one of the best chocolates. I will blog about these more once I try the other flavors I have.
After our late night chatting and enjoying Proseco with Allie we dragged ourselves out of bed this morning and headed to my parents house for the day. We enjoyed the day with my parents, grandma and Aunt Carol; we ate, played cards and laughed. When we got home we were hungry and ready to enjoy a nice high-raw dinner. This week we are going to eat high raw in hopes of detoxing our body a bit after enjoying lots of pasta, bread and drinks this weekend.
Dinner tonight consisted of a spicy carrot-avocado soup and raw tuna salad sandwiches which was served on multigrain Manna sprouted bread.
Spicy Carrot-Avocado Soup (raw)
Serves 2-3
1 & 2/3 cup carrot juice
1 avocado
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 jalapeno
1 small garlic clove
pinch of cayenne pepper
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
The Raw Tuna Salad recipe came from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials
You can get the Aioli Mayonaise recipe for the mock tuna sandwich here.
This Christmas Eve we had my parents over for a little holiday party with drinks and appetizers. There was also a round of Scattergories, a photo shoot and a movie before heading to bed to wait for Santa to arrive.
Roasted Artichoke Salad: Preheat oven to 400F. Toss 1 package of frozen artichoke hearts that have been defrosted with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Roast for 25 minutes. Whisk together the dressing for the salad: 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tsp dijon mustard, and 1 tsp agave. Toss dressing with warm artichoke hearts and 1 tablespoon of capers; serve room temperature.
Trio of olives: garlic stuffed, oil cured, & Greek Mix
Veggies with Ranch Dip
Crackers with Wayfare Hickory Cheddar Spread
Gardein Chik'n Fingers with Smoked Paprika Dip: For the Dip- 1/4 cup sour supreme, 1/4 cup vegenaise, 1 heaping tsp of hot smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp dried parsley, 1/4 tsp onion powder, salt and pepper to taste- whisk together!
Bourbon Spiked Soy Nog
Chocolate Bock Gingerbread Cupcakes with Orange Spice Glaze
