salad Archives · Page 2 of 2 · Rachel's Nourishing Kitchen

The Best & Healthiest Potato Salad I’ve Ever Had {No-Mayo!}

On June 9, 2016

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Recipes, Savor

I have to admit, I’ve never been a fan of egg, potato or pasta salad. My parents never served them when I was growing up, and I’ve always had an aversion to mayonnaise, so cold, prepared salads were never appealing to me.

Last year, for my sister-in-law’s bridal shower, I signed up to make a few dishes. I know how much most people like potato salad, so I was determined to find a recipe that was delicious AND nourishing…and one that I would want to eat.

Cookie and Kate, an awesome food blog, had a recipe for an Herbed Red Potato Salad that was mayo-free and looked delicious, so I knew that was the one to try.

It was a HIT! And it made me realize that, prepared a certain way, I could learn to love potato salad, too. It’s light but creamy and packed with flavor from the herbs and garlic. The potatoes melt in your mouth, and you’ll have a hard time not going back for seconds. It’s THAT good!

Potatoes sometimes get a bad rap, but the neat thing about this particular potato dish is that it tends to have a lesser impact on blood sugar because of what happens when the potatoes are given the chance to cool. Resistant starch forms.

In a blog post titled, “How Resistant Starch Will Help to Make You Healthier & Thinner,” Dr. Amy Nett gives us the scoop on what resistant starch is and why it’s helpful:

“Resistant starch (RS) is a type of starch that is not digested in the stomach or small intestine, reaching the colon (large intestine) intact. Thus, it “resists” digestion. This explains why we do not see spikes in either blood glucose or insulin after eating RS, and why we do not obtain significant calories from RS.”

Cool, huh?? 🙂

You’re going to want to make this salad for your next dinner, potluck or cookout. Everyone will love it!

Click here for the recipe from Cookie + Kate!

Food Safety Tip: Just remember to keep the salad chilled and temperature controlled (under 41 degrees or over 135 degrees) if you bring it to a cookout. Keep cold food cold and hot food hot. Potatoes can be carriers of foodborne illnesses when their temperature is allowed to vary (it’s the potatoes NOT that mayo that can make us sick!)

Cherry Tomato, Asparagus & Quinoa Spring Salad

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On June 6, 2016

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Nourish, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

We just came back from an amazing weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina, where my husband and dad (whose 66th birthday is today!) finished the Half Ironman Triathlon. They swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles and then ran 13.1 miles! It was a HOT day, but they did it! All of their hard work is preparing them for the Lake Placid Ironman on July 24th. I’m working on a post about the experience from this weekend, so stay tuned for that post later this week 🙂

In the meantime, I wanted to share a recipe for a salad I’ve made a few times already this spring, mainly because of how simple it is. It’s a dish you could bring to a potluck or enjoy for lunch or dinner.

And it includes one of the veggies that is in season here on the East Coast – asparagus!

Asparagus is one of my favorite springtime foods that is incredibly versatile and easy to make. You can steam it, bake it, saute it, or grill it. You can even use it as an ingredient in soup, but I’ve yet to try that.

I came up with this recipe after spending a beautiful afternoon with my friend, Lisa, and her two kiddos. When I got home, I took a look at what was left in the fridge and decided to put this salad together. The ingredients are simple – quinoa, onions, garlic, tomatoes, lemons, and asparagus.

This recipe embodies the wise words of Julia Child…

Think of this recipe as a template or a guide. Start with a cooked grain like quinoa or rice + onion and garlic base + 3-4 cups of veggies of your choice + vinaigrette. The other day when I made it, I threw in some arugula. Another time, I might use spinach instead or sub in some roasted red peppers for tomatoes. Use what you have 🙂

Cooking does not have to be stressful, and using templates like this can make it more fun and freeing!

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed (will yield about 3 cups cooked)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
2 cups grape tomatoes
1 bunch asparagus, woody stem (bottom 1″) removed and the rest chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup water
zest and juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil, leaves rolled and thinly sliced
coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Combine 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until almost all of the water is absorbed. DO NOT STIR QUINOA. Remove quinoa from heat and leave covered for 5 minutes to steam. Remove lid and fluff with fork. Set aside.
Add olive oil to large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions for about 5-6 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add tomatoes and cook for 6-8 minutes. Add asparagus and 1/4 cup water. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until asparagus is crisp tender and still bright green. Remove from heat. Add vegetables to quinoa and toss to combine.
Whisk lemon juice, zest, garlic, salt and pepper together. Add olive oil and continue whisking until evenly combined. Pour dressing over salad, sprinkle basil on top, and toss everything to combine. Serve warm or chilled.

Hail, Caesar! Kale Salad {Hubby-Approved}

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On June 2, 2016

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Nourish, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Caesar salads are one of the most universally loved salads…even for people who don’t like salads that much.

Since removing dairy from my diet a few years back, I’ve had to get creative about how to recreate the tastes and textures I enjoyed for so many years from things like cheese and Caesar dressing. I’ve tried a few recipes, but none really worked for me.

Until this one.

It’s from one of my favorite blogs – ohsheglows – written by Angela Liddon, who is a fellow lover of colorful, vibrant, plant-based foods. I’ve been making recipes from her blog for years and LOVE them.

I knew I had to try her Caesar salad recipe.

I’m SO glad I did! My husband, Bill, and I CRUSHED this salad. As in, we ate almost the whole thing in one sitting 🙂

The dressing was thick and creamy and had just the right amount of tang. We used rosemary Chickpeatos instead of making Angela’s chickpea croutons, but I plan to try her recipe for those at some point in the future.

The only ingredient that I didn’t have already and had never bought before was Worcestershire sauce. And you don’t have to get the vegan version, as the recipe suggests. Just use what you have!

Also, try not to let new ingredients in recipes intimidate you. Grocery stores offer more options than ever these days, so I’ve not had a problem finding things. The natural / health food aisle of the larger grocery stores carry most of the ingredients in recipes I post on this blog. My favorite stores locally are MOMs Organic Market, Whole Foods, Wegmans and Trader Joe’s.

You have to try this recipe! It’s delish 🙂

Click here to get the full recipe for this Crowd-Pleasing Caesar Salad from ohsheglows!

Mediterranean Chickpea & Sundried Tomato Kale Salad {Vegan}

By Rachel Druckenmiller

On April 28, 2015

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Products I Use, Recipes, Tips & Tricks, Vegan, Vegetarian

I’ve been a kale lover for a few years now and have fun coming up with new ways to incorporate it into recipes.

I even found these super cool kale-lover clothing items at a small store called Simply Local in San Diego that reflect someone’s serious obsession with this leafy green veggie.

Today’s salad recipe has some Mediterranean inspirations with lemon, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and chickpeas. It comes together in a matter of minutes and can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner.

From the kale and garlic to the hemp seeds and chickpeas, this delicious dish is LOADED with cancer-fighting and fat-storage fighting foods known as GBOMBS. Click here to learn more about GBOMBS and why we should eat them daily.

The key to this salad is massaging the lemon juice into the kale leaves to “cook” and soften the kale and break down its bitterness; it’s always important to give your raw kale a little massage.

Speaking of massage, when I was in college I considered going into massage therapy and even went so far as to buy a KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) guide-book to learn the basics. Clearly I didn’t pursue that route, so massaging kale will have to do! 🙂

What I love about kale salads (one of the many things) is that they “keep” for a few days in the fridge.

Any other greens’ salads will wilt in a matter of hours once you put dressing on it, but kale salad holds up for about 3 days, so it’s something you can make ahead of time and enjoy for several meals.

Check out today’s recipe, and let me know what you think!

Mediterranean Chickpea & Sundried Tomato Kale Salad

I love the Mediterranean-inspired flavors and ingredients in this salad. Feel free to add some chicken or fish on top, if you’d like, for a complete meal!

1 bunch curly kale (destemmed, washed and dried)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about one lemon)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic (crushed and finely minced (1 large clove or 2 small cloves))
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 15-ounce can chickpeas AKA garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed (I use the Eden brand))
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (chopped)
2 tablespoons hemp seeds (hulled)
Black pepper (to taste)

Tear kale leaves into pieces and put in large bowl.
Add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and sea salt, and massage everything into the kale leaves for 1-2 minutes, until the leaves are shiny, soft, and have reduced in volume by about half.
Add the black pepper, nutritional yeast, chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, and hemp seeds and toss until evenly combined. Add more salt or pepper to taste. Enjoy!