All-in Super Salad Bowl

All-in Super Salad Bowl

The ingredients are going to vary for this one, but for specificity's sake, the items pictured are:

• romaine lettuce (bagged)
• sliced onion (half of a small onion)
• mushrooms
• shredded carrots
• diced grape tomatoes 
• alfalfa sprouts
• sliced cucumbers
• goddess dressing (I love this stuff, but you can use any dressing you prefer)

This post is a dedication to those of you that like to eat salad (or want to eat more salad), but don't want to be all fancy about it.   Recipes that call for ingredients you have to get at a speciality market or involve crazy time consuming preparation are not the most accessible.  Don't get my wrong, a "fancy" salad is appreciated, but sometimes you just want to grab a bunch of ingredients from your refrigerator and dump them all into a bowl.  Which is exactly what I did.  The key is to make sure you will indeed eat more salad is to keep your fridge stocked up with fresh fruits and veggies.  Otherwise, you end up becoming bffs with your delivery guy who may or may not be judging you as you open the door in your pajamas for the 3rd time this week.  I'm not saying this has happened to me (it has), and that it won't happen again (it will), but in the summer months especially, I try to eat on the lighter, cooler side.  When there's a heat wave moving through your city and you spend all day feeling hot and gross, salads are seriously the way to go.  Having the ingredients ready and handy will do the trick.  

This is the All-in Super Salad because whatever was "all-in" the fridge, I put into the bowl.  Simple as that. Check out your local farmers market and see what's good and in season.  Stock up on whatever looks good.  If your favorite supermarket is having a sale on mushrooms or baby carrots, grab them! The Shop-rite in South Philly always has a good deal on bagged lettuce. so I buy as many as I can when I'm there because if it's in my fridge, I'll eat it.  My point is: eating healthfully doesn't have to be expensive, time consuming, or without flavor.  In fact, I like making this kind of salad so much, I'm thinking about buying a bigger bowl.  Now, eat and be happy!

Veggie Rice Soup

Veggie Rice Soup
6 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 cups brown rice
1 chopped small onion
2 cups mixed veggies (I only had frozen for this soup)
salt and pepper to taste


This soup saved me yesterday when I was feeling very sick and needed something simple and nutritious to eat.  It doesn't take long to make, there are few ingredients, and it's perfect for cold days or days with a cold.  


I recommend making your rice in a separate pot while you work on making the rest of the soup.  Brown rice is best, so try to work that into the soup if possible.  Now, while the rice is cooking separately, add the olive oil into a medium-to-large soup pot with a dash of salt and pepper.  Dice a small onion and add that into the pot.  Sauté the onions for a few minutes and then add your vegetable broth and mixed vegetables.  Add additional salt and pepper to your liking, but don't overdose on the salt because most broths already contain a decent amount of sodium (unless you use the salt-free kind).  Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes.  When the rice is finished, add it into the simmering soup.  Give it a quick stir and it should be all good.  


Also, if you have fresh vegetables in your refrigerator that would work well in a soup, then by all means, use those in place of the frozen vegetables.  I always have a bag of frozen veggies in my freezer as a quick back up just in case I want to make a stir-fry or in this case, a soup.  Winter can be brutal; soup can make it better.  Eat more soup!

Avocado Sushi Rolls

Avocado Sushi Rolls

avocado

white rice

nori sheets

The idea of making your own sushi rolls at home may seem intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, it’s so quick and simple to do.  If you want to get fancy about it, you can go out and buy a sushi rolling kit that gives you specific tools to use for rolling sushi.  I don’t use one.  I have used them before, but much prefer to just roll them up on my own with my hands.  That seems to work just fine for me, so it’s what I continue to do.

First, let me start off by dealing with the rice issue.  You can buy sushi rice in the store and make it at home.  The goal is to have rice that is clumpy/sticky so that it stays nicely in the roll.  I don’t do this though.  I’m all about convenience and availability when it comes to food I want to make (and make often).  My tip for the rice is to order a pint/quart of white rice from your neighborhood chinese restaurant and use that instead.  It works perfectly, it saves you time, and it’s got the consistency you want for the roll.  

After you’ve got your rice, you’re ready to roll.  Cut the avocado lengthwise into slices and put them aside.  Lay a nori sheet out on a cutting board and spoon some rice onto the sheet and spread the rice out evenly.  The rice should cover most of the nori sheet, leaving an inch free from rice at the end.  Place and line up 2-3 slices of avocado across the center of the sheet.  Start rolling the nori up tightly, using your hands to secure the roll and make sure it keeps its shape.  Once you get to the inch you left free from rice, dab some water along it (to help seal the roll) and finish rolling up the nori.  Grab a good knife and first cut the roll in half and then continue cutting into pieces (maybe about an inch in size, but you can decide how big you want your pieces to be).  Repeat the steps for as many rolls as you want to make depending on the amount of ingredients you have.  I always make more than one because more sushi is better than not enough.  I can eat a lot of these.  

Also, wasabi and soy sauce complete these rolls, so don’t forget them!  If you aren’t a fan of avocado, then you can substitute it with cucumber, carrots, asparagus, etc.  Eating sushi doesn’t have to be expensive; if you make it at home, it will save you some money and as you get the hang of it, you’ll want to make sushi rolls for yourself, your friends, and your family.  My prediction is that they will be very impressed with your awesome sushi skills and you can then decide if you want to tell them how truly easy it was!

Roasted Red Pepper and Hummus Sandwich

Roasted Red Pepper and Hummus Sandwich

whole grain bread

hummus (homemade or store bought)

roasted red peppers

spinach 

Since assembling this sandwich’s ingredients is a pretty straightforward act, I will instead tell you how to whip up some yummy homemade hummus.  Making your own hummus for sandwiches, spreads, or dips is really simple and there are so many different ingredients you can add into it to make it extra flavorful.  All I did was blend 1 can of chickpeas, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of tahini, and some salt and pepper (to taste) in the food processor.  That’s all.  Nothing else.  Good stuff.  If you’d like, you could add some olive oil to the mix for richness or as you process, add in a few splashes of water now and then to help smooth it all out.  

I left this batch of hummus a little chunky because I knew it was going into a sandwich, and I wanted it to have some form.  If you want to try something new with making this hummus, try adding in the roasted red pepper into the food processor to take it to a whole new, very delicious level.  Next time you go to the grocery store, look at the kinds of hummus you usually like to buy/eat and take a peek at the ingredients listed; they are super easy to recreate in your own kitchen and it will be more cost effective for you ultimately.  Happy eating!

Zucchini "Hummus"

Zucchini "Hummus"
2 raw zucchinis
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons tahini
salt and pepper to taste


I know this looks like straight-up mush, but I promise it tastes good.  It’s a hummus without the chickpeas.  I guess that makes it fall out of the hummus category, but it has the same consistency and purpose, so “hummus” it is.  

Peel the zucchinis to get rid of the green skin.  Chop them up and toss them in a food processor with the garlic, tahini, salt, and pepper.  Turn that baby on and blend until you have a nice “hummus” consistency.  Eat it with pita, veggies, in a wrap, crackers, etc.  

If you don’t have a food processor, you could use a blender, but really…why don’t you have a food processor already?  Go get one! You can find them for $30-40 in some stores, and you don’t need a huge, fancy one.  I hate that I waited so long to get mine, and it’s now seriously one of my favorite things in the kitchen.  I used to make guacamole by hand, but the food processor has single handedly changed that.  Get off the internet and go buy one now!