Tuck Takes Off

Tasty/healthy start – and my recipe has more colors and flavors.  With my salads, more is more, baby!

As a certified Saladologist, I am so happy  TTO readers are trying the recipes I’ve posted and adding their own twists and improvements (Adam- apples in the Stephanie Salad? Nice!) A few people have asked for more recipes and I am happy to oblige – they’re speaking my language!

Here’s what’s on heavy rotation chez moi this week: a salad of steamed broccoli florets (and some other veggies) served with protein-rich quinoa and raw cashews. It is super healthy, of course, but it is also hearty and substantial.

Ingredients:

-1 – 1  1/2 cup of lightly steamed broccoli florets

-1 red pepper, diced

-2 scallions, diced

-1 carrot, diced

-1/2 carton of grape tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in half.

-1/3 cup lemon juice

-2 cloves garlic, minced

– 1/4 cup olive oil

-I TBS white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

-sea salt/pepper

-red pepper flakes to taste

1/3 cup raw unsalted cashews

Quinoa:

-1 1/2C cup red or basic quinoa, uncooked and washed  (red is nuttier and my preference)

3C low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

Cook quinoa according to the instructions on the box and until all of the chicken broth is absorbed – takes about 10-15 minutes. Lately I’ve been making quinoa in a rice cooker and it’s so easy-

Let cool – I put it in the freezer for say, 30 mins.

While it’s cooling,  cut the florets off of a head of broccoli and chop into bite-sized pieces. Steam until they are soft (not mushy) and still have a bright green color  and some crunch (don’t steam them to death or you’ll lose nutrients and flavor.) Run them under cold water to stop them from cooking when they’re done.

Dressing: Mince the garlic. Add the lemon juice, vinegar  and olive oil and wisk until combined. Add salt and pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

In a large salad bowl, toss quinoa with broccoli, other vegetables and cashews. Add dressing and toss again. Add more salt and pepper to taste and if maybe also some fresh herbs. Let the flavors mix before serving.

Think of this as the bones of the recipe and throw in or substitute anything you want: add raisins, olives, feta cheese, replace broccoli with spinach or red leaf lettuce,  use almond slivers instead of cashews…the possibilities are endless. If you want to go all out with flavorful quinoa, try Mama Jo’s Crowd Pleaser recipe – loooove it.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your favorite healthy/tasty recipes here by adding a comment – and feel free to venture beyond salad 🙂 Let’s keep this going! I’m talking to you Ashley, Alex, Elsa, Dori, Vikki, Rebecca, Zoe, Adam etc etc etc… Imagine the delicious possibilities if we put our heads together.  xxoo Steph