Greens 'n Grains
I learned a great new way to prepare kale at the Healing Diets class that was a spin off of my traditional kale salad. The instructor taught us how to "massage" the kale to bring out its natural juices. It really made a big difference to the texture and taste. Here's the scoop:
Lemon Ginger Kale
Ingredients
Bunch of kale
1 lemon
1" piece of ginger
1 tbs raw honey
1 red bell pepper diced
1 cup sprouts
2 tbs sesame seeds
1 clove garlic minced
Salt, pepper, crushed red pepper
Wash kale and chop/shred as finely as possible.
Place the kale in a large bowl and sprinkle lightly with salt. Firmly massage, toss and squeeze the kale till it becomes a juicy dark green.
Wash and cut up about a cup of your favorite sprouts and mix in with kale.
In a small bowl or dressing shaker mix lemon juice, grated ginger, honey, and minced garlic. Mix together well and add to kale, mixing it all up really well.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to infuse and cut the bitterness of the kale. The longer you let it marinate the better.
Test the flavor and season with salt, pepper, and/or CRP to taste - only if needed really.
Top with chopped red bell pepper and sesame seeds and your ready to chow on some healthy greens.
I served it over brown rice this time because that's what I had laying around and Brian wanted carbs, but I've had it on its own as a salad or mixed with quinoa - which is my favorite combo. We packed the quinoa kale mix for our cross country trip and it kept well in the cooler for 2 or 3 days. It was a refreshing, healthy alternative to fast food or gas station food!
Speaking of greens and grains...this weekend I went off my non-processed food diet after running out of most of our fresh produce. Before going out on Saturday night I whipped up some sliced polenta topped with spinach, garlic, tomato, and onion.
It was a super quick, one pan meal. I'm not advocating the consumption of processed corn products, but these organic pre-made polentas aren't the worst option. All you have to do is saute some onion slices in a tiny bit of water, slice the polenta into 1/4" rounds and add to pan, top with minced garlic and diced tomato, and a touch of cinnamon and crushed red pepper. Flip the polentas at least once then top with spinach and continue heating only until the spinach is slightly wilted. That's a super easy and quick dish of greens n' grains.
Too bad I went all out with breaking my healing diet by topping off dinner later with gluten free beer and a half a baked potato topped with melted cheese and bacon!!! Ah - way to binge! I felt so sick after, but sometimes you have to do things like that to realize how much better healthy food tastes and feels anyway. P.S. They had gluten free beer at both places we went to, and our new friend Leah is also gluten-free so we got to enjoy them together.
It was really nice to FINALLY go out with new friends in our new town. Although, it wasn't really Boulder that we checked out. Instead we went 45 minutes up into the mountains to check out the Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival in Nederland. We danced off the guilt to a rockin' blue grass band and had a blast! I sincerely apologize for not recording Brian's dance moves, because, boy did he bring it! Next time I promise I will document it.
Ingredients
Bunch of kale
1 lemon
1" piece of ginger
1 tbs raw honey
1 red bell pepper diced
1 cup sprouts
2 tbs sesame seeds
1 clove garlic minced
Salt, pepper, crushed red pepper
Wash kale and chop/shred as finely as possible.
Place the kale in a large bowl and sprinkle lightly with salt. Firmly massage, toss and squeeze the kale till it becomes a juicy dark green.
Wash and cut up about a cup of your favorite sprouts and mix in with kale.
In a small bowl or dressing shaker mix lemon juice, grated ginger, honey, and minced garlic. Mix together well and add to kale, mixing it all up really well.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to infuse and cut the bitterness of the kale. The longer you let it marinate the better.
Test the flavor and season with salt, pepper, and/or CRP to taste - only if needed really.
Top with chopped red bell pepper and sesame seeds and your ready to chow on some healthy greens.
I served it over brown rice this time because that's what I had laying around and Brian wanted carbs, but I've had it on its own as a salad or mixed with quinoa - which is my favorite combo. We packed the quinoa kale mix for our cross country trip and it kept well in the cooler for 2 or 3 days. It was a refreshing, healthy alternative to fast food or gas station food!
Speaking of greens and grains...this weekend I went off my non-processed food diet after running out of most of our fresh produce. Before going out on Saturday night I whipped up some sliced polenta topped with spinach, garlic, tomato, and onion.
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| Cheese, meat, and alcohol - Laura Ingalls, I fell off the wagon! |
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