OK, so I finally got around to trying out this green smoothie thing. That is, I tried incorporating some leafy greens into some smoothies. First it was baby spinach leaves, which I blended with a banana, frozen strawberries, and water. The result was OK, completely drinkable, but I didn’t feel like the flavor was enhanced by the addition of the spinach. I would have enjoyed the spinach more if it had been lightly steamed and served as a side dish. But then again, I love spinach. I just don’t want my fruit to taste like it.
My second green smoothie attempt …read more

A typical winter lunch for me: butter lettuce, arugula, castelfranco, tomatoes, cooked beets, canned chick peas, and jarred white asparagus. Dressed with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Nothing fancy, but still delicious.

Look at this beautiful lettuce! It is known as castelfranco or white radicchio, and it’s my new favorite lettuce (well, at least now while it’s in season). Castelfranco is milder than red radicchio, and has only a hint of bitter taste which complements other lettuces so nicely. Plus it looks gorgeous in the salad bowl.

I am burning through my garlic surplus like nobody’s business. Today’s lunch salad even featured the delicacy, coarsely chopped and sautéed with fake chicken, sliced baby potatoes (pre-boiled, left over from last night’s dinner), and some dried herbs. This combo topped my salad of green leaf lettuce, endive, yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and avocado. With that much flavor, the salad hardly needed dressing – just a splash of lemon juice, a sprinkle of flax seeds, and some salt and pepper did the trick nicely.
Speaking of salad, Almost Vegetarian has a post up all about luscious salad combinations. Anyone who …read more

It’s cucumber season! Here’s a fun fact: cucumbers are the most common vegetable in the whole world, with China being the largest producer. The cucumber is officially a member of the squash family, and technically a fruit.
Cucumbers are available year-round in most places, but there really is a difference if you get them fresh and local. They come in may different varieties, some of which are only available for a short time. Cucumbers lose water quickly, which is why they are often sold with a thick coating of wax (not the most pleasant thing in the world).
Cucumbers are lovely in …read more

I love preparing a salad from a well-stocked fridge. Today’s ingredients are two varieties of leaf lettuce, alfalfa and arugula sprouts, cucumbers, orange bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm, and red radishes, topped with sautéed tofu and mushrooms and a marinade/dressing of spiced rice wine vinegar, tamari soy sauce, hot chili sauce, crushed garlic, fresh grated ginger, sesame seeds, fresh cilantro and chopped fresh lemongrass.
There’s nothing like a meal that’s insanely delicious and insanely healthy all at the same time. Why is it that this combination seems so difficult to find when I eat in restaurants?

As I’ve mentioned before, I have a big salad for lunch almost every day. It’s a great way to get a whole lot of veggies into my daily diet, in both quantity and variety. I never have the same salad twice.
This salad from the other day was so pretty I took a picture: mixed baby greens, yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, cucumber, and avocado. All fresh and completely delicious.
Tags: cooking, diet, food, healthy eating, salad, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, vegetarian dining

I have a big salad for lunch almost every day. It’s nowhere near as boring as it may sound, since I make an effort to try new ingredients often. Even the type of lettuce I use varies according to the seasons and what’s available at my local stores and markets.
Today’s salad contained lamb’s breath lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red cabbage, cucumber, cooked beets, avocado, onion, and a sprinkling of flax seeds. I dressed it with some salt, fresh ground black pepper, white balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Not the absolute best tasting salad I’ve ever made, but it really …read more

On sushi night I decided I wanted a salad with the sesame-ginger kind of dressing that I remember from the hibachi restaurant we always went to when I was a kid. I decided to experiment a little, and came up with a delicious dressing (different than the kind I remember, but it did the job).
I even documented the ingredients, more or less, as I added them (something I always forget to do), so here you have it:

I just came across this article on SparkPeople which talks about a recent study done on pre-dinner salads and calorie intake. It found that diners who started their meals with a low-calorie salad (meaning heavy on the veggies, light on the dressing and cheese) ended up consuming fewer overall calories during the course of the meal.
It makes sense, doesn’t it? Fill up on bulky, healthy, low-calorie veggies at the beginning of a meal, and then you won’t be so ravenous when the more calorie-dense main dish comes around. What healthy eating strategies are you using to help along your New …read more