Asian-Inspired Massaged Kale + Carrot Super-Food Salad

Ever heard anyone asking to take home leftover...healthy salad??  This one was so delicious, attendees of Dr. Matt's grand opening were spooning it into plastic drinking cups to take home the leftovers.  The sesame & citrus flavors are bright & exciting, and the fact that the kale is massaged takes a lot of the "rawness" out of eating raw kale.  I especially love Eden Foods  Organic Sesame Gomasio sprinkles as part of the dressing to tie everything together and add even more nutrition (seaweed & sesame).  This salad is loaded with healthy fats (olive oil, sesame & avocado), rich in iron, magnesium, calcium, vitamin c, k, antioxidants, carotenoids and fiber. The texture is great as is, but some sunflower seeds or peanuts would add a great extra crunch!  


...and it's vegan/dairy/gluten free ;) !

Asian-Inspired Massaged Kale & Carrot Super-Food Salad

Salad:
1 large head of curly red or green kale, washed, thick stems removed and torn or chopped into bite sized pieces
2 large carrots, shredded (approx. 3/4 - 1 c)
1 avocado, diced
Salt
Olive oil

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1 tbsp local honey
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar OR rice wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 lemon (juiced)
1 tsp sea salt
Red pepper flakes to taste
1.5-2 tbsp Eden Organic Sesame Gomasio (see link)

Directions: 
Combine all dressing ingredients and blend with an immersion blender or in a food processor. 

Prep kale and place into large mixing bowl. Pour a bit of olive oil and sea salt onto it. Give it a good massage with your fingers for 1-3 minutes (depends on how thick/coarse the kale was to begin with), until it softens and loses about 1/3 of the volume. Add carrots. Toss with dressing. Fold in avocado right before serving! 

This salad is best served 1-4 hours after prepping to allow all the flavors to meld.

Juicing: Top 10 Pros and Cons

Juicing is such a hot topic in food and health right now!  If you're like me, you watched the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and ran out to immediately buy a juicer.  I even attempted a juice detox to cleanse and "reboot".  Now, after having the juicer about a year, I have to say that while I enjoy the occasional juice and its benefits, there are certainly some cons too.   After being gifted 6 lbs of carrots today (long story!) and 4 cabbages, I decided to make some juice.  Here's the good, the bad, the messy and the recipe! 

PROS:

1. Floods your body with nutrition

Yes, this is a very quick way to get your nutrition in!  You can really get your creative juices flowing (lol) and change up the veggies to suit your body and your dietary needs.  ;)

2. Great way to use leftover veggies

Say your garden is overflowing with tomatoes or cucumbers...or maybe you over-calculated the amount of {Insert fruit or veggie here} you needed for a recipe. Or you're going on vacation and need to get rid of all fresh produce.  Now you have a use for all of that goodness before it goes bad! 

3. Helps with detoxing

A quick dose of vitamins and minerals help the liver detox (flush out toxins) naturally. Juicing is a much safer detox than fasting completely, keeping you hydrated and nourished!

4. Easy to absorb

It doesn't require any real digestion because it lacks fiber and other complex carbohydrates.

5. Creates fantastic compost (seriously.)

The super-fine fiber remnants that are leftover decompose way faster than other veggie scraps, leaving you a rich compost for the garden.  

CONS:

1. Expensive

Very.  Especially if you go organic with your juice (which is a great idea especially when juicing your vegetables), it can cost a pretty penny.   A 4-day cleanse for 2 people cost us somewhere between $120-150!

2. Creates lots of waste

It's pretty sad to see that huge bowl/tub full of waste.  ESPECIALLY if you do not compost!

3. Messy clean-up

Imagine juice (beet juice especially) splattering your kitchen walls, counters.  Pulp everywhere.  A juicer that must be washed by hand.  This is not a quick and easy process.  It takes about 15 minutes to scrub the juicer down, and another 10 to wash, prep and juice your veggies. 

4. Removes fiber and it's benefits

Man cannot live on juice alone!  Fiber is what cleans our gut and is the food that our probiotics thrive on.  Plus, it moves things along... 

5.  Tons of SUGAR!

Most people like the taste of sweet, so they end up picking fruits and veggies (but mostly fruits) with a high sugar content.   While these drinks are delicious, it's a better idea to use the 80-20 rule (80% vegetables to 20% fruits) in order to keep your drink nutritious and cut back on the sugar.  One 16 oz glass of juice (as recommended as a meal replacement)  can have 90+ grams of sugar if you're picking (for example) apple-orange-pineapple!

(Look how much FIBER and SCRAPS are left over to make just over 50oz of juice!)

RECIPE 
Apple-Carrot-Ginger-Cabbage Juice

Carrots -  6 lbs peeled
Apples - 4 
Cabbage -  1 softball sized 
Ginger - 3 inch piece
Sea Salt  - to taste

Pretty tasty and kind of "zingy" with the cabbage & ginger.

How-To: Cut Up & Use a WHOLE (Organic) Chicken

A major barrier that people think they have to eating organic is cost.  I would like to start debunking this myth.  Today we'll talk whole organic chicken. 

Would you rather pay $6.99/lb or $2.49/lb for the SAME organic chicken? The only difference, is that the $6.99/lb chicken has been cut up into breast pieces for you, the $2.49/lb chicken takes about 10 minutes of work (max...it takes about 5 minutes when you're practiced). 

Not only do you have the benefit of saving money, but you get the bonus of being able to make soup with your whole chicken AND have the giblets to use if you like!  

Here, a step-by-step on how to cut up a chicken.

1)  Buy a whole chicken.  Tip:  if you're buying it from Whole Foods at $3.99+/lb, you're paying too much!  Try a farmer's market (my first choice), or Trader Joe's in your area (pictured above).

2)  Remove the giblets from inside the bird and set aside.  We'll talk about these in a bit.

3) Rinse the chicken and pat it dry.

4)  With a sharp chef's knife and a steady hand, pull the wings away from the bird, simultaneously cutting through the skin and fat.  You'll hear a crack as the joint breaks away.  Cut the wings off.

5) Repeat step #4 with the legs.  Once you get the hang of it, you'll see that the clear divide between parts more easily.   Here, you can cut the thigh from the leg, but I leave it together.

See the fat/tissue still holding the thigh onto the body? Carefully cut through that.  When first learning, you might hack the chicken up a bit.  No big deal, it takes a few mangled chicken to get it right!

6) Cut the back off of the chicken and set aside. 

7) Take your big ol' knife and slice the breast down the middle, cracking right through the bone.  Sorry I don't have better pictures of this part.  It's kind of tough dismembering a chicken while documenting it yourself. ;)

8) De-bone the breast (or not).  I do, just because it's easier to use leftover breast for salads and whatnot. Do this with a smaller knife, carefully slicing the meat away from the rib bones. 

9) Put all of the bones/carcass in a bag or storage container and throw in your freezer if you're not going to be making stock right away (we'll talk about this). 

 

Voila!  Your finished cut up chicken, giblets (in small bowl) and carcass (large bowl).  Don't mind the yellow on the cutting board.  Did I mention fresh turmeric stains EVERYTHING?  Ugh.

Now what? Pre-heat your oven to 375.  Season the chicken with salt, pepper and whatever else you like (I used garlic).  Rubbing a tiny bit of olive oil or butter on the chicken helps the skin to crisp up. 

 

Bake it for 1 hour at 375*.  If you add potatoes, like I did, season those too and stir about half way through so that they soak in some juices.  

Now, what what are two people going to do with all of this chicken, you ask?   Here are several things I may or may not do with it this week:

1. Sautee the giblets with garlic and lemon.  Eat those as an appetizer. (CHECK) They're good for you, but I'd only recommend eating them if ORGANIC. Who knows what kinds of crazy antibiotics and hormones get stored in the organs of conventional chickens...
2. Eat it for dinner with veggies (see below for tonight's dinner with asparagus...yum). (CHECK)
3. Make walnuts & cranberry chicken salad with diced up leftover breast meat.
4. Dice up any other remaining meat from the wings/legs and make chicken fried rice with it. 
5. Make a chicken and veggie omelet or frittata for breakfast.
6. Scramble it in with your eggs in the morning.
7. Make a delicious sliced chicken sandwich on a kaiser roll or organic wheat bread with some good cheese.
8. Slice it up over a Greek spinach salad with a simple vinaigrette for the dressing. (TOMORROW: CHECK)
9. Make chicken soup with the carcass (my favorite!) (THIS WEEKEND - CHECK)

   

Pictured here with some delicious farm market asparagus sauteed with onions

Making chicken stock is super easy.

CHICKEN STOCK 

Ingredients: 

1 medium onion

2 medium carrots

2 medium stalks of celery

(The above items make up your mirepoix!)

1-2 chicken carcasses 

3 cloves garlic

1 bayleaf

Salt & Pepper

Turmeric

Cumin

Instructions:

Pull your chicken carcass out of the freezer.  Don't even need to defrost it!  Sautee all of your corsely chopped veggies in a large pot with a tiny bit of olive oil until fragrant.  Add the frozen carcass and fill your pot with water until the carcass is *almost* covered.  Since you'll be stirring this often, it will all get cooked. 

Bring it up to a boil, stir, and then bring heat down to a simmer. Simmer this for 3-4 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are falling apart.  Strain over a big glass or metal bowl.  Put the chicken broth in the fridge for now if you're going to be removing the fat.

When chicken carcass is cool, you can pull any remaining viable chicken pieces out of it to use in your soup.  Skim most, some or none of the fat off of your chicken stock.  I honestly skip the refridge step and usually make soup right away with the fat...because FAT isn't bad, remember? ;)

Now, add new veggies to your stock, some chicken, some rice or quinoa or beans...season some more, tasting often.  There you have it...homemade soup!

Chocolate Avocado Mousse {Dairy-Free}

Served here with frozen blueberries (what I had on hand), but fresh strawberries are AMAZING...

At a vegan dinner party this past week, one of the ladies made this, and it was literally finger-licking good.  Not only did we finish it all, but swiped the rest from the bowl with our fingers and licked the spoon clean!  This is an incredibly simple dessert with a "wow" factor: it's made from avocados, and it's dairy-free!  My version uses local honey, and I enjoyed the consistency with gooey honey....but make it completely vegan by using agave or maple syrup instead.  Seriously, your friends, kids, mom or co-workers will NEVER know it's made with avocado...until you tell them. Dr. Oz has this recipe posted...but uses egg whites and sugar (certainly not necessary). I apologize for the bad photo quality - my camera was left at my sisters house last week. :)  ENJOY! <3

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Ingredients: 



1 c cocoa powder
2 large ripe avocado
1/2 c almond milk (or coconut, or water even)
3/4 c agave syrup or honey
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 pinch sea salt

Directions: 

Whiz in a food processor, scraping the sides and bottom occasionally until nice and thick.  Serve with fresh fruit, biscotti, or just eat it plain.

Feta & Herb Baked Salmon + Couscous, Cuke & Kale Salad

Happy Friday! I was craving salmon & salad for dinner...this really hit the spot. My mom & dad make lamb in a similar way (baked in individual foil packets), so I thought I'd try with salmon. As a Greek girl, I have a strong affinity for lemon + garlic + herbs. ;) The tang from the lemon & feta is delicious, and all in all, is a really quick & SUPER healthy (see below) meal.

Feta & Herb Baked Salmon
(4 servings)
Prep time 10 min, Cook Time: 25 min


1 lb Wild-Caught Salmon
4 oz Feta Cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 tsp finely chopped fresh herbs (I used oregano. Some mint, dill or a combo would work)
1/2 lemon (juiced)
1 tsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Red onion (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 375. Clean and pat dry your fish, and cut into 4 portions. Salt & Pepper. Mash up the topping: feta, olive oil, lemon, herbs and fresh cracked black pepper. I added some red pepper flakes too. Portion the topping on each individual piece of fish and wrap into 4 neat foil packets, topped with a few thin slices of red onion. Bake for 20 minutes, then unwrap the packets and cook an additional 5 min.

Kale, Cucumber & Couscous Salad
(4 servings)
Total time: 10 min

1/2 bunch organic kale (I used red kale)
3/4c dry couscous, cooked according to package directions
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt & Pepper

Wash, dry and trim kale of thick stems. Coarsely chop. Throw into a mixing bowl with a little salt and olive oi. IMPORTANT: Massage with your hands until kale breaks down and softens a bit (about a minute). Toss with couscous, cucumber and then add lemon (and a bit more olive oil, maybe a tsp or two and toss.

Plate the finished salmon on top of the bed of salad and devour. ;)

Best part about this meal? Super nutritious and well-balanced. This meal is highly anti-inflammatory and blows your daily requirements of Omega-3, Omega-6, Vitamin A, Vitamin K and Vitamin C out of the water.

Nutrition per serving:

487 calories
39 g protein
35 g carbs
21 g fat

Southern-Style Greens {BACON}

(The tasties. Not pictured: brown sugar)

I like greens. A LOT. Since many people associate "greens" with any green vegetable: lettuce, celery, asparagus, etc., I'll refer back to this post that clarifies what constitutes a Dark Leafy Green.

Greens should be eaten with fat in order to properly absorb the fat-soluble vitamins: Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Vitamin K. Hmmm. Usually I go for the standard, yet ever-delicious combination of olive oil, lemon and fresh garlic. Every once in a while, I have to switch it up. Enter: bacon in all of it's glory!

Southern Style Greens {with bacon...}
(Serves 2-4, takes approx 25 min)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb thick-cut organic bacon (preferably from a butcher, not from a package!)
1 large bunch organic collard greens (washed and prepped like pictured below)
1 sm-med brown onion (cut in half and sliced thinly)
3 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
1/4 c water
1/4 c Apple Cider Vinegar (I like Bragg's)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch crushed red pepper
Black Pepper

Directions:

Wash and prep your veggies. For the collard greens, I find it easiest to cut the stems off, and then roll the leaves up into one large jelly roll. Then slice into approx 1 in ribbons:
After than, cut the "ribbon circles" in half again.

Cut your bacon into bite-sized chunks. Sautee in a pan until most of the fat is rendered and they look nice and golden-brown, like so:

Is your mouth watering yet?? Ensure it is by adding in the onions, garlic and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Sautee on medium-low until flavorful and soft. Then add your green ribbons.




Whisk together the water, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and a small pinch of sea salt. Pour over your mixture. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 8 minutes, or until greens are softened, stirring often.

Season with fresh cracked black pepper. Careful, these are WAY delicious. Greens might be tricky to get your family to eat...but mix some bacon in, and they won't be able to resist! :)

Anti-Inflammatory SUPER SHOT!

So, my shoulder has been a terrible wreck for the past 6 weeks. Pretty sure I injured my rotator cuff by "flipping my dog" wildly in yoga. So, upon Dr. Matt's recommendation, I have ceased all yoga (trust me...it's been a LONG month) and any weight training. I have been incorporating fresh turmeric & ginger in my cooking, juicing 1x a day, eating lots of fresh veggies (per usual) and overall taking it easy.

But 6 weeks...and no improvement. :/ Time to go see Dr. Rich, DC. He's very holistic-minded, which of course, I like. He did a vision test and some physical tests. I am stressed, he says. He might be right. His RX? Well, I'm sporting purple kinesio-tape on my shoulder, doing left-brain exercises on the computer, and spinning slowly (clockwise) in my chair 3x per day. I have to work on another form of stress relief besides yoga, he says. I have also agreed to keep up on the couch potato-ing, high dose of EPA/EHA and potent anti-inflammatories. I decided to get SERIOUS about turmeric today, which is the whole POINT of this post. :)

Went to Whole Foods, which is right next to Dr. Matt & Rich's office and bought a big bag of turmeric root, and a big bag of ginger, and a couple of habanero peppers. I juiced THE most powerful concoction I've tasted today, to help heal my inflamed shoulder: approx 1 lb ginger, 1 lb turmeric root and 1/2 HOT habanero. I got about a cup of beautiful bright yellow liquid, with a bit of screaming from my Breville juicer. Had to scraped the mesh screen a few times to move all of the thick pulp out of the way.

I took a shot of it plain earlier, but as Dr. Matt & I were thinking about it, realized that the anti-inflammatory powers of the turmeric are fat-soluble, so it is best taken with a fat. Thinking of traditional curries (which traditionally incorporate spicy, ginger & turmeric anyway), I decided to use coconut oil, and created this second "shot" for before bed. Went down a lot smoother, but....OH MY. This stuff. Is. Strong!

Here's the finished potion: 1.5T turmeric/ginger/habanero juice + 1.5 tbsp warm (liquid) coconut oil. Mix and drink quickly (the coconut oil will turn back solid if the refrigerated juice is too cool).
TURMERIC is part of the same family as ginger. It's the small, orange root sitting on top of the ginger in my photo. It's beautiful, and be careful, because it stains everything (even stainless steel knives). That's how you know it's working, I guess. ;) Turmeric supports everything from joint pain to Alzheimer's to detox of liver to a possible prevention for cancer. Warning: it's said to NOT take this during pregnancy. You can read more about it's healing effects on Natural News. Also, here is some more info on World's Healthiest Foods.

GINGER is delicious, also a potent anti-inflammatory, known for soothing the stomach, and boosting the immune system. I love the taste and use it in juices and stir-frys, as well as in asian/indian dishes. Here is some more info on Ginger.

HABANERO PEPPERS are small and usually bright orange or red. I generally use only 1/2 of one in any given recipe, as they are WILDLY hot. They have a high capsaicin content helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and is also a potent anti-inflammatory. (hence it's included in my shot!) LiveStrong talks about the benefits of the habanero pepper here.

COCONUT OIL is a super versatile oil rich in monolauric acid and therefore has wonderful anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It helps control weight and supports thyroid and heart health. It's usually in solid form (here in MI), but when it gets warmer (76+ degrees), turns to a liquid. I cook (anything/everything) with it these days: cooking eggs, in pie crusts, in curries, stir frys, use it for oil-pulling, as a body lotion on face & body. I even make home made sugar or sea salt scrubs with coconut oil. I love the taste of it, and it's a good-for-you fat with MCFA's (medium chain fatty acids). Here's Dr. Mercola chatting about the benefits of coconut oil.

I plan on taking on 3x a day until I feel better.
TRY it yourself and let me know how you like it!