Salted Cabbage (Sauerkraut)

Cabbage, salt and water - super healthy and tasty
Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 2 (out of 5)
Source: Trial and error

Ingredients:
- 1 small-medium green cabbage (3-4 lbs)
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 litres of boiled water cooled to room temperature

Directions:
1. Wash the cabbage, the hands, a 4l (1 gallon) glass jar and a large bowl.
2. Finely shred the cabbage (in a food processor or by hand)
3. In a large bawl, add salt to shredded cabbage and mix with your hands, gently squeezing the cabbage. It should soften, but not get too runny.
4. Transfer the cabbage into the glass jar, and add chilled boiled water, just enough to cover the cabbage. You will probably need much less than 2 litres.
5. Loosely cover the jar with the lid, but don't tighten it, you need air flow in the jar.
6. Leave the jar outside at room temperature.
7. Every day, open the jar, use a wooden spatula with a long handle to poke wholes in the cabbage to let the gasses from the bottom escape. Press the cabbage so that it stays submerged under the water and loosely cover with the lid again.
8. Taste your sauerkraut every day, until it reaches the level of doneness that you like. In my case it took 2 days, but it would depend on the temperature in your house.
9. Once the sauerkraut is ready, tighten the lid and keep it in the fridge.

Afterthoughts:
Many recipes use vinegar, oil, sugar or other spices. I think with salt alone it turns out the best, not only calorie and health-wise, but primarily taste-wise.

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Potato Salad

Yummy, simple and great for any occasion
Source: Japanese Potato Salad from Nami's Just One Cookbook

Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
- 2 Russet potatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 2 1/2 inch carrot
- 1/4 cup corn kernels
- 2 inch English cucumbers
- 2 slices of ham or bologna
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 sprigs of parsley
- salt
- black pepper
Total: 8 servings

Directions:
1. Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes. Boil them on high heat, and after the water boils, let cook for another 10-15 minutes until done. Drain the water and mash the potatoes but leave some small chunks for texture. Sprinkle with salt and transfer into a big bowl.
2. In the meantime prepare a boiled egg. Peel and mash the egg with a fork in a small bowl.
3. Cut carrots into 1/8 inch cubes, put them in a microwave-safe container and cover with water. Microwave for 30 seconds on high and drain.
4. Cut the cucumbers and the bologna or the ham into 1/8 inch cubes.
5. If using canned corn kernels, drain them. If using frozen, place into a small microwave bowl, add 2 tablespoons of water and microwave on high for 1 minute. Drain the water.
6. Roughly chop the parsley.
7. Add all the ingredients into the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix well. Add mayonnaise and mix until incorporated.
8. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Will keep in refrigerator for 2 days.

Afterthoughts:
- This is a pretty simple potato salad, mashing the potatoes, as opposed to slicing them, saves some time.
- You can also add pickled cucumber, green onions or green peas, depending on your preferences.
- Check out Nami's blog for step by step photos, and add Japanese mayo to make this salad Japanese :-).

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Edamame and Carrot Thai salad

An easy side for an Asian dinner
Source: Adapted from Inquiring Chef blog

Difficulty: 1 (out of 5)
Taste: 5 (out of 5)

Ingredients

Ingredients
For the Dressing (150 cal):
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (5 cal)
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp honey (15 cal)
- 1 tsp peanut butter (5 cal)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (120 cal)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (5 cal)
- salt, to taste
For the Salad (1370 cal):
- 1 tbsp olive oil (120 cal)
- 2 chopped green onions (5 cal)
- 2 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks (50 cal)
- 2 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed (440 cal)
- 1 cup crushed cashews (755 cal)
Total: 4 servings,1520 cal, 380 cal/serving

Directions:
- Make the dressing. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside
- Toss the salad. Combine chicken, green onion, carrot, and edamame in a large bowl. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad; toss gently to coat. Just before serving, sprinkle peanuts over the salad. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Afterthoughts:
- Delicious simple Thai salad!
- The original recipe had chicken, but I used the salad as a side and skipped the meat. I will be making this recipe in its original version too, as a light lunch or dinner. Also, the original recipe called for peanuts, but I did not have them and used cashews instead.
- I made small modifications to the dressing. The biggest deviation was adding peanut butter. I am not a fan of peanut butter in baking, but I love adding it to Thai sauces.
- Inquiring Chef is a wonderful blog. Jess, the author, currently lives in Thailand and has a lot of Thai recipes, among many others. And her photos are absolutely professional and mouthwatering. If you have not been to her blog you are missing out :-)

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Chickpeas Feta Salad and Tahina

This month my Secret Recipe Club assignment was a perfect match for my first attempts at home made pitas: Katherine Martinelli’s blog has lots of great Middle Eastern recipes (among other things), so I made two great dishes instead of one :-)

This recipe is featured on RecipeNewZ

Source: Katherine Martinelli blog

GARLICKY ROASTED CHICKPEAS WITH FETA AND MINT
Taste 4 (out of 5)
Difficulty 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients
• 1 15-oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained (540 cal)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (120 cal)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced (15 cal)
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• ¾ cup crumbled Feta (295 cal)
• ½ cup chopped fresh mint
• Lemon wedges
Total: 970 cal, 2 servings, 485 cal / serving

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.
2. Mix together the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
3. Put chickpeas into baking dish and toss with olive oil mixture until the chickpeas are well coated with oil. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Put chickpeas in the oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until chickpeas are slightly browned and barely beginning to crisp.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Transfer to a serving dish and stir in the feta and mint. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve with lemon wedges.

Afterthoughts
• This is a very simple, filling and healthy dish, a great accompaniment to any Middle Eastern meal.
• If you don’t have fresh mint, use dried.

TAHINA DIP

Source: Katherine Martinelli blog

Taste 4 (out of 5)
Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients
• ½ cup tahini (710 cal)
• 4 tbsp lemon juice (15 cal)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (10 cal)
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• Salt
Total: ¾ cups, 735 cal

Directions
Mix all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Serve at room temperature.

Afterthoughts
Katherine’s original directions have more steps, but I combined them all. Check out her post if you don’t want your tahina to be all green :-)

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Quinoa not so Tabbouleh Salad

A yummy vegan salad from An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

This recipe is featured on RecipeNewZ

Source
An Opera Singer’s Kitchen blog

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa (625 cal)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 avocado, diced (160 cal)
- 1/2 tomato, diced (10 cal)
- 5 red radishes, diced (5 cal)
- 5 green onions, chopped (5 cal)
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup yellow pepper, diced (10 cal)
- 1/2 cup English cucumber, diced (10 cal)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (1 tsp in the original recipe)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 3 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar (35 cal)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (240 cal)
Total: 1100 cal, 4 servings, 275 cal / serving

Instructions
1. Wash the 1 cup of quinoa in a colander for several seconds. Add quinoa, 1 1/2 cups of water and salt to a small pot and boil for 15 minutes. You will know it is cooked when it becomes soft and you see little white antennas pop from the grain.
2. Meanwhile, wash all your veggies well and chop and dice them accordingly.
3. Add all the veggies to a medium glass bowl and toss. In a small bowl mix the red wine vinegar, olive oil and all the spices and blend well. Add the vinaigrette to the salad and enjoy.
4. Will keep for 1 day, but best eaten the same day.

Afterthoughts
1. This salad can be served both as a side or all by itself. The ingredients are all healthy and the textures and flavors combine into a delicious, colorful and happy salad.
2. Noell’s blog http://www.singerskitchen.com/ was my August assignment from the Secret Recipe Club. I have visited it many times before and was very happy to finally make one of her recipes. If you have not yet, check out this blog, especially if you’re looking for vegan recipes!

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Potato Salad with Cilantro Pesto

Simple, delicious and ... green... for June 2011 Daring Cooks challenge
Source Improvised

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients
- 1 lb of new potatoes, cut into quarters or eights (420 cal)
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup walnuts (165 cal)
- 1/2 lemon, zest and juice (15 cal)
- 2 cloves garlic (10 cal)
- 1/2 cup no-fat yogurt (70 cal)
- black pepper
- salt
Total 4 servings, 680 cal, 170 cal / serving

Instructions
1. Wash the potatoes and cut the potatoes, do not peel. In a medium pot bring water to a boil, add the potatoes and salt and cook until the potatoes are cooked, but still hold their shape, about 15-20 minutes.
2. In the meantime, combine the rest of the ingredients in a blender and pulse until well combined.
3. Drain the potatoes and toss with the pesto until coated. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

Afterthoughts
I’ve been making a lot of variations of pesto recently, with parsley, cilantro, chives, different nuts, sour cream, olive oil – anything goes :-). It’s really great with pasta, potatoes, steamed foods… Adds so much fresh flavor and it’s so easy to make!

Blog-checking lines: Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

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Edamame Corn Salad

A super easy, super healthy, super satisfying salad for the Secret Recipe Club
Source Savoring the Thyme blog

Taste: 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty: 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients
- 1 cup shelled edamame, fresh or frozen, cooked and cooled (255 cal)
- 1 cup corn, either fresh or frozen, thawed (155 cal)
- 2 tomatoes or kumato (variety of tomato), chopped (40 cal)
- 1 scallion (green onion), chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley or any of your favorite herb, minced
- 1 tsp olive oil or vegetable (40 cal)
- 1 tbsp rice wine or red wine vinegar (10 cal)
- salt and pepper to taste
Total: 2 servings, 500 cal, 250 cal / serving

Instructions
1. Cook or thaw the edamame if necessary. Drain and let cool.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl with gentle mixing.

Afterthoughts
- This is a perfect recipe for someone who loves edamame and corn, like I do. The salad is ready in no time, it is very substantial, can be a meal in itself, it’s delicious, and yet healthy. And it has all the colors of the traffic light ;-). What else can you ask from a dish.
- Last month I saw a link to the Secret Recipe Club on several blogs I follow. The club is hosted by Amanda, who had this brilliant idea of assigning each one of the participants a blog, from which you are free to choose any recipe to make. For May I was assigned Savoring the Thyme blog, which has a lot of wonderful recipes and beautiful photos. It was difficult to choose, but this month I decided to make salads every day to compensate for all the last month's whipping cream, and I love edamame and corn, so this salad was just perfect. Thanks to Amanda for the wonderful event, and to Jennifer from Savoring the Thyme for the inspiration!

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Greek Salad in a Bread Bowl

For the April 2011 Daring Cooks Edible Containers challenge
Source
The bowl from Renata’s site

Ingredients
- cucumbers
- tomatoes
- red leaf lettuce
- dill
- olives
- feta cheese
- walnuts
- lemon juice
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
For the bowl all the ingredients and instructions are on Renata’s site.
For the salad, chop the veggies and add the seasoning :-).

Afterthoughts
- First of all, I really LOVE the edible container idea! Thanks, Renata, for the challenge and for all the creative suggestions!
- I tried many different bowls, but I guess this was not my month – they all fell apart. The bread bowl was the only survival :-). I can’t wait to see the posts of the other Daring cooks with their recipes!

Blog-checking lines: Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

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Coleslaw, Sweet Coleslaw

What better way to taste your julienne and chiffonade knife skills.
Source
Inspired by a knife skills class by Mark Halyk of Catered Art

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 3 (out of 5) – depending on your knife proficiency ;-0

Ingredients
- 1/2 medium sized green cabbage head (110 cal)
- 1 medium carrot (25 cal)
- 1 medium apple (80 cal)
- 1/4 medium jicama (50 cal)
- 1/2 large red bell pepper (20 cal)
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries (140 cal)
- 2 green onions (5 cal)
- 2 garlic cloves (10 cal)
- 1 orange (90 cal)
- 1 grapefruit (90 cal)
- 5-6 sprigs of fresh mint
- 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar (10 cal)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (240 cal)
- zest of 1 orange and 1 grapefruit
- nutmeg, salt and black pepper to taste
Total: 870 cal, 6 servings, 145 cal/serving

Instructions
Normally I would say: “thinly slice all the vegetables and mix”. But after having learned the techniques I feel like I have to use the right terminology (at least once), to make it sound more complicated and professional :-)
1. Chiffonade the cabbage and the mint.
Chiffonade is a way of cutting leafy vegetables into thin strips. If you are working with mint (or basil, or other thin leaves), place 5 to 10 leaves on top of each other and roll them into a tight “cigar”. Then slide a very sharp chef’s knife across the cigar cutting it into very thin strips. Try to glide the knife, as opposed to pushing it hard into the mint; otherwise the mint will get “bruised,” i.e., will oxidize and darken quickly. Since cabbage leaves are already rolled tightly together by default, all you need is just to cut the cabbage head into quarters, remove the hard core and thinly slice the quarters across the grain.
2. Julienne the carrot, the apple, the jicama and the pepper.
Julienne cut creates very thin, long strips, similar to matchsticks (about 1/8 x 1/8 x 2.5 inches). Peel the carrots and the jicama, leave the apple skin on. Trim the ends of the carrot and cut it into 2-3 parts crosswise. Cut each segment in half lengthwise and lay the cut side down on the table, this way it’s stable. Cut the carrot into 1/8’’ thick slices, and then cut these slices into 1/8’’ thick long strips. Quarter the jicama (you only need a quarter) and cut into strips similarly to the carrot. Core and quarter the apple and julienne just like the jicama. The pepper is the easiest to julienne, just cut it in half, remove the seeds and cut into thin strips.
3. Place the green onions on a clean cutting board and rock your knife across them, cutting them in thin strips (size-wise similar to the mint chiffonade).
4. Place the garlic cloves onto a clean cutting board, place the flat side of your chef’s knife on top of them with a blade facing away from you, press with a palm on the upper side of the blade (be careful so that your hand does not slide) until the garlic cracks. At this point the garlic is extremely easy to peel. The cut for the garlic is the fine brunoise – a 1/16 x 1/16 x 1/16 inch dice. First cut the garlic into very thin sticks (similar to julienning the carrots) and then cut across the sticks to create the dice.
5. Zest and peel the orange and the grapefruit and cut off the segments.
While the orange is still whole, zest it with orange zester and sprinkle the zest over the salad. Then cut both ends off the orange to expose the flesh. Place the orange the cut side down. Peel with a sharp knife from top to bottom, tracing the shape of the orange. Remove all the zest, the outer colorful part, and the pith, the white inner portion of the peel, but try to leave the flash intact. Cut along the membranes to release the sections. Squeeze the membranes with the remaining flash over the coleslaw to add orange juice to the salad. Repeat the same procedure with the grapefruit.
Tip: Citrus juice is not only tasty, it also prevents oxidation in apples, so they don’t turn brown.
6. Now mix all the vegetables in a large bowl, sprinkle with dried cranberries and citrus sections. Whisk together the vinegar with the olive oil; add nutmeg, salt and black pepper to taste and pour over the coleslaw.
7. It’s better to let your coleslaw stand in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or better, overnight, before serving. Enjoy!

Afterthoughts
- I think this coleslaw will taste just as good without any special knife skills, but I find it fun playing with the tools in the kitchen, and practicing knife skills trying to imitate those fancy chefs on the Foodnetwork.
- I love adding citrus juice and zest to any dishes: salads, meat, fish, cakes. It adds a lot of flavor and vitamin C.
- I really enjoyed the knife skills class. It is very useful to have someone knowledgeable look at your cutting techniques and give you feedback for improvement. But if you don’t have a similar class in your area, there are very good informative videos on Youtube and other sites. Just google “knife skills” and you’ll see.
- And be very careful with sharp knifes - goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway ;-)

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Spinach Strawberry Salad

A yummy, healthy, refreshing salad, even for those who are not crazy about spinach.

Source 

Improvised

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 5 oz fresh spinach (35 cal)

- 1/2 mango (60 cal)

- 4 large strawberries (65 cal)

- 1/4 large red onion (15 cal)

- 4 walnuts, chopped (100 cal)

- 1/4 cup orange juice (20 cal)

- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (10 cal)

- 1 tsp agave nectar (15 cal)

- 1 tbsp olive oil (120 cal)

Total 450 cal, 2 large servings, 250 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Wash well the fruits and the vegetables. Peel and coarsely chop the onion and the mango, chop the strawberries. Add the walnuts and mix. 

2. Mix the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, agave nectar and olive oil and pour over the salad. Let the salad stand in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before serving.

Afterthoughts

- I am not crazy about spinach, but this is one of the few recipes that make spinach edible and even quite tasty for me. And my boyfriend does not like the texture of onions, but I did not hear any complaints in this case.

- It’s a colorful, pretty salad, and is perfect for entertaining guests. Everyone will like it. 

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Fruity Quinoa Salad and Weightlossophy tip #7: How to Get off a Plateau

This salad is super-simple, quick to make, healthy and sweetish - a nice way to start your weekend. And the tip on what to do when your weight loss plateaus.

This week I was publishing tips from my Weightlossophy thanks to which I lost 55 pounds over 7 months. Like anyone else, during that time I hit many plateaus, when no matter how good I was, the weight would not go down. Here are some things you might want to try to get your scale cooperate again.

How to get off a plateau

  A plateau is probably the most frustrating aspect of every diet. When your scale shows a steady progress, it is relatively easy to keep yourself motivated. But when you are doing everything right, and the weight just would not budge, you start thinking that things are not working and are much more likely to give up. How many diets were broken by these plateaus!

  I think that indeed when you hit a plateau, your body is asking for a change. But the change does not mean giving up the diet altogether. Make small adjustments: change the types of food you eat, the workout style, your daily routine, the time of your meals, your calories intake. In fact, the changes don’t necessarily mean eating less and working out more. Taking a short break from your workout and eating slightly more can also work wonders, as long as you are doing it controllably and for a certain period of time. 

  I was very often saved from my plateaus by trips. I just cannot go to a new place without trying the local cuisine - for me food is at least 50% of my cultural experience :-). I decided that my diet does not apply when I travel, so I ate beignets in New Orleans, coconuts in Hawaii and steaks in Omaha. I tried to eat controllably, but it did not always work. I would come back home after 4-5 days and discover that I gained 1-2 pounds. But they would be gone after a day or two of my standard diet. And by the end of the week I would lose even more and move off that plateau! 

  If you’re looking for a “scientific proof,” check out the graph in “How I lost 55 pounds” post. The grey areas stand for trips, where I did not track my calorie intake and burn. In many place the orange weight line flattens out before the trip and then drops much faster after. 

And now for the healthy recipe of the day.

Fruity Quinoa Salad

Source 

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 1/4 cup quinoa (155 cal)

- 1/2 cup water

- juice of 1/4 orange (20 cal)

- 1/4 mango (30 cal)

- 4 strawberries (25 cal)

- 5 grapes (20 cal)

Total 250 cal, 1 serving

Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa with water and orange juice for about 20 minutes over medium heat until all the liquids are absorbed.

2. Chop half of the fruit and puree the rest for the dressing. 

3. Mix the cooked quinoa with the chopped fruit and pour the dressing over the salad. Serve warm or cold.

Afterthoughts

This is a detox recipe, so I tried to make the recipe as simple as possible, without adding any spices, sweeteners, etc. It might have been a little bland, but the dressing made a huge difference and it turned out a really nice dish. Not just for the detox.

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Salad Bouquet and Weightlossophy tip #5: Spend time on Non-Eating Food-Related Activities

Celebrate the beauty and flavor of simple vegetables with a festive design. Plus the weight loss tip of the day.

Over the last two days I published the first 4 guiding principles that helped me lose 55 pounds over 7 months. This is my 5th Weightlossophy tip.

Spend time on non-eating food-related activities

  I am obsessed with food, have always been. I am one of those who remember places by the foods they ate there. A huge portion of my thoughts is dedicated to food, often even when I am actively doing something else. I suppose that’s just how I am and I have to accept it, especially since for me food is one of the greatest joys in life, and I don’t want to deprive myself of it. 

  But thinking about food does not necessarily have to lead to munching. You can direct all this food-addict energy into other food-related activities that will actually distract you from eating. Like planning what you are going to eat, looking up the recipes, doing grocery shopping, reading restaurant reviews and menus, cooking, counting calories (additional benefit of Tips #2), taking pictures of your food, and blogging about it (yes, yes - that’s one of the main reasons I started a food blog). 

  

  A perfect example of a non-eating food-related activity is the Salad Bouquet recipe below. Yesterday evening I spent at least half an hour thinking about the design. Today I spent another 30 minutes actually “building” it. Then at least 1 hour taking the pictures (we barely have any windows at home, so my only chance at natural light is on our small balcony in pretty ridiculous conditions ;-) ). And now finally writing this up. This gives you 2-3 hours happily dealing with food and consuming 0 calories. Not too bad, I think.

Salad Bouquet

Source 

Improvised

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 4,5 thin round slices + 1/2 tomato (10 cal)

- 4,5 thin round slices daikon radish (5 cal)

- 10-15 small lettuce leaves (10 cal)

- 2-3 twigs watercress

- 1-2 twigs parsley

- 1 medium bell pepper (30 cal)

- 1/2 mini cucumber (10 cal)

- 1 tbsp no-fat yogurt (10 cal)

- 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 

- 1/2 green onion

- salt and pepper to taste

Total 75 cal, 1 serving

Instructions

1. For the vase: Cut the top and the bottom of the bell pepper. Clean the remaining cylinder and fill with lettuce leaves, parsley and watercress twigs. 

2. For the flours: Place the thin round strips of daikon radish and tomato in a raw so that the overlap slightly and roll them all together to create a “rose”. For tomatoes it might be easier to use thin strips of tomato skins, especially for the finer “petals”. Place the roses inside the lettuce. With vegetable peeler cut thin slices of mini cucumber and arrange them “artistically” all around.

3. For the dressing: Peel 1/2 tomato, and blend together with the yogurt and the lemon juice. Add the finely chopped green onion and use the bell pepper tip (the one without the stem) to serve the dressing.

Afterthoughts

You can serve this salad as an individual dish, but it would probably fit better as a decoration for a large salad bowl on a dinner table. Of course, if you have a large salad, you can use one additional pepper to accommodate a larger amount of dressing.

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St Patrick's Salad

Colorful, crunchy salad 

Source

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5) 

Ingredients

Green radish, jicama and carrots

Instructions

Slice and serve with your favorite dressing

Afterthoughts

- A simple crunchy salad perfect for spring, and with some design, for St. Patrick’s day.

- It’s the first time I bought the green radish, in fact I had no idea what it was when I picked it up in the grocery store. It actually has a much milder flavor than the traditional radish. And it looks surprising :-) 

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Waldorf Salad

Source

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 1 Granny Smith apple (60 cal)

- 1 stalk of celery (10 cal)

- 1/3 cup cranberries (130 cal)

- 2 oz / 60 g green grapes (40 cal)

- 4 walnuts (100 cal)

- 1/2 cup non-fat yogurt (60 cal)

- 1/2 tbsp sugar (20 cal)

- 1 large strawberry (20 cal)

Total 440 cal, 2 servings, 220 cal / serving

Instructions

Finely chop all the apples, the celery, the walnuts and the strawberry (or half the strawberry for decoration). Half the grapes. Mix all the ingredients together with the cranberries. 

Mix the yogurt with the sugar and pour above the salad.

Afterthoughts

A nice, easy, sweet (literally) salad - makes a great appetizer or a small lunch.

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Grapefruit Salad with Water Chestnuts

Source

Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 4 grapefruit wedges (30 cal)

- 2 orange wedges (15 cal)

- 1 tomato (20 cal)

- 1 water chestnut (10 cal)

- 5 lettuce leaves (10 cal)

- 1 oz / 30 g bean sprouts (10 cal)

- 1/3 oz / 10 g pine nuts (60 cal)

- parsley for decoration

For the dressing

- 1 tbsp orange juice (10 cal)

- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

- 1 tsp low fat raspberry jam (5 cal)

For serving

- skin of 1 large grapefruit halved in 2 bowls

Total 170 cal, 2 servings, 85 cal / serving

Instructions

1. Thinly slice the tomato and the water chestnut. Cut the lettuce. Arrange all the ingredients in the grapefruit bowls.

2. Mix all the dressing ingredients and drizzle on top. 

Afterthoughts

A lovely salad if you like citrus fruits.

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“Babel” Salad with Daikon Radish

  

Source
Improvised

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients

- 5 oz / 150g daikon radish (30 cal)

- 1 tomato (20 cal)

- 5 romaine lettuce leaves (10 cal)

- 2 slices yellow bell pepper (10 cal)

- 1/3 oz/ 10 g crumbled feta cheese (30 cal)

- 2 walnuts, chopped (50 cal)

- 2 parsley twigs for decoration

For the dressing (50 cal at most)

- 1/4 tsp dijon mustard

- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

- 1/2 tsp lemon juice

- 1 tsp orange juice

- 1/2 tsp olive oil

- 1/4 tsp dried basil

- salt and paprika to taste

Total 200 cal, 2 servings, 100 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Cut the radish and the pepper into 1/4 inch slices, the tomato - into 1/8 inch. Tear lettuce leaves. Arrange the vegetables in layers. Place the parsley on the top and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and walnut pieces.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and drizzle over your babel tower.

Afterthoughts

A very nice salad, the daikon radish is sweetish and goes well with the light orangey sauce. This would be a great salad for a hot summer afternoon, but even on a rainy winter day it tasted good.

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Beet Potato Salad - a Russian Vinigret

Source

Home sweet home

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5) - lots of chop chop chop

Ingredients

- 3 medium beets (105 cal)

- 3 medium carrots (75 cal)

- 3 medium potatoes (490 cal)

- 1 medium red onion (60 cal)

- 6 large pickled cucumbers (30 cal)

- 3 tbsp olive oil (360 cal)

- salt and pepper to taste

Total 1120 cal, 8 servings, 140 cal/serving

Instructions

1. Boil the beets, the carrots and the potatoes without removing the skin, until done.

2. Let cool, peel and slice all the vegetables into 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) cubes.

3. Mix well, add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Afterthoughts

It looks festive because of the bright red color, but is quite easy to make, except for the chopping time.

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Summary only...

Olivie

Source

Home sweet home

Taste 4 (out of 5)

Difficulty 2 (out of 5), but time consuming - chop chop chop

Ingredients

- 5 medium sized potatoes (820 cal)

- 3 large carrots (90 cal)

- 5 eggs (350 cal)

- 6 beef veiner sausages (780 cal)

- 2 cups of corn (240 cal)

- 6 pickles (45 cal)

- 10 tablespoons of mayonnaise (400 cal)

Total 2725, 6 servings, 454 cal / serving

My changes:

As usual I used corns instead of green peas.

Instructions

1. Boil potatoes and carrots in skins and eggs in shells. Boil corn, if frozen. Boil sausages. Drain and let cool.

2. Peel the skins and cut all ingredients (including pickles) into 1/2 cm cubes.

3. Mix and add mayonnaise.

4. If you want to keep the salad for a couple of days, it’s best to keep the pickles and sausage separately, and mix and add mayonnaise shortly before serving. Once the salad is ready it will stay in a fridge for 2 days.

Afterthoughts

Could have used 2-3 more potatoes for this amount of other ingredients.

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