March 1, 2015

Fruitive – #LiveYourHealth

I’m so excited to be this week’s featured blogger for Fruitive’s Recipe Friday Series! Fruitive is a plant-based, organic, locally-sourced restaurant and juice company located in Virginia Beach. Everything about them is amazing! They’re dedicated to sustainability and promoting healthy lifestyles, and their motto — Live Your Health. Live Your Values. — beautifully sums up their passionate philosophy. The wonderful folks behind Fruitive created the hashtag #LiveYourHealth to spread the word. Head over to their website for delicious, nutritious recipes and to read up on this incredible company! Plus, you can order their juices online!! And if you’re in the Virginia Beach area, check out their restaurant!

I shared 2 of my favorite salad recipes over on their #LiveYourHealth Blog: Shredded Carrot Salad with Cilantro and Lime and Apple Kale Salad with Curry Vinaigrette.

Shredded Carrot Salad

Apple Kale Salad with Curry Vinaigrette

January 28, 2015

Citrusy Kale Salad with Avocado, Chickpeas and Cashews

Folks, I need lots of salad these days. Though I always go into the holiday season with the best intentions of not over-doing the sweets, the drinks, and the fatty carbs, I still consistently manage to wake up in late January wondering why none of my jeans fit. I usually try to blame it on the dryer – they shrunk! – but I know that’s not the case. It’s time to face reality and get back on track. This salad is here to set me straight!

there’s more! >>>

January 13, 2015

Shredded Carrot Salad with Cilantro and Lime

Shredded Carrot Salad

Happy 2015! I took a few weeks off of blogging – spent time with family and friends, enjoyed the holidays, read a few cookbooks, relaxed a lot – and now I’m back in the game with this super simple and majorly delicious carrot salad! I’m tempted to say this is for a New Year’s healthy eating resolution, but it’s not. It just happens to be a healthy salad that came about from me getting a new vegetable peeler that I’m in love with. It’s got a super sharp blade, is light and easy to hold and really fun to use…plus it’s very inexpensive! I did make one resolution this year, though, and that was to give more high fives. Yeah!

there’s more! >>>

November 3, 2014

Apple Kale Salad with Curry Vinaigrette

Restraint and I are not the closest of friends. I may have overdone it a bit on Halloween and the day after. So much candy. So many drinks. Such a good time. And that’s why kale was invented. It’s our reset button. Kale is our designated driver, our friend that reminds us to not eat that 10th mini snickers bar. Kale sets us straight, makes us right. And this salad does just that in the most delicious way possible!

there’s more! >>>

October 9, 2014

Arugula Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash & Red Onions

My CSA box has done it again. It’s led me to another veggie crush; this time delicata squash. Have you tried it? It’s a smallish cylindrical squash with stipey thin skin and sweet rich flesh. I think I may even love it more than butternut squash, especially since it’s much easier to work with – you won’t lose a finger trying to cut it up and you can eat the skin (major nutrition!) so no peeling required. It’s small size and thin skin also means it cooks quicker, high fives all around!

there’s more! >>>

September 18, 2014

3-Bean Salad with Avocado Cashew Dressing

The other day I was standing at the deli counter in my grocery store waiting for a lid to an olive bar container. I stood there staring at the various “salads” that lay limp, soaked in dressings and vinegars, and couldn’t take my eyes off of the 3-bean salad. It was drowning in a pool of vinegar dressing, which I imagined was sweetened to death with loads of sugar just to make it palatable. I thought to myself, this potluck/family reunion staple needs a makeover. I’ve got green beans from my CSA and dried black beans and chickpeas waiting to be used; let’s jazz up this boring, tired salad and give it a fresh zippy kick in the beans! {see what i did there}

there’s more! >>>

August 25, 2014

Panzanella

This Tuscan bread and tomato salad is exactly why summer was invented. It brings together the lovely veg that’s simultaneously in season; a harmony of ingredients and flavor. Historically, this dish spanned all classes of 16th century Italy. Though namely a peasant dish — it was a way to use up stale bread, which back then was only baked once a week — it was also adored by nobility. Poets even wrote about it. The stale bread was soaked in water and vinegar to soften then tossed with whatever vegetables came out of the garden, most commonly onions and cucumbers. Tomatoes weren’t introduced to the salad until the 1800’s.

there’s more! >>>

August 4, 2014

Tomato Avocado Salad with Spicy Lime Vinaigrette

Tomato & Avocado Salad

While strolling through the farmers market I spotted this mix of heirloom cherry and grape tomatoes. The farmer was describing them to another customer so I stopped to listen along. He said the tiny yellow ones — yellow currant tomatoes — were nearly as sweet as grapes and offered them up for us to taste. I happily obliged. He was not kidding; they’re super sweet and delightfully juicy…and so darn cute!

This simple salad highlights the incredible flavor of these gorgeous tomatoes. With just a few other salad ingredients (avocados, onions, crumbly cheese, and herbs) along with a spicy limey vinaigrette, this quick and easy salad makes for a delicious, healthy, and colorful summertime side dish. Or, add it to any taco, sandwich or pita pocket for a complete meal. A veggie rainbow of flavor!

there’s more! >>>

June 18, 2014

Spring Veggie Pasta w/ Cilantro Pesto

Summer is nearing and we need to make room for the hot-weather veg about to grace our tables. This is a fantastic way to use up any spring veggies you have on hand.

This pasta takes advantage of the spicier spring produce available: peppery arugula and piquant radishes. The cilantro pesto — made with garlic scapes, toasted almonds, red pepper flakes, lime juice and avocado oil — compliments those flavors and steers us in the direction of the Southwest. Fiber-rich black beans and fresh, milky mozzarella round out the dish for a hearty, healthy meal. To add an additional kick of spice and flavor, drizzle on some sriracha! Let’s get the party started!

there’s more! >>>

April 24, 2014

Pea Shoots, Oranges, and Avocado with Orange-Chili Vinaigrette

Pea shoots, pea tendrils, pea sprouts…what’s the difference? Pea sprouts are the first thin stems that sprout after planting, are light green, and may or may not have leaves. Pea tendrils are the delicate, curly vines at the top of the stem. Pea shoots are the more mature stems with leaves and tendrils attached. Pea shoots are sometimes called pea tendrils, pea greens or pea tips.