Kale and Grain Salad

Over the past year, my husband and I have gotten really into weight lifting. Recently, we started seeing a personal trainer, who explained that "what you eat is everything" and sat us down for a nutritional consult.

Her rules are strict: no pasta, no cereal, no bread, extremely limited sugar intake (and sugar includes fruit, carrots, etc). She recommends lean proteins, sweet potatoes, lots of greens, and whole grains- the typical bodybuilder diet.

I can't stick to a diet like that too closely (I'm Italian, I love my pasta!), but I do want to try to eat a little cleaner during our weeknight meals.

This salad is my bodybuilder diet "training wheels"- I mixed couscous (a pasta) with freekeh (a serious whole grain), and added kale, snap peas, and a few shavings of Parmesan.  It was pretty good- I don't like the freekeh by itself, but blended with Israeli couscous, it made for a delicious mix of textures.

Kale and Grain Salad
1/2 cup freekeh
1/2 cup Israeli couscous
1 cup chicken stock
1 bunch kale, trimmed and chopped
1 cup sugarsnap peas
1 clove garlic, smashed
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Vinaigrette:
1/4 olive oil
1 small shallot, chopped
2 tbsp vinegar

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add snap peas, boil one minute, then drain and rinse under cold water to set the color.

Combine 1/2 cup freekeh and 1 and 1/2 cups water in a pot. Bring to a boil, and simmer 45 minutes. (Alternately, you can buy cracked freekeh, which cooks faster. I had a hard time finding that).  Drain, and add to a serving bowl.

In a separate pot, add couscous and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, until water is absorbed.  Drain, and combine with freekeh in serving bowl.

Saute the kale, garlic, and olive oil in one of the pots until wilted, and add to serving bowl. Add sugarsnap peas as well.

Mix all dressing ingredients together and pour over freekeh/couscous combo. Using a vegetable peeler, shave some Parmesan over the top. Serve and enjoy.

*You can also make this salad with just freekeh or just couscous, to make it easier. Or swap quinoa or farro for one of the ingredients.

Winter Slaw

I know we're all ready for spring, but the truth is there's still no spring vegetables or anything out there. It might feel warmer today, but I'm still in winter eating mode. 

I saw this on a recent rerun of Barefoot Contessa and thought it looked delicious, although it’s possible I was confusing the salad with its creator, Tyler Florence. 
 

Either way, it was simple, not too heavy on the ingredients, and the perfect accompaniment to a light Monday night dinner after boozing and hitting restaurants all weekend. 

 

 

Winter Slaw, from Tyler Florence

Serves 6-8

 

6 oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved, cored

6 large kale leaves, rib removed

½ small head radicchio, cored

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup good olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 cup dried cranberries

1 6-oz chunk of good Parmesan cheese*

 

Cut the Brussels sprouts, kale, and radicchio into very thin strips and combine in a bowl. 

 

Whisk together lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper. Pour on the dressing and add cranberries.

 

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the chunk of Parmesan into thin shards.

 

Toss, and serve relatively soon. This can’t be made in advance as the lemon juice will change the color of the greens.   

 

 

*If it comes in a green can it is NOT good!!! Buy a real chunk of Locatelli, imported from Italy, and grind that shit yourself. Don’t get me started on Parmesan.

Black Rice Salad

I was flipping through the healthy recipes in January's Bon Appetit, and stopped dead in my tracks at this gorgeous black rice salad on one of the pages. It looked delicious against bright orange squash, green onions, and purple microgreens.  I knew I had to make it for dinner.

I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so I changed the recipe up significantly. It was the look I was after more than the squash and rice flavor profile. You can click here for the original, or read on for my version.

Fun fact, black rice is loaded with antioxidants, making it not only prettier, but also healthier, than white rice. (another fun fact, white rice is my #1 least favorite food).

Black Rice Salad with Carrot Slaw
1 cup black rice
2 carrots, sliced into thin matchsticks
1/2 a head of raddicchio, sliced into thin ribbons
1/4 cup chopped red onion (you could use scallions instead)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare rice according to package directions. Just a heads up, this type of rice can take around 35 minutes.

While rice is cooking, slice your carrots into thin matchsticks and slice the radicchio into thin ribbons. Combine carrots, radicchio, onion, and parsley in a bowl, and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together oils, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt and pepper.

When rice is ready, place in a serving bowl. Combine with carrot mixture, and drizzle with dressing. Serve hot or at room temperature.

To make ahead, you can prepare and refrigerate rice, carrot mix, and vinaigrette separately, and combine just before serving. If you let the rice and carrots sit together for too long, the carrots absorb a little of the black color.


Enjoy!

Kale and Grapefruit Salad

My husband is a super picky eater. He won’t eat anything that lives in water, he’s wary of new things, won’t touch berries, can’t stomach eggs- it goes on and on.  One of the few things I've gotten him to into though is kale- and that's only the Tuscan kind, not your curly grocery store kale, and only raw in salad form, not cooked.  Okay though, I’ll take it. 

So we eat a lot of kale salads and I’m always on the hunt for ways to change it up. I saw this grapefruit and avocado salad in a recent issue of Cooking Light, and I had to try it.

Turns out, we can add grapefruit and avocado to Mr. B’s no fly list. 

But if you have a less picky palate, try this salad out. It’s a nice change of pace and a really delicious side dish.  The original recipe calls for hearts of palm and artichokes, I left those out because I had none on hand, but I'm sure they would only improve it.

Kale, Grapefruit, and Avocado Salad, adapted from Cooking Light
Serves 2-4 as a side

2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp lime zest
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 bunch Tuscan kale, cleaned and chopped
½ cup thinly sliced red onion
1 avocado, sliced
1 grapefruit, cut into segments

Whisk first six ingredients together in a bowl.

Combine kale, onion, avocado, and grapefruit in serving bowl. Drizzle dressing over and toss to combine.

With kale salads, I like to let it sit about 15-20 minutes so the dressing can tenderize the kale a little. But you could serve it immediately too.

Enjoy!

Lentil Salad

It’s January, and like everyone else in the world I’m trying to eat healthier. I’m being realistic about it too- healthy from Monday-Thursday. Weekends I can do what I want.  I’m not trying to lose weight or anything, I just think I could cut my cheese and carb intake slightly.

So I came up with this yummy, healthy lentil salad to take the place of the orzo or couscous we’d normally have on the side of dinner. It’s good warm, cold, or room temperature, and will last in the fridge a day or two.

Lentil Salad
1 cup lentils
2 ¼ cups chicken stock
¼ cup wine
1 package cleaned and cut butternut squash (do yourself a favor and buy this precut)
2 cups chopped Tuscan kale (don’t sub the curly variety)
¼ cup feta
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Arrange squash on baking sheet, drizzle with salt, pepper, oil (I don’t measure). 

Combine lentils, stock, and wine in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 35-45 minutes, until tender and stock is absorbed.

While lentils cook, bake squash at 425 for 40 minutes.  

Combine lentils, squash, feta, and kale in a bowl and toss to combine. Drizzle with olive oil to taste, and salt and pepper if needed.