Other salads will be jealous!

Those of you who haven't had a great salad are truly missing out. I'm not saying this because I always make good salads, and I'm not saying this because I think salads are the key to losing weight (cause they totally aren't). But they help.

I've heard "Salads are so disgusting!" What? No! Salads are pretty much my favorite things as well as a fantastic way to use leftovers. Leftovers? Yes, leftovers. Those mushrooms that are a little past their prime? Salad. That 3 day old chicken breast? Salad. Two carrots? Salad. Veggie side dish from last night? Salad. Mashed potatoes? Okay, not that.

One of my all-time favorite salads. Watermelon, Feta, Mint, Arugula. Mmmmm....

In my Food production class we learned about basic compositions of salads. They split a salad into four parts, but in my experience, not every salad has to have any or all of these things: Base, Body, Dressing, Garnish. But again, salads are like the ebb and flow of Brahms 3 or the Rhine river, there are no salad laws and no boundaries!

Base: gives definition to the plate and salad (could be a lettuce cup)
Body: the main ingredient(s)
Dressing: should be used to enhance the flavors of a salad
Garnish: why not make it pretty, even if it's just for yourself. You should enjoy this!

One day a week I will buy enough produce to last me through the week or so and after I've used about half of the veggies for what I had planned, I usually have some fresh left to do whatever I want with. Today I got a little creative with my salad. AND I had just purchased a new salad dressing that is DELICIOUS and well under my "90 calories per serving" rule.

My 2 rules for salad are:

• Use the proper amount of dressing.
• Season with salt and pepper. 

If you follow those two things, you should be golden. I have found that seasoning a salad makes a BIG difference. Try it out!

I'd like to share with you what was left in my fridge and what I did with it. Inspired by the Naturally Fresh Ginger Dressing (found in the produce section).

Asian Chopped Veggie Salad

I got a yield of a little more than I could eat, but I finished it two hours later, so adjust yours to how much you'd like to prepare. Use all ingredients as little or as much as your heart desires. Just cut everything to about the same size so you can fit each piece on your fork at the same time. Green onions would be good in here. I didn't have any

1 large carrot, grated (could be chopped small if you don't have a grater)

2" piece of cucumber, 1/4" dices

about 5 cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

1/3 green pepper, 1/4" dices

1-2 Tbls ginger dressing

salt and pepper to taste (I didn't need any)

Mix. Enjoy.

I decided to leave the chicken separate because it tasted pretty good. But feel free to chop it up and toss it with everything else.

Another salad I've been making recently: 

Roasted Pear Salad

Roast a pear in the oven with a little lemon juice and agave. Place on top of spinach tossed in 2 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. Your choice of nuts, dried fruit and cheese. Here I used toasted walnuts, craisins, and a yummy cheese from Trader Joes because that's what I had. It is super delicious with gorgonzola or bleu cheese melted on the pear! Drizzle a little balsamic or balsamic reduction on top, Enjoy!

Essential Kitchen Utensils for Healthy Eating

Previously I've talked about how to eat healthy for life. The lesson there was, learn how to cook if you don't know how. But some things you may not learn about cooking right away.

I've compiled these things together to hopefully expand your kitchen utensil knowledge and get you ready to prepare your meals with ease. Here we go!

Knives!
Check out this video from Food Network, but don’t pay attention to what she says about the honing steel. Those usually do NOT sharpen knives, they just straighten out the blade.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/knife-basics/65741.html
So to recap what she said, you need three sharp knives. A utility knife, like a santoku, a small paring knife, and a serrated knife. Just a hint, you cannot sharpen a serrated knife with traditional methods, you must take it to a place that sharpens knives.
Here are mine:

Serrated, santoku, santoku, paring knife 

Closeup of serrated. DO NOT SHARPEN AT HOME!

This is how I store mine

Also, do NOT think you have to buy a $300 knife. There are perfectly good, respectable brands sold at TJMaxx, Marshalls, Ross, etc. Just search for ones that fit you and what you need. They range from $4 to $12 there and honestly, thats where I get most of my knives. You may also consider purchasing a sharpener at one of these locations as well.  Just make sure it’s not made out of steel. You need something like a stone material to actually sharpen a knife. There should be two sections: a coarse side and a fine side.

Cutting Boards!
These are a must have. You will need at least two cutting boards, one specifically for meats (non-wooden), and a wooden one. If you like the plastic ones, go ahead and buy two. I just recommend wooden because I like the weight (it doesn’t move around when I chop) and it sounds cool. If you use a wooden cutting board for meat, you can easily promote the growth of harmful bacteria, yuck! If you chose a light-weight cutting board, be sure to grab some of that non-slip drawer liner stuff. This will prevent you from sliding around with sharp knives and it will save your fingers. 
Here are mine:

And no, we do not actually use the specific ones for specific things. Just keep raw meats on plastic.

Pots and Pans!
Most single people can survive with 3-4 pots and pans. If you love to cook, you’ll probably expand your collection every year or so. Again, no worries on buying expensive stuff, HomeGoods, TJMaxx, and Marshalls work great. Just be sure to pick the best quality one you can find. 
I recommend a medium pot, a small, nonstick skillet, and a large skillet. You may find that you need a large soup pot as well.
Here are mine:

Medium saucepan

Large skillet

Small (dirty) nonstick for eggs!

Mixing Bowls! 
Found at Wal-mart. Here are mine:

Two sizes come in handy often

Used for salads, meatballs, etc.

Spatulas and More!
You will probably need 1 pair of tongs, stainless steel, one rubber scraping spatula, and a very flat spatula. I’ll show you a pic:

Rubber spatula, tongs, flat metal (could be heat-resistant plastic) spatula

I also cannot live without my microplane!

That’s basically it! You can pretty much cook anything with these utensils and you don’t have to break the bank doing so.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Although hummus from the grocery store usually has a fine list of ingredients with little preservatives and stuff you can’t pronounce, it’s still nice to be able to know exactly what is in your food. And it’s fun to cook! 

This is a great and simple recipe, especially on the fly. You can tailor it to your tastes by changing up the spices and other ingredients. Add-ins like spinach, pine nuts, basil, cilantro, jalepenos, olives....the list goes on and on! You can even use it for a cocktail or dinner party and people will be very impressed!

It takes about 5 minutes total to make. The only thing you have to think about is all the veggies you need to dip into it! For example, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, peppers, cherry tomatoes...another list that goes on and on!

I went ahead and placed mine in a couple different to-go containers.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 can low-sodium garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1-2 roasted red peppers, chopped

2 small cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3 Tbls tahini (optional)

2 Tbls Sambal (Asian garlic chile sauce, optional)

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp corriander

1/2 tsp oregano (or a couple sprigs fresh oregano)

juice from 1/2 lemon

salt & pepper to taste

Throw all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Slowly drizzle in 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil while processor is running. Blend until the desired consistency. Can be served cold, room temp, or baked. Bake at 350 until heated through. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese.