Category: vegetarian

Mediterranean Chopped Salad

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Chopped salads are one of my favorite treats that I indulge myself in (yes, I really do love salad).  It all started once upon a time with homemade salads of iceberg, cucumber, and a salad dressing.  This is also one of my dad’s favorite snacks, so it was something I indulged in often.

Once I moved to the DC area, I started encountering places like Chop’t and sweetgreen, and I really liked their salads.  The only things I didn’t like about them were their mysterious salad dressings and the price.  It’s a good salad, but at $10-12 a head, it wasn’t something I wanted to do on the regular.  That being said, there is a salad shop near my part-time job, and they have a reasonably priced salad that is in this style, so when I work full shifts over the weekend, it’s typically where I’ll stop for lunch if I don’t run to get sashimi from the nearby grocery store.

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Zesty Brussels Sprouts

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While at Costco a couple of weeks ago, Heather and I decided that we should get some brussels sprouts.  I, of course, grabbed two  bags.  With about 1.5 bags left, I knew something had to be done.

This zesty, ranch inspired version of brussels sprouts came out really nicely, and I think you’ll enjoy it.  It is inspired by the herbs traditionally found in a ranch dressing, which was one of my favorite dips for buffalo wings and flavor of Doritos (which may soon be made a flavor of Taco Bell taco shell).  This mix of herbs and olive oil would also go well on pork or chicken if you make enough to coat the meat and let it marinate for at least an hour.

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Fresh Rainbow Pepper Salad

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delicious easy pepper salad

This salad is a very quick and delicious side salad (as long as you have a mandoline) that is refreshing but still filling. That, and the color is a nice contrast on a plate that can be otherwise bland.

We threw this together to go alongside some baked trout, and it was a nice balance.  Feel free to add some other spices in to mix and match your favorite entrees.

Ingredients
1 large red bell pepper
1 large yellow bell pepper
1 large orange bell pepper
2-3 stalks of celery
1/4 of a red onion
3/4 tablespoon coconut vinegar
3/4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp minced garlic

Method

sliced peppers and celery and onion

Slice the peppers, celery stalks, and the onion thinly using a mandoline.  After this, I used a knife to quarter the slices so that the salad would be manageable with a fork.

mixed bowl of peppers and red onion and celery

Mix the sliced items and the rest of your ingredients in a large bowl.  I used a slightly larger tupperware bowl so I could just put on the lid and shake vigorously–mixing is lame.

dressing for pepper salad

Mix your olive oil, coconut vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic in a small bowl to create your dressing.

tossed pepper salad

Allow the salad to rest for at least 15 minutes. (The longer it can rest, the better the flavors will blend.) 

final easy pepper salad paleo

Serve and enjoy!

Easy Sage Tea

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I worked from home the past few days because I haven’t been feeling well–this Whole30 thing has really sent my body’s internal organs on a crazy ride. Hopefully, everything settles down soon; for now, I’m doing my best to tough it out.

I would never have thought to make my own tea, nevermind sage tea. But today, a friend suggested it for my upset tummy and I remembered that we had fresh sage in the fridge. So I did a quick Google search for “how to make sage tea” and tada! an easy recipe was at hand.

I didn’t actually follow the recipe. That would be too easy! :-p Instead, I just tore up enough sage leaves to fit into my tea strainer, heated some water, and let it steep. The recipe lists lemon and honey as optional additions. Honey is obviously not a Whole30 menu item, and I wanted to experience the flavor (and hopefully the helpful effects) of this tea in its original form so I didn’t add the lemon either.

 

The tea is light in color. It’s soothing on my throat and the warmth feels nice in my tummy. The soft sage flavor is just right. I suppose too much sage would make this tea rather bitter. But I got lucky–apparently my tea strainer holds just the right amount of torn sage leaves. 🙂