My Favorite Asian Salad & Pesto

Spring is just around the corner here in the mid-west.  We've had some pretty good storms today that cleaned up the air and passed quickly .  Now the sun is shining brightly and it invites me outside to play.  My daffodils in the front yard are ready to burst open at the first sign of warmth.  I love this time of year.  

Our CSA farmer is gearing up to plant and some items are  ready in the greenhouse.  I am looking forward to our first informational meeting because our farmer always brings some wonderful leafy greens along for sale.

While I am waiting for the harvest I am still partaking of lots of produce and I hope you have made plants the center of your diet too!

A nutrient rich  plant focused style of eating gives us a supercharged immune system , increased longevity and prevents diet related illnesses and disease conditions.

Today my son's request was my Asian Salad which is one of our family's favorites.

It is pictured above.

ASIAN SALAD

one serving

1/4 of a cabbage shredded

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1-2 stalks of celery diced

4 baby carrots cut into matchsticks

1 avocado cut in cubes

1/4 c. of soaked & drained almonds cut into pieces

1 heaping T. of raw cashew pieces

Annie's Asian Salad Dressing or make your own.

Mix together & Enjoy!

This is my mid afternoon meal

RAW PESTO WITH YELLOW SQUASH

1 small yellow squash spiralized

1 spring onion chopped

1/4 of a red bell pepper diced

cherry tomatoes

set these ingredients aside and make the pesto

PESTO

1/4 c. of raw pine nuts

1 garlic clove

1/4 of a red bell pepper

dried basil (I prefer fresh but I did not have any) to taste

I placed all of my ingredients for the pesto in my Magic Bullet and blended them to a smooth consistency.

Pour pesto over noodles and top with veggies and a sprinkle of dulse granules

This is my daughter's salad.  I found this on my memory card while downloading my pictures.  Taking pictures of our food must run in the family.  lol

Salad above consists of romaine lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, celery, sunflower seeds and goddess dressing. She also had a Spicy Adzuki Bean Burger from Hilary's.  These burgers are very yummy and they are not too spicy.  The do have more sodium than I prefer, but now and then it is okay as long as we are eating primarily home prepared meals without adding salt.  

Here is the ingredient list for the burger:

INGREDIENTS

Water, organic whole millet, organic adzuki beans, organic whole quinoa, expeller-pressed coconut oil, organic sweet potato, organic onion, mild green chilies, organic psyllium seed husk powder, organic arrowroot, Real Salt®, organic apple cider vinegar, organic garlic, organic cumin, sunflower seed oil, organic chipotle powder, organic chili powder, organic lime juice. CONTAINS: COCONUT.

                 Remember to eat your Greens & Smile!!!!  but check your teeth first   :)

My Favorite Asian Salad & Pesto

Spring is just around the corner here in the mid-west.  We've had some pretty good storms today that cleaned up the air and passed quickly .  Now the sun is shining brightly and it invites me outside to play.  My daffodils in the front yard are ready to burst open at the first sign of warmth.  I love this time of year.  

Our CSA farmer is gearing up to plant and some items are  ready in the greenhouse.  I am looking forward to our first informational meeting because our farmer always brings some wonderful leafy greens along for sale.

While I am waiting for the harvest I am still partaking of lots of produce and I hope you have made plants the center of your diet too!

A nutrient rich  plant focused style of eating gives us a supercharged immune system , increased longevity and prevents diet related illnesses and disease conditions.

Today my son's request was my Asian Salad which is one of our family's favorites.

It is pictured above.

ASIAN SALAD

one serving

1/4 of a cabbage shredded

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1-2 stalks of celery diced

4 baby carrots cut into matchsticks

1 avocado cut in cubes

1/4 c. of soaked & drained almonds cut into pieces

1 heaping T. of raw cashew pieces

Annie's Asian Salad Dressing or make your own.

Mix together & Enjoy!

This is my mid afternoon meal

RAW PESTO WITH YELLOW SQUASH

1 small yellow squash spiralized

1 spring onion chopped

1/4 of a red bell pepper diced

cherry tomatoes

set these ingredients aside and make the pesto

PESTO

1/4 c. of raw pine nuts

1 garlic clove

1/4 of a red bell pepper

dried basil (I prefer fresh but I did not have any) to taste

I placed all of my ingredients for the pesto in my Magic Bullet and blended them to a smooth consistency.

Pour pesto over noodles and top with veggies and a sprinkle of dulse granules

This is my daughter's salad.  I found this on my memory card while downloading my pictures.  Taking pictures of our food must run in the family.  lol

Salad above consists of romaine lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, celery, sunflower seeds and goddess dressing. She also had a Spicy Akzuki Bean Burger from Hilary's.  These burgers are very yummy and they are not too spicy.  The do have more sodium than I prefer, but now and then it is okay as long as we are eating primarily home prepared meals without adding salt.  

Here is the ingredient list for the burger:

INGREDIENTS

Water, organic whole millet, organic adzuki beans, organic whole quinoa, expeller-pressed coconut oil, organic sweet potato, organic onion, mild green chilies, organic psyllium seed husk powder, organic arrowroot, Real Salt®, organic apple cider vinegar, organic garlic, organic cumin, sunflower seed oil, organic chipotle powder, organic chili powder, organic lime juice. CONTAINS: COCONUT.

Basil Pesto and Veggies!

We have been getting fresh basil in our CSA share most weeks. This morning I was craving pesto, so it was a great way to use it up.

Basil Pesto

In Vita-Mix, food processor or Magic Bullet place:

small handful of basil

small handful of pine nuts

1 large clove of garlic

dash of Himalyan Salt

splash of lemon juice

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

You can use this as a dip, mix into zucchini noodles or as a spread on raw crackers

Day 6 of my Husbands High Raw Cleanse

Today when my husband and I were talking, he told me after he left yesterday he was so happy! I quote, "I was singing and I didn't even know it, I was singing to the dog! I can't believe how good I feel!"
This is Great! He is finding out how what we eat affects hormones which in turn affect our moods and just about everything else.
Most of the time we do not even realize how bad we feel or what kind of attitude we have. We may be exibiting a negative, unhappy character that could be influced for good by making some positive changes in our lifestyle. I encourage you to examine yourself today and see what you can change today to effect a postive change in your character.
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While making almond milk yesterday I had a wonderful thought about using my almond pulp. Normally I will make Valya's Spicy almond cheese or some almond cookies. Today my thoughts went to Pesto!
Here is my recipe~

Almond pulp Pesto!(this is very light and fluffy) and Stuffed Portabellas

almond pulp
lemon juice
dried basil (you can use fresh)
olive oil
sea salt

mix and enjoy!! I tried it on some raw crackers and it was delicious..
I also used the four Large Portabella mushrooms I had in the fridge and stuffed them. First I washed, de-stemmed and removed the gills and then filled them with stuffing. Ours have been in the dehydrator since last night and we will enjoy them for lunch today.

I try not to let anything go to waste. Food cost can be expensive so be creative. If you don't have time to use the pulp from making nut milks, dry it out in the dehydrator or pack in glass jars in the freezer for later use. We drink a lot of almond milk around here with my family of five so that makes a lot of pulp. If time allows I will be grinding up the dried pulp and making almond flour to sell at our local CSA this season. This way I can bless my friends and my husband by being a good stewart of his hard work. Who knows I may even offer almond cheese/pesto for sell once a month....mmmmmm.....get those creative juices flowing....


my hubby's eats~

32 oz green lemonade

Large salad~
red leaf lettuce, red onions, cukes, alfalfa sprouts, pumpkin seeds, roma tomato, dressing*

*Dressing~avocado, tomato, sweet red pepper, lime juice, cayenne pepper

Stuffed Portabella~half of one

Raw Crackers~pulp from juices I made last night~celery, spinach, lemon, ginger, tomato...I added... soaked golden flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, onion, cumin, gourmet italian herbs, oregano, nutritional yeast, mexican seasoning (from frontier)
these came out very light and crunchy

lunch box menu~

1 cantaloupe
2 pears
celery, carrots
black bean soup
green smoothies 1 1/2 quarts


My eats~

Smoothie~almond milk, banana, maca, lacuma, mesquite, cacao
I usually add chia seeds to all of my morning smoothies but I have neglected to post this

16 oz green lemonade
16 oz virgin mary

Blended salad~red leaf, alfalfa sprouts, celery, carrots, cuke, tahini, braggs and topped with diced red onion, a few shredded carrots, hemp seeds

raw crackers

1/2 Pesto stuffed portabella (it was a little dry so I drizzed a small amount of cold pressed olive oil on it) (recipe on yesterdays post)


Shopping for my Mother of the Bride dress~I packed
28 oz. Amazing Green Grass Chocolate Smoothie

16oz Virgin Mary

Time for a movie with the kids, so I'm taking
16oz of freshly made Grapefruit juice with a dash of stevia

My husband called tonight and we are going to endeavor to do a 3 day JuiceFeast this weekend!!!