Categories
Produce Salads Vegetarian

Superfood Salad for a Healthier 2014

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Superfood Salad
Superfood Salad

After completely overdoing it at the office cookie swap in December, I decided to pull myself together and start eating mindfully. I’m feeling a lot better and have even lost 10 lbs without feeling like I’m trying that hard. I’m eating super healthy foods in quantities that my body needs to not feel full. I’ve cut down on caffeine too and rarely have dairy or refined sugar. But I don’t feel deprived. I’m going to see how far this approach can take me.

I’ve turned to Pinterest to find new inspiration for recipes and have started a board called “Getting Healthy in 2014” Come follow along!

Getting Healthy Board
Getting Healthy Board

While poking around, I found a recipe for Mustard Quinoa, Cranberry & Kale Salad. It had appeared on a blog called Green Kitchen Stories and was part of a post they had done for Bon Appétit magazine that featured vegan recipes for a Christmas dinner.

I decided to adapt the recipe for a dinner party I was planning that was going to be super healthy and have the theme of mustard running through all three courses.

So here is my version. I added shredded Brussels sprouts and punched up the mustard flavor using both Dijon and whole grain mustard.

Superfood Salad
Superfood Salad

Superfood Salad for a Healthier 2014
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Quinoa, Kale, Pomegranate seeds! It's a superfood extravaganza.
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
  • 1 cup red quinoa
  • Sea salt to taste
  • 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
  • ¼ cup Maille Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp Maille Old Style whole grain Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 10 oz bag of chopped Lacinato kale
  • About ¾ of a 10 oz bag of Trader Joe's shredded Brussels Sprouts
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup roasted, salted pecans
  • ¼ cup fresh pomegranate seeds
Instructions
  1. Bring 2 cups of water or vegetable stock to boil. Add quinoa and simmer on low for about 15 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl for cooling.
  2. In a really large bowl (the largest bowl you have), zest the lemon and squeeze out the lemon juice. Add the oil, vinegar and both mustards. Whisk vigorously until completely emulsified and smooth.
  3. Add the quinoa to the bowl (when it's cool) and toss to coat.
  4. Now add the kale, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, pecans, and pomegranate seeds and toss to coat completely. Allow this mixture to sit for several hours (in the fridge would be ideal) to soften the kale leaves and Brussels sprouts.
  5. Enjoy. Can be stored in a sealed contained and enjoyed the following day as well.

 

Categories
Fish & Shellfish News

McDonald’s is Back on my Radar Screen with Fish McBites

Fish McBites for a limited time only

I’ve been off McDonald’s for awhile, trying to erase the sins of the holiday season by following the plan put forth in Tim Ferris’ book, The 4-Hour Body. It’s all about rapid fat loss and it’s been working pretty well, so I’m not eager to mess with it, but the beauty of the program is that once each week, you are required, that’s right, required, to binge. One must do so carefully, but still.

So this Saturday, I’m planning to head over to a Bay Area McDonald’s and try a new, limited-time product they launched this week called Fish McBites. I’m a sucker for restaurant history, so I thought it was cool when I learned that this year, McDonald’s celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Filet-O-Fish sandwich. That makes it a perfect time to launch a new fish product, but in 2013, we must be careful about sustainability and McDonald’s is on it with this one. Fish McBites contain wild-caught Alaska Pollock that is responsibly sourced from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fisheries. That makes McDonald’s the first fast food chain in the U.S. to offer MSC certified sustainable fish on its menu all year long (the same MSC certified Pollock is in the File O’ Fish sandwich too).

Fish McBites are only available until the end of March. They timed the launch to coincide with Lent, a period of time in the Christian calendar when people often decide to give up things, like red meat.

And Fish McBite’s aren’t only available in grown-up portions. For the first time ever, the limited-time Fish McBites Happy Meal brings a fish entrée option to the iconic Happy Meal.

Fish McBites Happy Meals with 1 percent low-fat white milk, 100 percent apple juice or fat-free chocolate milk, meet new nutrition criteria in the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative.

This isn’t the first time I’ve gone out on a limb to promote McDonald’s. See my post from last year called, 10 Reasons I Take My Kids to McDonald’s (Seriously).

For more information about Fish McBites, nutrition information, or Greater Bay Area McDonald’s commitment to the community and sustainability, visit https://twitter.com/McD_BayArea or http://bit.ly/McDonaldsBayArea.


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