Cucumber & Tomato Salad

One of the reasons I love this salad so much is because of the simplicity of it. In the summertime, tomatoes are so fresh and sweet. When you're working with great ingredients, they taste great on their own and the less you add to them, the better! This salad is a prime example of keeping it simple! In this case, less is definitely more! 

This salad can be served as a starter, a side or can be transformed to a meal by serving it on top of a grilled portabella mushroom as I did here. The mushroom is warm and meaty, and the salad is cool and crisp! Together, they're a perfectly light meal. 

I used basil in this particular salad, but all herbs are welcome here. Go ahead and swap out the basil for mint, cilantro, dill or parsley. Whatever herb you like will work!

Ingredients:

-1 large tomato, cut into large chunks

-1 seedless cucumber, cut into large chunks

-1/2 of a red onion, thinly sliced

-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

-1/4 cup red wine vinegar

-1/4 cup basil, chopped

-sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Chuck everything except for the basil into a large bowl and mix well to combine. 

-Place it in the fridge to let the flavors marry for 15-30 minutes.

-Just before service, toss in the basil. Taste and season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

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Zucchini Carpaccio

Zucchini is one of my favorite summer vegetables and they come in abundance in gardens everywhere! Aside from being delicious, zucchini are a nutritional powerhouse! Zucchini are full of the essential nutrient (essential means that your body does not produce it so you must get it from your diet) manganese! In fact, just one cup of zucchini containes 19% of your daily recommended amount of manganese. Did you know that manganese can help give you beautiful skin? It's true! Manganese is responsible for the production of proline, which is an amino acid that aids in the production of collagen!  It's also full of vitamins A and C and is a powerful antioxidant. So eat your zucchini! It's delicious. Especially in this recipe.

This recipe is really quick and has only a few ingredients. It's fresh, bright and healthy and makes a perfect side dish or appetizer!

Ingredients:
-1 medium-sized zucchini
-1 medium-sized summer squash
-zest and juice of 1 large lemon
-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1 clove of garlic
-1/3 cup basil
-1/3 cup mint
-sea salt and pepper

Directions:
-Using a mandolin on the thinnest setting, slice your zucchini and squash. If you don't have a mandolin, you can definitely do this by hand. Just slice it as thin as you can.
-Layer your zucchini and squash on a platter in any design you like until you have used all of them.  Make sure to generously salt and pepper between each layer. This is very important for seasoning, and to soften the vegetables.
-In a small bowl, add in the lemon zest, lemon juice and oil oil. Add the garlic to the bowl. I recommend grating it, as it will be eaten raw. You really don't want to bite down on a huge piece of raw garlic. Whisk everything in the bowl together and pour it over the layered zucchini and squash. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or so to let everything marinate.
-In the mean time, chiffonade (a fancy french word for cut into thin strips) or chop your basil and mint.
-When the dish comes out of the fridge, sprinkle the herbs all over the veg. Serve immediately. enjoy!

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Day Three Sping Juice Cleanse

Ahhhh...I just broke my fast with some delicious watermelon. Watermelon has never tasted so good!

Overall yesterday went pretty well. I woke up feeling great with lots of energy, which may have actually been to my detriment. I decided I would get a little wild and crazy and go for a run (well really a run/walk...that usually works out better for me). However, I made a few minor oversights. 1. I was on my third day of a juice cleanse. 2. I was just coming back from taking two weeks off of working out. 3. I'm likely quite anemic due to the fact that I had a miscarriage 2 weeks ago. 4. It was 90 degrees and humid! EPIC FAIL on my part. Somewhere about halfway through my three mile route, I had to stop at a stoplight, at which time I instantly felt as if I would pass out and/or vomit. Luckily there was a bench right next to me. So I sat and rested and drank some water. Then I proceeded to walk the rest of the way back (about another mile and a half) and even that was a major challenge. I usually tell people not to do too vigorous of a workout when they're cleansing. Why can't I follow my own advice? Oh well. I'm human. Lesson learned!

After I finally got myself and my little one up the 63 steps to our apartment, I needed a nap! So I got in a 30 minute power nap and woke up feeling much better! The rest of the day was pretty much smooth sailing! I even went back out again and walked to the farmer's market. By last night however, I was definitely ready for something to chew on! Watching my husband eat his salad was pretty brutal. I was definitely ready for some food! So I went to bed early in anticipation of waking up this morning feeling great, ready to break my fast! 

Here's what I drank yesterday for my feast:

Breakfast juice:
-1 beet
-1 head of celery
-1 grapefruit
-1 lemon
-1 knuckle of ginger

Lunch Juice:
-1 head of lacinto kale
-8 carrots
-1 apple
-1 cucumber
-2 lemons
-1 inch piece of burdock root

Dinner Juice:
-1 bunch of dandelion greens
-2 oranges
-2 lemons
-1 zucchini
-1 apple
-1 knuckle of ginger

I also drank upwards of a gallon of water yesterday and about 4 cups of dandelion tea. If it seems like you would have to be constantly drinking in order to consume that much liquid in a day, you are right. For the most part, you are always drinking something! But hydration is key in a juice cleanse!

Sweet and Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette

I LOVE this dressing! It's perfect for salads. It's great as a dipper for raw veggies or just drizzled over grilled veggies. It's super simple to make and only takes 2 minutes. Try it out!

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1 tbsp dijon mustard
-1 tbsp raw honey (if it's solid you will need to melt it first)
-1 clove of garlic, minced
-sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
-Throw all of the ingredients into an airtight container such as a mason jar. Shake it up until it's a homogeneous mixture. Alternately, you can just whisk everything up in a bowl if you prefer, but I love the mason jar method because it requires less washing. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks. Enjoy!

*Please use organic ingredients when possible.

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Day Two Spring Juice Cleanse

Day two of Spring Juice Cleanse...success! I had hoped to wake up yesterday morning with no headache, but alas, it was still there and raging! Since I have a rule against working out when I have a headache, I decided that the little one and I would go for a nice long brisk walk. Since it was 90 degrees with about 100% humidity here yesterday, I figured maybe that would help me sweat it out.  Sure enough, by afternoon my headache was gone. The rest of the day was pretty much smooth sailing, except that by evening I noticed that I was quite edgy (and that's putting it politely). It did get a bit tough as I sat at the dinner table watching my husband inhale the delicious grilled chicken salad with roasted beets and balsamic dressing that I made him, but not even close to the point where I even considered breaking my fast. My husband and I were discussing my fast at dinner and he made the comment that he thought he could never do that because he would be too hungry. But as I said yesterday, suprisingly I don't really feel hungry. It's really not as difficult as you would think it would be. So here is what I had yesterday- day two of my juice feast!

Breakfast Juice:
-1 Beet
-1 head of red swiss chard
-1 grapefruit
-5 stalks of celery
-1 apple

Lunch Juice:
-1 head of dandelion greens
-6 carrots
-2 inch knuckle of ginger
-1 cucumber
-1 apple

Dinner Juice:
-1 head of kale
-5 stalks of celery
-2 lemons
-1/2 pineapple
-2 inch knob ginger

So I mentioned yesterday that I thought that on day one I didn't consume enough liquid. So for day two I almost doubled my juices. But I also added water to them to stretch them out!That's a good tip when you're juice fasting. It can be a bit pricey so there is nothing wrong with thinning them out a bit. I also drank substantially more water, nearly a gallon. And I had 4 cups of dandelion tea. Overall I felt much better yesterday! Now for day three! The last day!

Day One of Spring Juice Cleanse

Day one of my Spring Juice Cleanse went really well I felt. I think most people think that hunger will be their main issue. For me it wasn't much of an issue at all. Admittedly it was a bit challenging when I cooked my husband and little one dinner and then joined them at the table while they ate and I drank my juice. Thankfully my husband is doing a bit of spring cleaning as well and requested a dinner of assorted veggies and fruit so it wasn't like I was missing out on a nice juicy ribeye or anything. The more challenging part for me is the lack of caffeine. I usually suggest to people that they get off of caffeine the week prior to a cleanse. However, I did not follow my own advice. I worked third shift all last week and all bets are off when it comes to caffeine when I'm working. But I was anxious to start my juice feast so I just took the plunge and decided to deal with it. And boy am I. Can you say HEADACHE? It came on about noon yesterday and has not left me. It can't last forever though so I'll just work through it. I do, however, have a rule that I don't work out when I have a headache. It just never turns out well. So I'm going to skip the vigorous stuff and go for a nice long walk. At least I'll get my blood pumping and get a good sweat! It's also worth noting that I got the sudden urge for a nap yesterday, which is odd for me. I'm not usually a nap person but I absolutely HAD to have a 45 minute siesta. I woke up feeling much better! I'm thinking that was likely just related to the lack of coffee, but who knows.

So here are the juices that I drank yesterday. I don't think I drank quite enough yesterday so today I'm going to shoot for more I think.

AM Juice:
-1 head of kale
-4 ribs of celery
-2 lemons
-1 apple
-1 knuckle of ginger

Afternoon Juice:
I took some help from Whole foods since I was there getting supplies for my juices!
-2 ounce shot of wheatgrass
-juice of kale, lemon and celery

PM Juice:
-1 large beet
-1 head of red swiss chard
-5 carrots
-1 grapefruit
-2 inch piece of burdock root
This recipe made two LARGE juices. I drank one for dinner and saved the other for my hubby!

I also drank about 64 ounces of water, some with lemon and I had about 3 cups of dandelion tea.

Chewy Chocolate Superfood Energy Bars

Yes, I admit it. There was a time in my life when I was the sort to replace an entire meal with a so-called "energy bar" which was actually nothing more than some nasty soy protein isolate, fake sugar and processed genetically modified ingredients. In honesty, they didn't give me any energy at all. However when I ate those I was in "diet mode", a.k.a. state of constant deprivation, so eating a chocolate protein bar was like my treat. In retrospect, I realize that eating those nasty things were more of a punishment than a "treat". Now, I eat real food. I don't diet, and I don't use these tasty energy bars to replace a meal. I just eat them when I want them! What a concept! There is nothing fake, processed, or genetically about these bars! Just lots of healthy fats, energy-giving carbohydrates, satiety-providing protein,  and chocolatey deliciousness. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb dates, soaked for 15-20 minutes in hot water (I used Medjool but feel free to use whatever kind is available to you)

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked and dried

1/2 cup raw almonds, soaked and dried

1/4 cup hemp seeds (if you don't have hemp, you could use chia as well). 

1 tbsp raw cacao 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

3 tbsp goji berries (if you don't have goji, you can use whatever dried fruit you have). 

Directions:

Put your cashews and almonds in your food processor and pulse until the nuts are coarsely chopped. Dump the nuts into a seperate bowl.

After dates have soaked, remove the pits and place them in your food processor. Process until the dates are smooth. You'll have to stop and scrape down the sides a few times.

When the dates are smooth, add the ground buts back in. Also toss in the cacao, vanilla, hemp seeds, coconut oil and gogi berries. Pulse to combine.

Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper for easy removal. Turn the mixture out into the dish. Wet your hands with warm water and push the mixture down into the pan so that it's in an even layer.

Refrigerate to let the bars harden for at least 30 minutes. When the bars have set, remove them from the pan by pulling up on the parchment paper.

From here, you can cut them into any shape you like. Store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. 

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