Friday, December 5, 2008

Just as I admit to being a soup freak, I also admit that I love all kinds of salads.  That wasn’t always the case.  It wasn’t until I switched to a lowfat diet in 2004 that I cultivated my taste for fresh produce and healthy dressings.  I have learned a few important things:

1.  I rinse everything.  I squirt it with some veggie wash spray, then rinse it in my reverse osmosis water.

2.  I must eat some oil or fat with my salads and vegetables because some of the vitamins are oil soluble.  That means if I eat  a nonfat or lowfat salad dressing, I will not be getting enough oil from it to activate the vitamins to fuel my body.

3.  The more pure, natural foods I eat, and the less processed foods I eat (processed = anything with a label), the more attuned my palate becomes to subtle taste differences.

4.  Having to cook my own food and chop my own salads is a good dietary move, since it increases my prep time and lessens my ingesting time *smile*

Here are some of my favorite salads.

A SIMPLE LETTUCE, TOMATO AND BASIL SALAD
First, the most simple is sometimes the best,  Fresh romaine, chopped fresh tomato right off the vine, some slivers of red onion, about 20 fresh basil leaves, a teaspoon of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, sea salt and coarse ground pepper.

HOT POTATO, ONION AND ROMAINE SALAD
Last week I made this really good salad.  I didn’t want to have any meat, but I wanted substance, since the salad would be my entire dinner.  So I opened a package of chopped romaine and rinsed it and chopped it even further, then I added some sliced red onion and chopped black olives, tomato and capers.

Then I chopped a giant Golden Yukon potato and cooked it in a nonstick frypan until the pieces were almost crisp.  Halfway through, I added a bunch of drained, cooked garbanzo beans and kept tossing them all together.

At the same time, I sauteed a sliced onion in another pan until it carmelized and that went on top of the potatoes.  If you cook the onion with the potato, the potato will steam instead of sautee, and I wanted to trick myself into thinking the potato pieces were meat, so I kept them crisp.

Then just dump the potatoes on top of the salad, then the onions on top of the potatoes, then mix with your favorite dressing.  I’ve learned to like simple dressings of olive oil and vinegar or fresh lemon, and I always top with fresh basil and dried oregano.

AN AWESOME ALBACORE TUNA SALAD
This week I made a really good tuna salad.  I added chopped onions, radishes, celery, carrot sticks.  I first put in a glass bowl 2 tsp rice wine vinegar and threw in some raisins and craisins to hydrate in it.  Then the chopped veggies, then some albacore tuna and then 2-3 giant tablespoons of lowfat mayo, some pepper, garlic powder and tarragon.

Variation: add chopped, sun dried tomatoes that have been hydrated in a tablespoon of pineapple juice.
Variation: add one chopped apple, or a half dozen chopped green olives
Variation: add a half dozen chopped Greek calamata olives and ½ cup low fat feta cheese crumbles
Variation: substitute chopped turkey or chicken for the tuna, add a chopped slice of lowfat Jarlsberg Light swiss cheese

A FAVORITE APPLE AND RAISIN CHOPPED SALAD

Chopped apples, onions, radishes, celery, carrot sticks.

I first put in a glass bowl 2 tsp wine vinegar and threw in some raisins and craisins to hydrate in it.

Then the veggies and then 2-3 giant tablespoons of lowfat mayo or Veganaise, some pepper, garlic powder and tarragon.

I’ve learned that it’s easy to keep some exotic ingredients on hand for the Asian soups I love, since most of the oriental markets carry them in the freezer section. Here’s what I typically have on hand that I buy at the Asian market:

Stalks of lemon grass. They will be in the freezer and will be wrapped like scallions. They give high lemon flavor as a soup or tea base, and you remove them before eating. I also grow lemongrass in my yard.

Kaffir lime leaves. These will be in the freezer maybe 25-50 to a bag. They give high lemon flavor as a soup or tea base, and you remove them before eating.

Gangalal. This is a form of ginger. It will be in the freezer in a small tray, probably already cut into small pieces. They give sharp ginger flavor as a soup or tea base, and you remove them before eating.

Chilies or chili peppers. These will be in the freezer in small bags. Most of them are too hot for me; you have to find your own comfort level. I sometimes pop a whole chili in a soup and then take it out and discard it. I do not cut it open. That gives enough heat for me. Remember the high heat is in the seeds, so after handling them wash your hands.

Fish sauce also called nuoc mam. I use the 3 Crabs brand. A little goes a long way. High flavor, smells hmm fishy; tastes great in a sauce or soup base.

Chili garlic sauce in a jar on the shelf. It is hotter than Sriracha sauce.  They are both red.

Sriracha hot sauce has a red rooster on the bottle. It is milder than chili garlic sauce.

Nam prik pao or tom yum soup paste. In a jar on the shelf. Try different brands.

Sesame Oil. Usually not cooked, but added into hot soups and dressings.

Bunches of fresh basil or cilantro for rinsing before last minute adding to soups. I also grow my own fresh basil.

Scallions in refrigerator for rinsing before last minute adding to soups.

Rice noodles, also called rice sticks.
Tapioca sticks, another kind of noodle.

My food blog: Goddess Grub, Luscious Lowfat Meals for the Goddess on the Go

I heat 2 cups of vegetable broth in a saucepan. You can also use chicken broth or hot water into which a tablespoon of white barley miso paste has been mixed.

Grate in 3 tablespoons of fresh ginger

Squeeze in half a lemon

Rinse then chop a few scallions up and throw them in.

If it’s too lemony, you can add a little honey or even 1/2 tsp sugar.

Also good is a 1/2 tsp of Vietnamese chili garlic sauce for a kick.

This is my favorite First Of The Fall soup, brought on by the first cold snap of the season.

Take a large pot add 2 tbsp oil oil and begin to heat.
Dice and throw into the pot:
7 cloves of garlic
one large white onion
2 big carrots
3 stalks of celery
1 sweet potato Continue reading →