Rainbow Chard Salad with Shallot Dijon Vinaigrette

Chard is rich in fiber, Vitamin A and C, and a plethora of other essential nutrients.  Rainbow chard specifically is delicious and absolutely gorgeous.  Its like spinach's hot cousin (no disrespect, spinach!) with a super earthy taste but it is vibrantly colorful.  This recipe is a really great winter side dish that could work on any dinner table but I usually just mow down a whole bowl to my face for lunch.

DRESSING

• 3 shallots thinly sliced
• juice of one large lemon
• 2 table spoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• pinch salt
• pinch course black pepper
• one teaspoon dijon mustard
• a drizzle of maple syrup (honey works too!)

Combine ingredients in a mason jar.  Seal it and shake it.  The dressing is best when it has time to meld.  If you plan ahead and make it the day before that's ideal but not necessary. It's super delicious either way.

SALAD

Chop one bushel of chard into small pieces.  Drizzle pan with olive oil and sautee greens until slightly wilted with a dash of salt.  Meanwhile, toast about a cup of walnuts until dark brown.  Combine chard, dressing, and nuts.  Enjoy!

Kale Prep tips

massage your kale and keep it ready for salad making in your fridge.  As soon as you bring home your bushel, break it up, wash it and place it in a large mixing bowl with lemon juice, olive oil, and a bit of herbamare and black pepper.  massage it with clean hands (obviously) until it's soft.  use it for any kind of salad you want to make.  It makes raw kale more delicious and easier to digest.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Dijon Vinaigrette

The perfect side dish.  The easiest recipe.  Cut Brussels in halves and place them on a baking sheet with chopped onion, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.  Roast at 350 until sprouts are crispy.  remove from oven and place in mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix the juice of one lemon, a dash of balsamic vinegar, and a table spoon of dijon mustard.  Pour mixture over Brussels Sprouts and stir until all of them are coated with the dressing.  That's it.  Enjoy.

Sweet Potato Mash Tacos

One of my favorites.  These are so colorful and completely adorable.  They're perfect for parties.  I strongly recommend getting the blue corn tortillas because they really make the color of the sweet potato pop.

Peel and cube your sweet potatoes and drop them into boiling water.  After they've become soft, remove and strain them and put them back in the pot.  Add coconut oil, a pinch of cumin, and herbamare.  mash with a fork.

RUSTIC SALSA

cut a package of multicolored cherry tomatoes in halves and place in a small mixing bowl.  Add fresh  cilantro, lime juice, finely chopped pickled jalapeño, and chopped scallion.  

Steam the blue corn tortillas for a few seconds before you place them on your serving platter.  Scoop mash onto tortillas, followed by the salsa, a small dollop of Vegannaise pesto spread, and a slice or two of avocado (not shown in photo...ugh sorry).  You'll love these. I promise.

Roasted Pumpkin and Sunflower Salad

Pumpkin is awesome.  If I could eat it everyday I would.  I Kind of already do.  Here's a super soothing and really simple pumpkin recipe I make all the time:

Slice a kabocha squash (pumpkin) and lay it out on a baking sheet.  Add chopped shallot and a few roughly chopped red onions and dress it with olive oil and sea salt.  Bake it at 350 until pumpkin starts to lightly brown.  

In a large mixing bowl, combine field greens, the juice of one lemon, black pepper. and herbamare. Toast one cup of sunflower seeds in the toaster oven in foil (keep an eye on these little guys.. they burn quickly!)  Mix seeds with greens and after plating the mixture top it with the pumpkin and onion.  Really simple.  Really good.

Tamari Kale Salad

Massaged kale with lemon, olive oil, sea salt, pickled beets, roasted carrot, and radish.

Salad Part 1

Roasted rosemary sweet potatoes, toasted walnuts, and homemade pesto on a bed of greens.

Salad Part 2

Here's a really good quick salad idea:

Mix greens with the juice of one lime, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Top with black beans and roasted corn (roast corn on a baking sheet at 400 degrees until they just start to brown), pico de gallo, and sliced avocado.

Butternut Squash Soup

Easiest soup recipe ever!

Roast:

• one butternut squash
• one green apple
• one large yellow onion
• three cloves garlic
• 5 shallots
• two sweet potatoes

at 350 until soft 

place in food processor or bender with two cups coconut milk, one cup vegetable broth, thyme, sea salt, and black pepper to taste and a drizzle of olive oil.  Blend until smooth and serve.

Fried RIce

SUPER FAST LUNCH: GARLIC AND HERB FRIED RICE

I keep a large mason jar of cooked brown rice in my fridge.  I make the rice Sunday evening and have it all week long for when I need to eat something fast because I stay in bed till the last minute possible.  Here's a recipe for a super delicious rice dish that only takes a few minutes.

throw dried oregano, basil, thyme, savory, and any other herbs you want in a pan with a couple chopped cloves of garlic, some fresh ginger, and sesame oil.  Add in one egg and scramble it.   Follow that with about a cup and a half of brown rice along with some spinach and green onion. Pan fry for a few minutes and add a drizzle of tamari, balsamic, and lemon juice.  Top with avocado and sriracha.  That's it.

fajita style tacos

Making tacos doesn't have to be a big deal.  We always keep corn tortillas, avocados, hot sauce, and cumin in stock.  If you do that you can make tacos with just about anything you have in your kitchen.  Here's a recipe for vegan fajita tacos that you can make it like 25 minutes:

Slice one red pepper, one green pepper, and one spanish onion longways.  place on baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper, chili powder,  cumin, and olive oil. Roast in the on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until they're soft yet crispy (fajita style).

Warm corn tortillas in the oven until soft.  Fill tortillas with roasted vegetables.  Top with sliced avocado, red onion, fresh cilantro, lettuce, and hot sauce of choice.  Done.

Raw Noodles

I just bought a spiralizer and holy hell is it awesome.  It’s so fun to use that all I want to do lately is crank out veggie noodles all day every day.  I think it may be turning into an issue.  I just keep making noodles out of zucchini and carrots and cucumber instead of doing important things like calling my mom and socializing and paying my bills. But I mean, c’mon… raw pasta is a really cool way to switch up how you consume your vegetables.  Like Homer Simpson said, “you don’t win friends with salad,” and let me tell you, all my friends who have tried these raw noodles think they’re way cool and super delicious.  So if you wanna eat well and you want all your friends to think you’re totally hip you gotta make these.  And you know what?  If you don’t want to dish out the $25-$45 on a spiralizer that’s okay!  You can always slice your vegetables with a very sharp knife or peeler instead.  I’ve been playing around with zucchini noodles in particular this week so here is a stellar recipe you should try out.

Zucchini Puttanesca

For those of you who don’t know, “spaghetti alla puttanesca” actually means, “spaghetti of a whore”… so there’s that… Basically it’s a traditional Italian pasta dish that’s pretty salty and bold and I’m totally in love with it, so here’s my raw spin on it:

• one large zucchini
• two medium sized tomatoes
• a handful of basil
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• one clove of garlic
• 1/2 cup yellow cherry tomatoes
• a handful of kalamata olives
• 1/2 a handful capers
• black pepper to taste

Send your zucchini through the spiralizer or carefully cut it into thin strips and set aside in a large bowl.  Combine medium tomatoes, basil, olive oil, garlic and pepper in the food processor and pulse until it’s at marinara sauce consistency.  Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in olives and capers.

Assembly

I know my measurements are far from exact but this recipe makes enough Puttanesca for about two (whoa super romantic!) so divide noodles into two portions and pour sauce onto both.  slice cherry tomatoes and throw them on top for garnish. That’s it.