Happy New Year!!! Time to think about nutritious and low calorie salads: Here are two of my favorites:
Purple cabbage slaw:
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| purple cabbage slaw |
This is perfect for adding to a yummy taco or a stand alone salad. One of these great salads that doesn't wilt the next day. Choose purple cabbage over green, red bell peppers over green.....yellow or orange would be good too. Choose red onion over white. The more colorful the vegetable the more antioxidants they provide. Purple=anthocyanin and resveratrol. The red bell pepper=beta carotene!!! Even the cilantro has quercetin.
Here's the recipe:
purple cabbage - 1/2 head- sliced thin - by hand is better than by a food processor
red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
red onion, about 1/4 or two slices, then chopped
cilantro, 5-6 sprigs chopped fine
your favorite vinaigrette* here's mine:
1/3 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup good olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Toss the vegetables with the dressing lightly. You can always add more later
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| mise en place |
Salad #2
Carrot salad - sometimes I just call this my orange salad because of the color.
The only dressing is the citrus juice flavored by fresh ginger. Absolutely no fat or salt in this recipe. January is a great month for California citrus: oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, blood and cara cara oranges, kumquats. Use any of these that you have or like. The grocery stores have a great selection. Or if you're lucky enough to live in California you can go outside and pick your own. SOOOOO jealous right now. (It's 17 degrees outside in Denver)
If everything is perfect I choose rainbow carrots, tangerine juice, fresh blood and cara cara orange segments, fresh ginger, dried blueberries and crystallized ginger.
Antioxidants: anthocyanin, beta carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, gingerol, lycopene!!!
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| carrot salad |
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| mise en place |
try adding dried apricots ( another orange ingredient) or Trader Joe's dried mandarins
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| orange segments, crystallized ginger pieces and dried berries |
Segments of one blood orange and one cara cara orange, about 4 pieces of crystallized ginger cut bite size and a small handful of dried berries
Here's the recipe:
The only essentials are carrots, citrus juice and ginger
rainbow carrots - pound grated...use your food processor
oranges- 2 segmented ( tangerine, blood orange or cara cara)
orange juice - 1/2 cup
fresh ginger, about 1 inch grated on a fine rasp or grater
crystallized ginger- 4-5 pieces, cut bite size
dried berries - 1/2 cup
Toss all together...add more juice if too dry. The juice helps to reconstitute the dried fruit.
This salad will keep about a week
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| carrot salad serving |
I made both of these salads today. They will last me all week both lunch and dinner.
Tonight I'll add the slaw to my short rib tacos
I'm sure I'll be healthier by the end of the day!!!
