Category: Salad

Simple Shrimp Veggie Salad

What You Need:

  • Raw shrimp (See note) – How to shell and devein a shrimp – Follow the link.
  • Butter
  • Lemon
  • Mixed greens
  • 1 cup of your favorite raw veggies
  • goat cheese, feta cheese, or blue cheese
  • Raspberry Vinaigrette (I like the Raspberry Merlot from Bolthouse Farms.)

Simple Shrimp Veggie Salad

Stars of the Recipe:

  • 1 oz. raw shrimp (see note)
  • 1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 c. mixed greens
  • 1 c. cut veggies (I used bell peppers and cucumbers.)
  • 1/4 c. Goat, Feta, or Blue Cheese (I used blue cheese.)
  • 2 Tbsp. raspberry vinaigrette

Steps:

  1. Heat the skillet to medium heat.
  2. Add the butter, deveined, and shelled shrimp.
  3. Cook for 3 minutes. Flip.
  4. Squeeze the lemon over the shrimp and then cook for an additional 3 minutes.
  5. In the meantime, in a bowl place the mixed greens and cut veggies.
  6. After the shrimp are finished cooking, place on the greens and veggies.
  7. Top with cheese and vinaigrette.
  8. Enjoy!

Note:

You can also use already cooked shrimp if you don’t want to cook the shrimp.

Classic Coleslaw (V, GF)

Here is a vegetarian side dish for your Memorial Day dinner.

Here is what you need:
  • Coleslaw mix (14 oz.)
  • Mayo
  • Trader Joe’s seasoning salt or celery seed and dry mustard
  • Salt and pepper
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Sugar

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Classic Coleslaw

  • Servings: 6 to 8
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 14 oz. bag of coleslaw mix
  • 2 c. mayo
  • 1 to 2 tsp. seasoning salt or 1 tsp. of celery seed and 1 tsp. dry mustard
  • 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste


Directions

  1. In a large bowl, mix together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, and seasonings.
  2. Add the coleslaw mix to the mayo mixture.
  3. Stir until combined.
  4. Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.
  5. Enjoy!



I used coconut sugar instead of refined sugar in my dressing.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Ways to Up Your Salad Game – Add Some Healthy Fat

How can you take a salad from ho-hum to WOW? We are going to tackle this idea during this series. Here are the topics I’m going to discuss during this series:

  1. Change Up Your Greens

  2. Add Some Healthy Fat

  3. Protein, Protein, Protein

  4. Toppings Matter

  5. How About Roasting Some Veggies?

  6. Add Some Fruit

  7. Cheese Lovers Unite

  8. Seasonal Veggies and Eat the Rainbow

  9. Salad Dressings Matter

  10. Grains and Pasta

A word of caution: When you add multi toppings to the salad, you need to be careful you are not adding too many calories. Salads can be healthy but too many toppings can cause them to become “junk” foodish.

Add Some Healthy Fats

People are often scared of eating fat but there are some healthy fats that are good for you.  Why?

  1. They will keep you full between meals.
  2. They give you a layer of protection which keeps your core temperature regulated.
  3. They help you digest certain vitamins.

So which types of fats should you add to your salad?

  1.  Avocados
  2. Cheese – My favorite cheeses are feta and goat cheese.
  3. Eggs – Hard boiled or even a fried egg
  4. Fish – Such as salmon and tuna
  5. Nuts – Just make sure they are just nuts without all of the extra ingredients. Be sure not to add too many nuts because those calories will add up.
  6. Chia seeds – I love chia seeds.
  7. Extra virgin olive oil – Make your own vinaigrette using EVOO.
  8. Olives – One of my favorite ways to get healthy fats.
  9. Tofu
  10. Edamane
  11. Sunflower Seeds
  12. Tahini / Hummus – Another one of those ingredients that you can go overboard with so don’t use too much of it.

Happy eating,
Traci

Ways to Up Your Salad Game

Today I’m starting a brand-new blog series. Since it is spring, many people are starting to want to eat lightened up foods such as salads and sandwiches. I’m not a big sandwich eater unlike my Hubby. I enjoy salads if they are done right. Many restaurants call iceberg lettuce and a few veggies a salad. It’s not very satiating and leaves you feeling hungry afterwards.

How can you take a salad from ho-hum to WOW? We are going to tackle this idea during this series. Here are the topics I’m going to discuss during this series:

  1. Change Up Your Greens

  2. Add Some Healthy Fat

  3. Protein, Protein, Protein

  4. Toppings Matter

  5. How About Roasting Some Veggies?

  6. Add Some Fruit

  7. Cheese Lovers Unite

  8. Seasonal Veggies and Eat the Rainbow

  9. Salad Dressings Matter

  10. Grains and Pasta

A word of caution: When you add multi toppings to the salad, you need to be careful you are not adding too many calories. Salads can be healthy but too many toppings can cause them to become “junk” foodish.

Let’s dive into the first topic of changing up your greens.

Changing Up Your Greens:

Usually people think of salads as being just iceberg lettuce. That’s fine but there is no nutritionally value to iceberg lettuce. It’s what I grew up on and is a favorite of my mother-in-law’s. I love variety in my salad. Even Romaine lettuce can bore me.

So how can we change up your greens?

  1. Add kale. Get some prepackaged chopped kale so you don’t have to massage it.
  2. Even spinach adds some nutrition to your salad. Pretend you are Popeye or even a caterpillar like my children did when they were younger.
    1. Spinach adds iron and protein to your diet.
    2. For more information about the nutrition spinach brings to your diet, please follow this link.
    3. It’s a powerhouse veggie so indulge in your spinach.
  3. Get some “fancy” greens. Aldi has a variety pack of different greens for $1.99. I get those greens and cut them up for the week. (My mother has decided she likes those “fancy” greens.)
  4. Use cabbage as a possible base. You can get some already shredded cabbage or cole slaw mix to make your life a little bit easier.
  5. Here is a link to other types of salad greens that you could possibly use as a base for your salad.

Have fun with adding different greens to your salads.

Join me next Friday when I’ll discuss adding some healthy fats to your salad.

Until then, happy eating,
Traci

Gluten Free Italian Pasta Salad – Blog Post #28

When I was growing up, I used to love a place called Landes Meats.  It’s a butcher/ bakery/ deli that has been a staple of my hometown since 1946.

They have such wonderful salads that I enjoy.  One of which is the Italian Pasta Salad.  I decided to create a Gluten Free version of the recipe.  I changed up the cheese to Feta because I enjoy the saltiness of Feta.

Gluten Free Italian Pasta
The pasta salad is under the utensils

Gluten Free Italian Pasta Salad

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

 

Ingredients

– 1 package of gluten free rotini pasta

– 3 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

– ½ c. crumbled Feta cheese

– ½ lb. pepperoni, halved

– 1 bell pepper, diced

– 1 can of black olives, drained and halved

– 1 (8 oz.) bottle of Italian dressing

 

Directions

  1. Cook the rotini pasta according to the directions on the package.
  2. Drain the pasta and then pat dry.
  3. In a large bowl, add the pasta, tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni, bell pepper, and olives.  Stir.
  4. Pour the dressing over the remaining ingredients.
  5. Stir until everything is coated.
  6. Place the salad into the fridge for a few hours before serving.
  7. Serve and enjoy!

 

 

Three Bean Salad – Secret Recipe Club

#Secret Recipe Club

Every month, I’m assigned another blog to check out.  After checking out their blog, I’m to find a recipe to make, photograph, and then post. This month there are five Mondays.  On the fifth Monday, we have a special themed Secret Recipe Club.  This month’s theme is fall or even Thanksgiving dinner recipes.

This month I’ve been assigned to Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking.  After exploring her blog, I decided on the Three Bean Salad.

As a child, I remember having three bean salad for different potlucks or holiday meals.  So  I thought this would be a good salad for the Thanksgiving table.  

It’s a frugal side dish because I found the cans of kidney beans and green beans at Aldi’s and the wax beans at Meijers.  Funny story when I was in Meijers, a college student stopped me so she could ask me what ingredients were needed for green bean casserole.  

You could switch up the beans to your liking.  This recipe is a very forgiving recipe.

This is also great for Thanksgiving because you can make it the day before so one less thing to get done on Thanksgiving Day.

Sid’s recipe was originally made for 80 people so I adapted the amount of the dressing for a smaller amount.

3-bean-saladsecret-recipe-clubfall-recips 

Three Bean Salad

Stars of the Recipe:

Dressing:

  • 1 c. white wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. celery seed
  • 1 Tbsp. ground mustard

Salad:

  • 1 (15 oz) can of wax beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 oz) can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 oz) can of green beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 green pepper, diced (optional)
  • 1/2 red onion, diced (optional)

Steps:

  1. Combine the salad ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  Set aside.
  2. In a medium microwavable bowl, combine the dressing ingredients.
  3. Microwave the dressing ingredients in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Carefully remove from the microwave.
  5. Stir the dressing.
  6. Pour over the salad ingredients.
  7. Stir until combined.
  8. Allow to marinade for 2 hours to overnight.
  9. Enjoy!

Other Recipes from Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking that interested me:

For other recipes, please click on the blue frog.

happy-eating

Asian Cole Slaw

I started back to work last Wednesday.  Since I know life can get crazy when I’m at work, I decided I needed to make some freezer meals.  I cooked up some hamburger in the slow cooker.  Some of the cooked up hamburger became taco meat for the freezer.  The Wee One loves tacos so he’s going to be super excited to have tacos in the freezer. Continue reading “Asian Cole Slaw”

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

This DOES NOT have pineapple or ham in it because that is not what makes it Hawaiian.  When I looked for a different type of macaroni salad, I found this recipe for Hawaiian macaroni salad.

According to the blog, I got the original recipe from the macaroni salad is part of the Hawaiian plate lunch. Continue reading “Hawaiian Macaroni Salad”

“Chick Fil-A” Coleslaw

My mother-in-law and I like coleslaw.  The rest of the family won’t even touch slaw.

This would be great for a summer barbecue.  However, you need to be aware that since there is mayo in the slaw, you should not leave it out for too long.

photo chcik fil a coleslwa_zps8a7vq6is.jpg

“Chick Fil-A” Coleslaw

adapted from Shugary Sweets

Stars of the recipe:

  • 1 c. mayo
  • 4 tsp. white vinegar
  • 1/4 c. granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. dry mustard or prepared mustard (I used prepared mustard.)
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 bags (14 oz.) prepared shredded coleslaw mix

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together everything except for the coleslaw mix.
  2. Add the coleslaw mix.  Fold over until all of the dressing is covering the coleslaw mix.
  3. Cover and put in the fridge.  Let sit for 2 hours or overnight.
  4. Enjoy!

Happy eating,
Traci

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

As I said, I’m trying to post more salad dressing recipes on my blog.  I went to Pinterest to see if I could find any ideas of salad dressings.

This one is yum!  Simple and delicious.  I could have licked the bowl after eating the salad.  However, that might have looked a little silly.

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Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

adapted from Simple Bites

Stars of the recipe:

  • 2 Tbsp. pure maple (not breakfast syrup)
  • 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

Steps:

  1. Whisk all the ingredients together.  Or blend the ingredients using a blender or food processor.  (I used my blender cup.)
  2. Enjoy on your favorite salad!

Use within a week.

 

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