Summer Salads

The # 1 way to reduce your chances of developing heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and certain cancers is make sure you are getting your 7 - 10 servings of fruits and veggies a day. I know you’ve heard this a million times but, EAT THOSE FRUITS AND VEGGIES.

Why?
Because they are jammed packed with disease fighting antioxidants, fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Think of them as the warriors in your body who go out and fight the bad guys.
These warriors fight the battle but need reinforcements during the day. Every time you eat a piece of fruit or a vegetable you are sending in a new wave of warriors. Best plan of attack? Eat fruits and veggies all day long. Have some for breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner.
A typical day could be: a piece of fruit or 100% fruit juice with your breakfast. An apple with the peel on for a mid morning snack. Lunch? Add a salad to your regular fare or pack a piece of fruit. Afternoon snack could be dried fruit and some nuts and dinner could be peas, carrots, and a side salad along with your main course. Count them up and you arrive with 8 servings for the day.
A more glamorous day? Sliced mango with breakfast. Mid morning snack would be
1 cup of blueberries. Lunch? Add a large salad with marinated cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli to your regular lunch. Snack on figs and walnuts on the way home from work. While you are making dinner have a glass of tomato juice. And then have stir fried veggies with supper and end the meal with a bowl of strawberries. Add this one up and you get 13 serving. All fresh, all delicious.

What does a serving look like?
1/2 cup cooked raw or cooked fruits or veggies
1 cup salad
1 medium-size fruit or veggie
1/4 cup dried fruit
1/2 cup 100% juice

Here are 3 summer main course salads to help you on your way. Recipes are from my co-authored best selling cookbook/nutrition handbook Ultimate Foods for Ultimate Health and don't forget the chocolate (Whitecap 2007) Mairlyn Smith P.H.Ec. and Liz Pearson R.D.

Strawberry and Spinach Salad
Serves - 4

When the local strawberries are in season this is a wonderful salad to serve on a warm summer night. Adding the nuts turns this side salad into a main course.

8 cups baby spinach 2 L
24 strawberries- about 4 cups
1/2 cup almonds chopped 125 mL

Dressing:
2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil 40 mL
2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar 40 mL
2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar 30 mL
2 Tbsp. raspberry concentrate, thawed 30 mL
1/2 tsp. paprika 2 mL
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire 2 mL


1. Wash and dry the spinach. Store wrapped in a paper towel in a plastic bag in the fridge till ready to use.
2. Wash the strawberries and lay out on a cloth or paper towels to let dry.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, raspberry concentrate, paprika, and Worcestershire. Set aside till serving time.
4. Slice the strawberries. Set-aside until serving time.
5. Gently toss the spinach and strawberries with the dressing. Divide equally between
4 plates and sprinkle with the almonds.


Each serving contains with almonds- 260 Calories, 4.7 g protein, 18 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 6 g fibre, 90 mg sodium, and 20 g carbohydrate.


What the Heck is Raspberry Concentrate and Where do I buy it?
It’s in the freezer case. Use the amount needed and then cover it carefully and store it in the freezer until the next Strawberry and Spinach Salad attack.


Romaine with Feta and Blueberries
serves - 4

I started making this salad the summer I bought a ton of wild blueberries on my way home from a day in the country. I made blueberry muffins and pancakes till they were coming out our ears. I was going to freeze the rest when I got the culinary notion to toss them with feta. Sounds weird, tastes great.
To make this a main course salad add 1 oz. of nuts per serving, approx. 1/4 cup (60 mL)

1 large head of Romaine
2 cups blueberries 500 mL
1/3 cup light feta cheese 75 mL
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 30 mL
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil 20 mL
1 shallot
1 Tbsp. honey 15 mL


1. Wash romaine, spin dry, and wrap in paper towels. Put into a plastic bag and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
2. Wash blueberries. Drain well and dry. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
3. Using an emersion blender, or mini food processor, purée feta, cider vinegar, olive oil, shallot and honey. Store in fridge for up to 2 days.
4. Serving time - tear romaine into bite sized pieces toss in a large bowl with the salad dressing.
5. Add blueberries, toss, and serve.

Each serving contains (with 2 Tbsp./30 mL of dressing)- 140 Calories, 3.7 g protein, 6 g fat, 1.5 g sat fat, 3 g fibre, 120 mg sodium, and 19 g carbohydrate.

Idea:
You can prep this salad up to 2 days in advance making it a great choice for a dinner party.


Asian Noodle Salad
serves - 4

You can make this salad early on in the day or even the night before. It blends the flavours of peanuts, chili peppers, cabbage and whole wheat spaghetti to give you an Asian flare with just a little bit of spice.

1 cup whole wheat spaghetti 250 mL
1/2 red cabbage - approx. 4 cups 1 L
1 large carrot
1 red pepper
4 cups broccoli floweret’s 1 L

Dressing:
1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter 60 mL
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar 30 mL
2 Tbsp. water 30 mL
2 Tbsp. sodium reduced soy sauce 30 mL
2 Tbsp. honey 30 mL
1 Tbsp. chili garlic sauce 15 mL
juice of 1 lime

Toppings:
1/4 cup peanuts 60 mL
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro - optional, but it really does give it an authentic Asian flavour
1 green onion - chopped - optional


1. Put water on to boil. Measure out 1 cup/250 mL dry whole wheat spaghetti. That is about 1 big handful. You want enough cooked pasta to equal 2 cups/500 mL. When the water comes to the boil, break the spaghetti in half and cook until just done, about 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile shred the cabbage, grate the carrot, and chop the red pepper. Cut the broccoli floweret’s from the stacks. Cut the floweret’s into small pieces. The pieces should be small enough to pop into your mouth without looking like a rude pig!
3. Put all the veggies into a large bowl. Toss and set aside.
4. Make the dressing. Basically measure out the peanut butter, rice vinegar, water, soy sauce, honey, chili garlic sauce, and the lime juice into a bowl and whisk till blended.
5. Pour the dressing over the veggies.
6. By this time the spaghetti should be cooked. Drain. Add to the veggies and toss until everything is well coated with the dressing.
7. Refrigerate till well chilled. Either 3 hours or up to overnight.
8. At serving time, divide the salad equally between 4 plates and sprinkle each serving with 1 Tbsp./15 mL peanuts. If you decided to go with the Asian flavours sprinkle each with 1⁄4 cup/50 mL of the cilantro and 1⁄4 of the green onion.

Each serving contains- 350 Calories, 14 g protein, 14.5 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 9.0 g fibre, 465 mg sodium, and 46 g carbohydrate.

Serving Tip:
If you like, parboil the broccoli before adding to the rest of the ingredients.

Where Do I find Rice Vinegar?
You can find this mild tasting vinegar along with all the other vinegars. If for some reason you can't find it use cider vinegar instead.

What kind of Peanut Butter should I use?
I like the "nothing but peanuts" kind. Yes, it is messy compared to the other types of peanut butter, but I don't mind mixing it up before I store it in the fridge. I like the way it tastes. So for my taste buds I pick the "unadulterated" peanut butter. You can buy it at your grocery store where all the other types of peanut butter are sold, or at a health food store.
Not everyone likes this kind of peanut butter, the bottom line is buy the kind that you will eat.

Kid Friendly Tip:
If your kids aren't in to spicy, omit the garlic chili sauce. At serving time, dish theirs out, then add the chili garlic sauce to the rest. Toss well. And serve the rest to the adults.
My son has been eating spicy foods since he was 7. So don't give up. Offer them some of the spicy version. One day they may just surprise you and ask for it!