culinary exploration

Healthy Eats Brown Bag Challenge (WEEK 4)

It’s the last week of the challenge and I’m proud to say I’ve stuck with it so far.  Even the week I was in Vegas for 3 days - I brought Larabars, almonds and banana chips to eat instead of hitting the casino buffet. 

Since I always do make-ahead lunches on Sundays for the upcoming week, I made one of my favorite salads.  My mom had a strict rule that no matter what we were having for dinner, even if we were having pizza or grabbed some chinese take-out in a pinch, we HAD to have a salad with dinner.  A good habit to have as a kid because I find myself now as an adult always ordering a salad with dinner at restaurants (and inevitably eating less of my meal as a result of filling up on something green first). 

This salad is what we Greeks call a village salad.  A true Greek salad.  As you can see - NO LETTUCE.  That’s right.  It’s the simplest, easiest salad to make and in my opinion, the tastiest. 

Here’s what you do: chop up tomatoes, cucumbers, and onion then throw together in a bowl.  Toss in some crumbled feta, season with salt, pepper, and oregano, then finish off with some extra virgin olive oil (Greek olive oil preferably).  Stir and you’re ready to go!  I know, there’s no measurements… but if you were to ask my Yiayia (“grandma” in Greek) she would give you the same “recipe” so I figured I would stick to her style!  :)

That’s my lunch for the last week of the challenge.  Check out what these fabulous bloggers brought in their brown bags:

Chez Us: Lentil Salad
Essentials of Nutrition: Brown-Bag Challenge, Break Room Not Required
The Undercover Cook: Buffalo Chicken-Stuffed Baked Potatoes
This Imperfect Plot: Week 4 (and a BBC side effect: weight loss)
Confessions of a Curious Cuisiniere: What Does Your Sandwich Say About You?
I Brown Bag: Brown-Bag Challenge, Day-by-Day
Carmen Fitness: Brown-Bag Challenge, Going Strong
Family Fresh Cooking: Top Ten Best Lunch-Packing Tips
Canadian Mother Musings: Caught NOT Brown-Bagging It
BoysNBerry: Sandwiches … and a Not-so-Great Frozen Burrito
Feeding Philosophers: Lovely Legumes
Healthy Plates: Vegetable Beef Soup
Healthy Kitschy Vegan: Peace
Ali Girl Cooks: Brown-Bag Shake-Up
All Things Splendid: Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chili
City Life Eats: Day 16 and a Recap of This Week’s Lunches
Cooking Channel: Monkeying Around Lunch Box
Reve Noir: Brown-Bag Challenge Day 9, Repeat Again
The Garden Ephemerist: Brown Bagged
Adventures in Every Day: Brown-Bag Recap
Eating Omily: My Lunch Story

Nutritious Daily: Easy, Peasy Pasta
Chick Bike: Brown-Bag Challenge Days 15 & 16

Healthy Eats Brown Bag Challenge (WEEK 3) 

I made a huge bowl of this roasted chickpea, cucumber and marinated mushroom salad on Sunday night. Then portioned it out into 5 servings so my lunch is made for each day this week! I have to do make-ahead lunches over the weekend otherwise I’ll forget and end up making poor decisions when it comes to food for lunch.

Check out what these bloggers are bringing for lunch!

Ambitious Kitchen: Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps With Sweet Mango Cilantro Salsa
Feeding Philosophers: Tart Pizza and Tofu Pesto Sandwiches, Oh My
Sweat=Success: Brown Bags and Book Bags
Confessions of a Curious Cuisiniere: Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
Reve Noir: Brown-Bag Challenge Day 8
The Garden Ephemerist: Brown Bag Tales
I Brown Bag: Healthy Eating Starts at Home
Essentials of Nutrition: Marriage>Bachelorhood
All Things Splendid: Day 12, Wild Rice Soup
Family Fresh Cooking: Project Lunch Box 30 Day Challenge
City Life Eats: Brown-Bag Challenge, Day 11
Netlycka’s Distracting Confusion: Snacks for Lunch
This Imperfect Plot: Brown-Bag Challenge, Week 3
Adventures in Every Day: Brown-Bag Challenge
Boys n’ Berry: Brown-Bag Challenge, (featuring many great sandwiches)
Healthy Plates: Quinoa With Peas and Spinach
Living Omily: Autumnal Brown-Bag
Glory Foods: What in the World is a Bento Box?

My caesar salad with white anchovies on the side (they’re delicious) from Range at Harrah’s in Vegas.

SUMMER CUCUMBER SALAD

Cucumbers are the flavor of the week for Summer Fest (a celebration of seasonal summer ingredients on the Food Network Blog: FN Dish) and I couldn’t be more excited!

Being Greek and all, I believe I am genetically pre-programmed to have a soft spot for cucumbers.  I’m sure most will have expected a tzatziki recipe, but instead I went with one of my favorite things to make and bring into work for lunch during the summer.  It’s a take on a salad that Gina at skinnytaste.com has made in the past and it will NOT disappoint.  I love how the juices from the tomatoes mix with lime juice to create a guilt-free dressing.  When you’re in the mood for something cool as a cucumber (pun intended), refreshing, crunchy yet buttery and ultimately satisfying - this is the salad for you!   

INGREDIENTS:
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 lb. grape tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, chopped
½ red onion, minced
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 limes, juiced
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Put the chopped cucumbers

tomatoes

onion and black beans

and avocado in a bowl.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then douse in the lime juice.  Stir to combine and taste to see if you need to adjust the seasoning. 

Serve immediately or chilled and enjoy!

Check out these links to other great cucumber recipes by other bloggers participating in the FN Dish’s Summer Fest this week:

FN Dish: Summer Fest: Cucumber Recipes

Pinch My Salt: Chilled Cucumber, Kefir and Avocado Soup
What’s Gaby Cooking: Cucumber-Basil Gimlet
In Jennie’s Kitchen: Radish-Cucumber Crostini
Big Girl Small Kitchen: Spicy Cucumber Salad with Shallot, Ginger and Mint
And Love It Too: Cucumber, Mint and Watermelon Salad
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Cucumbers Coolers with Agave Simple Syrup
Cooking With My Kid: Cucumber Limeade
CIA Dropout: Relishing Cucumbers
Healthy Eats: Cool Cucumber Soup
Food for 7 Stages of Life: Cucumber Cherry Salsa
Cooking With Elise: Green Tea Cucumber Pops
Glory Foods: Cucumber and Shrimp Boat
Virtually Vegan Mama: Fire-Roasted Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho
Food2: When Life Gives You Cucumbers, Make a Cucumber Cocktail
Cooking Channel: Cucumbers Stuffed with Crab-Mango Salad
Recipe Girl: Bread and Butter Pickles
Taste With the Eyes: Spicy Pickled Cucumbers with Wakame and Garlic Blossoms
Virtually Homemade: Cold Thai Cucumber-Mint Soup
Add a Pinch: Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
The Cultural Dish: Ahi Tuna with Cucumber Sauce and Salad
Daily*Dishin: Cool n’ Zesty Cukes: 7 Minute Summer in a Jar
Daydreamer Desserts: Cubanita Margarita
Purple Cook: Cucumber Gazpacho with Indian Flavored Shrimp Relish
Indian Simmer: Cucumber at its Best with Chaat Masala
Big Apple Nosh: Quick and Easy Homemade Pickles
Sweet Life Bake: Agua de Pepino
The Sensitive Epicure: Tzatziki with Grilled Gluten-Free Pitas and Fresh Cucumbers and Peppers
Zaika Zabardast: Cucumber Gazpacho
A Way to Garden: Cucumber-Growing Q&A and the Best Pickles
Cooking with Books: Summer Fest: Cucumbers 

Have you ever dared to eat raw, uncooked kale?  I never thought it would be tasty because kale is such a bitter green before it’s cooked down.  When I saw an episode of Aarti Party on Food Network where she made a “massaged kale salad” I figured I had better try it first before I could say if I did/didn’t like it. 

With heavy doubt in tow, I bought some locally grown kale from the farmer’s market and went for it.  Apparently the mixture of olive oil, acidic lemon juice and constant massaging for 2-3 minutes breaks up the fibers in the kale to trick it into thinking it has been cooked!  The mixture of the hearty kale with the sweet mango and crunchy pepitas was a great combination of flavor AND texture.  It has become my favorite thing to bring to work for lunch.  

Here’s the recipe.  Try it out and see for yourself how delicious it is!

MASSAGED KALE SALAD

INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch kale (black kale is especially good), stalks removed, leaves thinly sliced
1 lemon, juiced
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup)
Small handful toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), about 2 rounded tablespoons

DIRECTIONS:
In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt.  Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, about 2-3 minutes.  Set aside while you make the dressing.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper.  Stream in the ¼ cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.

Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas.  Toss and serve immediately. 

Best.  Lunch.  EVER!

Malnati Salad from Lou Malnati’s. 

Chopped romaine, sliced mushrooms, black olives, diced tomatoes, gorgonzola and (my favorite) crumbled & crispy Volpi salami tossed in their signature vinegarette dressing.  DELISH!

In an effort to give my “healthy habits” an extra push - I’m going to cut out bread, rice and pasta for the next month (before my friend’s wedding) to see how it can boost my weight loss.  Don’t get me wrong, this is NOT a no-carb diet… I will still enjoy my fair share of fruits, beans and other carbs.  I’m just eliminating flour and starches for a month to see what happens. 

So I revisited my favorite healthy recipe website: skinnytaste.com to see what Gina has been whipping up in her kitchen.  I’m going to post some recipe reblogs of some dishes that I can enjoy in the next month. 

For example, this lovely black bean, avocado, cucmber and tomato salad will be PERFECT for my brown-bag lunches at the office!

Greek village salad - cucumber, tomato, onion, green pepper, feta and kalamata olives

I went to one of many Chicago-area Greek Festivals this weekend.  This one was put on by the big Greek church on the north side of the city.  It was a BLAST!

Organic Greens Salad with Greek Chicken from Boston Blackie’s

Crips, leafy greens with sun-dried tomatoes, figs, mushrooms and caramelized pecans.  Topped with juicy chicken marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper with a side of balsalmic vinegarette.

One of my BB faves!