:: Avocado Cashew Raw Kale Salad ::

fresh kale {washed and stem cut out}

cherry tomatoes

avocado

lightly toasted cashew pieces

drizzled with::

olive oil

1/2 lemon juiced

real salt & pepper

super easy

very yummy

garden goodness

enjoy!

:: Raw Kale Salad ::

My garden needs weeded desperately
...but it's 100 degrees today
and there is no way this pregnant lady is going to weed the garden,
or do anything outside today.
At least I can still find the kale. {grin}

I was hot even in the house,
so I decided to clean out the freezer....
which was easy because it's mostly empty.
All I have left from last years harvest is
swiss chard, green beans & beets.

I did find some more zucchini,
which has me thrilled because I have been craving zucchini muffins
...but I won't buy them from the store when they are so close to ready in the garden.
Not to mention the closest organic zucchinis are probably 7 hours away.

I also found the raw truffles that we made this week
and I stuck in the back of the freezer to hide. Ha!
Treats like this are what weans me from my sugar addiction.
Which I am giving up again.
I was sugar free for 5 months and then I slipped. sigh.
Little by little I let sugar slip in,
and once you start it's so hard to stop.
At least for me.

Now onto the Raw Kale Salad....

::Raw Kale Salad::

large handful of fresh kale

handful of toasted walnuts

::Cashew sauce::

1/2 C cashews

3 T sunflower seeds

1 C water

3 T coconut oil

3-4 cloves garlic

1 t real salt

2 T lemon juice

3 T nutritional yeast {optional}

...wash and cut the kale into a bowl

...toast walnuts alone in a skillet until fragrant

...add all of the sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth

...toss together and enjoy!

since we have an abundance of kale in the garden,
I have been trying to come up with more ways to use kale.
And then I remembered my best friend telling me about the kale chips she made last year.
I had already put them on my "to make" list,
but since I didn't have kale in the garden last year I never got around to it
...until I remembered yesterday.
oh yum! I'll share very soon...
we ate them all so fast I didn't even have a chance to think about taking a picture.

Happy Sunday Friends!

what's for lunch

It's been a while since I shared any recipes with you
and today seemed like a good day to change that!

{Veggie Slaw Crackers}

mix together...
carrots
red pepper
black olives
green onion
garlic greens
{all finely chopped}
cucumber, diced
hemp seeds

season with real salt, black pepper, olive oil & balsamic vinegar

top a sprouted cracker {pita, bread, ect.}
with cream cheese, hummus or goat cheese

add a handful of fresh greens
and top with veggie slaw



it's delicious
and a bit messy

I hope you enjoy!

what's for lunch?

{Hemp seed cucumber salad}

...one of our favorite summer salads

especially when we can find most of the ingredients from our garden!

{Ingredients}

cucumber

garbanzo beans

green onions

cilantro

hemp seeds

cherry tomatoes

balsamic vinegar

real salt

liquid stevia

What's your favorite summer salad?

what's for lunch

Sweet Kidney bean mash

...topped with tomato and avocado

that's what for lunch!

::Ingredients::

3 sweet potatoes, scrubbed {not peeled} and diced

2 large celery stalks, finely chopped

1 large carrot, finely chopped

1/2 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, finely chopped

1 large onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups dry kidney beans, soaked 12-24 hours, cooked

1 freshly squeezed lime

10 large basil leaves

1-2 tsp redmonds real salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

coconut oil for sautéing

...Place the diced sweet potatoes into a steamer set on a pot filled with 1 inch of water. Cook covered on med-high heat until potatoes are tender. About 15-20 minutes

...Heat coconut oil in a medium skillet. Sauté onion and garlic until fragrant. Add in veggies and sauté until tender

...In a food processor, blender or with a stick mixer like me, combine the sautéed veggies with the sweet potatoes, beans, lime juice, basil leaves, salt, cumin, chili powder. Mix until creamy

...serve on warm toasted bread and top with tomatoes, avocado and a sprinkle of real salt!

This is a new recipe for us and oh my it is for sure being added onto the "keeper" list. I love that it is a healthy sandwich and all my kids love it! It does take a little time to make but I made a double batch and it served 2 lunches during the week.

I made this last week and seeing these pictures has put me in the mood for more! {grin}

Enjoy!

What's for lunch?

I think we ate this 3 times last week...

I guess that's what you get when you're snowed in & don't have anymore meals planed {grin}

Cook quinoa pasta {or whatever you have}

sauté 3 cloves of garlic, handful of pinenuts & hemp seeds in 2 T. coconut oil

put a large handful of spinach on top of your garlic and pinenuts and cover until wilted

mix everything together and add handful of halved grape tomatoes & a squeeze of lemon

top with crumbled raw feta cheese

...sometimes we add beans too but I didn't have any cooked

I know this is nothing special... just something to spark your imagination and create your own wonderful lunch! {grin}

what's for lunch

this is what's for lunch...

pesto broccoli & tomato pizza and salad

What's special about that?!

...not the pizza, I didn't make that {grin}

but I did make the salad dressing and it was so awesome I had to share!

{Creamy Italian dressing... healthy style}

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C cashews

1/4 C pure water

1/4 C organic apple cider vinegar

2 tsp. chia seeds

1/4 tsp. real salt

1/4 tsp. oregano

2 cloves garlic

add it all into a blender or food processor {we use a stick blender}

blend it until smooth and viola

...good for you creamy Italian dressing!

Dress up your curly mustard green like me

dip your red pepper and cucumber in it like the boys did

or you could put it on your pizza like my husband did {grin}

tweaked just slightly from the original recipe found here

The egg salad

I think I twitter about food too much {grin}

I recently mentioned making healthy egg salad

...and the crowd went wild

well, if you consider 5 of you a crowd {grin}

doesn't it look delicious?!

you'll need:

18 eggs

canned coconut milk

hemp seeds

sunflower seeds

celery

cucumber

leeks

real salt

pepper

cilantro

kale

tomato

sprouted bread

place the eggs in a large pot

fill with cold water

cover and bring to a boil

lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes

remove eggs and place in ice bath until cold

place peeled and diced eggs into a bowl

add in cucumber & celery

2 heaping tablespoons of cold coconut milk

{the canned coconut milk firms to a consistency similar to sour cream when cold}

add in hemp seeds and sunflower seeds

and if you're lucky leeks still growing in your garden

season with real salt & black pepper

mix gently

and then your kitchen might look like this...

top your bread with a few pieces of kale

sliced tomato

a few stalks of cilantro

a heaping spoon full of egg salad

and if you're like me, more pepper {grin}

Enjoy!

Guacamole

We eat a lot of avocados

I usually buy 10-12 at a time

{What do we do with them?}

spread it on veggie sandwiches

top burritos, tacos & haystacks

forget the cheese and garnish your soup with avocado

add it to your salad

eat it plain like the girls

or the obvious....

Guacamole

{Ingredients}

2 perfectly ripe avocados

2 lemons

3 cloves of garlic {minced}

green onions or chives

real salt to taste

mix it all up and you get this super delicious, super nutritious green goodness...

{a few tips:}

After you cut the avocado in half, whack a knife into the pit and twist... it will pop right out

You can either checkerboard slice the avocado in the skin or use a spoon to take the whole half out and then slice.

avocados are ripe when they give slightly when you press gently. If they are hard, they aren't ready. If they smoosh when you press they are over-ripe.

When buying buy avocados that have a long neck... this indicates they were on the tree longer.

Unless you plan on using them within 2 days buy avocados that are firm.

We put ours on the window ledge until they are almost ripe and then I place them in the fridge.

Now go eat your avocados! {grin}

my addiction

I am a salad fanatic
I love the green goodness of an awesome salad
I should say I am also a picky salad lover
it must be an awesome salad
to be loved by me {grin}

like this awesome one...



...is my addiction right now

want to try it?

2 large Swiss chard leaves {folded and cut with scissors}
1 cup cooked quinoa
{I usually make huge batches and keep it in the fridge}
heaping pile of organic black beans
sliced cucumber
halved organic grape tomatoes
big bunch of garden cilantro
4-5 garden onion greens
halved just green olives
drizzle with olive oil
balsamic vinegar
pink sea salt
pepper
and a few drops of stevia

I just had this for lunch and I'm making myself hungry writing this! {grin}

I'd love to know if you try it and what you think!

or

do you have a divine salad that you'd love to share?

What's for lunch

yum! yum!
It's lunch time.

today's lunch...




::veggie::
orange pepper
spinach

::protein::
quinoa pasta
cashews & sunflower seeds
nutritional yeast

::fat::
avocado
coconut oil
cashews & sunflower seeds

::fruit::
strawberries
mango

I recently came across a cashew sauce & tweaked it a little...
it's very un-cheesy and an excellent mac & cheese replacement

the kids named it yum-yum sauce

.ingredients.

2 Tbsp fresh, lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 cup pure water
3 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp pink Himalayan or ancient sea salt
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup organic cashews, soaked

throw it all in a blender {I use a blender stick}
blend until smooth
pour into sauce pan and heat 2-4 minutes
until thickened slightly

What's for lunch...

protein.
salmon on Ezekiel bread

veggie.
napa cabbage, red cabbage, leek, cucumber

fruit.
grapes

fat.
salmon, hemp seeds & olive oil



a couple tips that encourage little ones to try new food...

put the less desirable food on top of the food you know they will eat
...the girls will almost always eat there way through something to get to their favorites {grin}

and the best tip of all...
you eat the same thing with them!

If I make a point to show the girls what I'm eating
...and how much I enjoy it
they will usually start digging in too!

now do you want the recipe? {grin}

it's super simple
we make HUGE batches so you might want to scale this down...

1 red cabbage sliced in shreds
1 napa cabbage sliced into shreds
1 cucumber sliced
1 leek sliced
drizzle with olive oil
balsamic vinegar
sea salt
pepper
and a dash of raw sugar
top with hemp seeds

enjoy!

What's for lunch...

yummy...



nutritious..

food...

.on the plate.

:veggie:
organic carrots & red pepper...
{not organic... can not wait for our garden to grow}

:fruit:
organic grape tomato & organic apple

:protein:
organic-canned chick-peas & store bought hummus
{I WILL start using dried beans... I just need to get into a route...soon!}

:fat:
natural just olives & avocado... mashed because I was having guacamole
{organic avocado isn't necessary... their skin is very thick & aren't as heavily sprayed}


yes... this may look similar to the last lunch I shared
Indeed it is.
Lunches for the littles {ozzie, eliza & nolia} are typically all finger food
lots of veggie, fruit & bean choices
it's easy
it's quick
and it's yummy!

they do eat the same as us at dinner
and sometimes at lunch
...as I'll share next week
along with a tip to getting kids to eat different foods {grin}

Question for you...

what do your kids eat for lunch?

we're talking about it in the comments! Come join us! I'd love to talk about it!
you know.. since I love talking food! {grin}

you've been asking

what's for lunch

today's lunch...

.protein.
organic canned kidney beans {rinsed and drained}
.fruit.
organic grape tomatoes
.veggie.
yellow sweet pepper {not organic because I can't find it here}
.fat.
natural canned green olives {only olives, no added anything}

disclaimer:
no preaching here
just sharing some food love

What's for lunch?!

We've talked about dinner...
we've talked about what we don't eat...
how about what the kids DO eat for lunch!



Yummy yummy cucumber...

and strawberries

and yellow pepper

and grape tomatoes

and Ezekiel bread with almond butter and honey



Mom! I'm eating... don't take my picture!

this is a typical quick lunch for us...
we normally have 3-4 veggies with hummus {not pictured because it's in the middle of the table} 1 fresh or dried fruit
1-2 proteins... today was almond butter and Ezekiel bread.

Ezekiel bread is not a carb because it is made from sprouted grains {no flour}. Which makes it a protein. It is awesome awesome bread! Trader Joes has it, as do many health food stores. It is commonly found in the freezer section.

I'll try to keep taking pictures of our lunches to give you all more ideas... if that is something you all would like?