Rainbow Peanut Slaw

So ya'll know my feelings about farmer's markets. Two weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the market with Craig's mom, and we had a great time. In addition to all the wonderful goodies we picked up, I grabbed some sweet green cabbage. It has a unique shape, sort of like a tulip. The farmer's explained it was a sweet heirloom variety. I am not sure of the official name, but it was sooo delicious!

Anyway, after returning home with a ton of goodies it seemed necessary to immediately make a tasty slaw. Because I hate mayo, I decided to do a Thai inspired peanut slaw, using all the tasty veggies I grabbed at the farmer's market. I combined cabbage, bok choy, radishes, carrots with some fresh herbs. It was simple, flavorful and delicious. As a bonus, the peanut dressing is extremely filling.

It turned out so well I decided to make it again for our cookout this weekend. It was the perfect compliment to my Thai lamb kabobs.

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Beet and Edamame Salad

So the boys and I took a short ride out to Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, Mass this Saturday to get some fresh air. It was so beautiful. The park surrounds an old granite quarry that looks out on a very rocky shoreline. It was more of a walk than a hike, but it was a lovely walk through the woods around the quarry to the shoreline. The fresh, salty air felt amazing! Archer had a great time smelling every single rock, stick and blade of grass in the place.

 

After spending some lovely time outside getting fresh air and exercise, I wanted to make something fresh and delicious for dinner. A few weeks ago, I spent a fantastic weekend at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Mass. The experience was amazing, I did hours and hours of different types of yoga, hiked in the Berkshires and ate some incredible food. It was there that I discovered raw beets. Now, I love beets and they are a wonderful superfood. But I've never eaten them raw. I had them shredded, raw on salad and they were so sweet and delicious I've been eating them that way since. It is so simple. Just peel the beet with a veggie peeler and then grate on a large box grater (or julienne with a food processor). One medium sized beet will produce at least two salad servings and is incredibly low in calories and packed with nutrients.

So, looking at what I had in the fridge, I decided to make an Asian inspired salad using some delicious shredded beets and edamame. I love edamame, it is the most fantastic snack. I like adding it to salads and stir frys because it packs such a nutritional punch. These little beans are rich in protein, fiber, and folate, manganese and vitamin K. A half cup of shelled beans has only 120 calories but has 9 grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein! With the beets and edamame I added some baby bok choy and carrots. I topped it with some low calorie vinaigrette. I was going to make a dressing, but I am loving the Ginger Soy Vinaigrette that I got at Whole Foods. It's the 365 Organic house brand and it has only 50 calories per serving! So much flavor and very low in calories. So I needed an excuse to use it and tell you about it.

This salad was a lovely way to end a great and healthy day!
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Bok Choy Fried Rice

I love coming up with new versions of takeout-style dishes. One of my favorites is throwing together some random ingredients to make fried rice. In the early days of this blog, I featured one of my favorite quick dinner recipes, bok choy fried rice. You can see the original post here. I decided to make it again, with some updates and modifications.

I love this recipe for many reasons, but mostly because it is really quick. This recipe took me a total of 20  minutes to make, start to finish. It's packed with a ton of veggies, lean protein and fiber.

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Radish Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing

This weekend at the farmer's market I picked up a watermelon radish. It is a large, round radish that has a pink center and a green skin. I was so excited by this find, I decided to design a salad around it. This simple salad takes five minutes to throw together and is incredibly crunchy and filling. It's also packed with healthy cruciferous veggies like kale and bok choy and gets it's intense flavor from the radishes themselves and a very simple, light dressing. You can create this with any type of radish, but whatever variety you choose, I recommend slicing as thinly as possible.

Recipe after the jump.
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Bok Choy Salad with Peanut Dressing

Bok Choy is a nutritional powerhouse. Filled with vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and antioxidants it's a great addition to many dishes. Usually, bok choy is cooked, but I thought the crunchy stalks and spicy leaves would be delicious raw. Mixed in this simple salad, the flavor of the bok choy is enhanced by the peanut dressing. This salad is quick, easy, and unique.

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Bok Choy Fried Rice

Bok Choy, also known as Chinese cabbage, is an antioxidant packed powerfood that you should add to your shopping list immediately. It is high in phytonutrieints, vitamins A, C, and K. It's also a great source of potassium and folic acid, and, like all cruciferous veggies, is a known cancer fighter due to high levels of glucosinates. Having purchased some bok choy this week, I decided to whip up a simple fried rice with chicken, carrots and bean sprouts. This recipe makes a quick and easy dinner that is low in calories and sodium. Feel free to substitute your protein source of choice for the chicken, I think this dish would be divine with tofu or shrimp. The sauce is a simple combination of things you probably have lying around. The key is to use light sauce, too much will overpower the mild bok choy.

Full recipe and photos after the jump.
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