After a gorgeous sunny day at the pool with my friends Andressa, Patricia and little Luana; we went back to my place for some yummy salad. Patricia and her husband Henrique have been growning at their backyard, besides other things, organic tomatoes and cucumber, which Pat'd generously brought to make our summer salad even more delicious!
This salad was a perfect healthy light meal to have after a day of sun bathing and swimming. Thanks Andressa, Patricia and Luana for a fun day together and for all the compliments on my salad! ;-)
FRESH AND FRESHER Clockwise, from top left: tuna, egg, green beans (No. 56); carrots, blueberries, sunflower seeds (7); croutons, tomatoes, mozzarella (42); walnuts, blue cheese, raspberries (49); couscous, oranges, honey (95); strawberries, tomatoes, Parmesan (13).
I'm posting the 10 top salads, but to read the full article go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?_r=4
1. Cube watermelon and combine with tomato chunks, basil and basic vinaigrette. You can substitute peach for the watermelon or the tomato (but not both, O.K.?). You can also add bacon or feta, but there goes the vegan-ness.
2. Mix wedges of tomatoes and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing.
3. A nice cucumber salad: Slice cucumbers thin (if they’re fat and old, peel and seed them first), toss with red onions and salt, then let sit for 20 to 60 minutes. Rinse, dry, dress with cider vinegar mixed with Dijon mustard; no oil necessary.
4. Shave raw asparagus stalks with a vegetable peeler. Discard the tough first pass of the peeler — i.e., the peel — but do use the tips, whole. Dress with lemon vinaigrette and coarse salt. (Chopped hard-boiled eggs optional but good.)
5. Grate or very thinly slice Jerusalem artichokes; mix with pitted and chopped oil-cured olives, olive oil, lemon juice and a sprinkling of coarsely ground cumin. Unusual and wonderful.
6. Sichuan slaw: Toss bean sprouts, shredded carrots and celery, minced fresh chili, soy sauce, sesame oil and a bit of sugar. Top with chopped peanuts and chopped basil, mint and/or cilantro. (The full trio is best.)
7. Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft.
8. Chop or slice radishes (or jicama, or the ever-surprising kohlrabi) and combine with chopped or sliced unripe (i.e., still crunchy) mango, lime juice and mint or cilantro.
9. Chop or slice jicama (or radishes or kohlrabi) and mango and mix with coconut milk, lime juice, curry powder and cilantro or mint.
10. Cook whole grape tomatoes in olive oil over high heat until they brown lightly, sprinkling with curry powder. Cool a bit, then toss with chopped arugula, loads of chopped mint and lime juice.
Tuesday night after a long day, I finally got home tired and starving. I picked into my refrigerator looking for the "fresh" spinach I bought the day before, having a pretty good idea of what to do with it.
For quite awhile I've be thinking of making a spinach salad with shrimp and mango. Honestly I was drooling just thinking about it. Well, I should have known better that, after a day and a half on the fridge, the spinach would be anything but fresh.
Disappointed with the appearance of it, I had no escape except to put in action a plan B. I guess in life no matter in what situation we find ourselves, we should always have a plan B!
Step 1:
Sautee - Shrimp, garlic, salt, cilantro and a lemon juice. Reserve.
Step 2:
On a separate pan:
Sautee - Mushroom and onions first, then add the spinach.Step 3:
Mix the shrimp with the vegetable.
Serve with rise, carrots and slices of mango, or with whatever you like.
Enjoy!
Lately I've caught myself up thinking of nutritional information, chart and pyramid of the aliments...if I'm going to mix up all kind of things I should be aware of their caloric value right? Certainly, I won't memorize everything. It's just for curiosity; after all a little bit of knowledge won't hurt!
Searching for interesting nutritional information, the article below from Harvard School of Public Health crossed my way. It's worth reading!Numerous early studies revealed what appeared to be a strong link between eating fruits and vegetables and protection against cancer. But because many of these were case-control studies, where people who already have a certain health outcome (cases) are compared to people who do not have that outcome (controls), it is possible that the results may have been skewed by problems inherent in these types of studies; people with illnesses, for example, often recall past behaviors differently from those without illness, which can lead to potential inaccuracy in the information that they provide to study investigators.
Cohort studies, which follow large groups of initially healthy individuals for years, generally provide more reliable information than case-control studies because they don't rely on information from the past. And data from cohort studies have not consistently shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables prevents cancer in general. For example, in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, over a 14-year period, men and women with the highest intake of fruits and vegetables (8+ servings a day) were just as likely to have developed cancer as those who ate the fewest daily servings (under 1.5). (2)
A more likely possibility is that some types of fruits and vegetables may protect against certain cancers. A massive report by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research suggests that non-starchy vegetables—such as lettuce and other leafy greens, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, as well as garlic, onions, and the like—and fruits "probably" protect against several types of cancers, including those of the mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, and stomach; fruit probably also protects against lung cancer. (7)
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-full-story/index.html
I've decided to mix everything I enjoy the most for my very first salad trial. Therefore, the number one ingredient which came to my mind was one of my top favorite...CRAB!
This summer after putting my swimming suit on I realized how much I need to: eat better or take my workout very seriously. Don't take me wrong, I'm not overweight, but I could be in a much better shape and have more energy than what I've right now.
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