Emily's Balsamic Salad

Emily's Balsamic Salad 

Modified from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/149816/emilys-strawberry-balsamic-salad/

Servings: 3-4 

INGREDIENTS

For vinaigrette: 

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar 

2 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard (I used Heinz yellow mustard) 

1 1/2 teaspoon of honey

1/2 small minced shallot 

1 small clove minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon grounded black pepper 

1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil (I think it can still be reduced) 

For salad:

lettuce leaves (I used home grown Romaine) 

lightly toasted almonds 

jambu air (rose apples)

cheddar cheese 

cucumber

carrot 

STEPS:

1. Mix all vinaigrette ingredients except olive oil. 
2. Add olive oil slowly and mix well.
3. Prepare the salad ingredients in a clean bowl. 
4. Pour vinaigrette and mix well. 
5. Do not be greedy and add a lot of vinaigrette. 
6. Serve. 

NOTES:

This salad tastes AMAZING. It's a must-try. 

Here's my homegrown lettuce leaves

I wonder when is the next harvest? 

Laura Vitale's Couscous Salad

Laura Vitale's Couscous Salad

Original recipe taken from - http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/couscous-salad/

Serves 4

Ingredients:2/3 cup if Quick Cooking Whole Grain Couscous (I used Tesco brand) 2/3 cup of water½ cup of Cherry Tomatoes, halved½ cup of Canned Chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I replaced with corn kernels) 1 small Cucumber, seeded and diced (I used 1 cup) ¼ cup of Green Onions, chopped ½ cup of Fresh Chopped Parsley (I used 1/4 cup dry parsley) 1 Lemon1 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive OilSalt and Pepper

Process,

1) In a small pan add the water and bring it to a boil. Add the couscous and turn the heat off, cover tightly with a lid and leave alone for 5 minutes.

2) In the bottom of a large bowl, make the vinaigrette by adding the zest of a small lemon and the juice of the lemon. Add the extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

3) Add all the veggies to the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Remove the lid form the pan with the couscous and using a fork, fluff it up and add it to the bowl with the veggies.

4) Season the couscous with a little salt and toss the whole thing together. Serve right away of store in the fridge until ready to serve! 

Laura Vitale's Classic Potato Salad

Laura Vitale's Classic Potato Salad 

Adapted recipe from Laura Vitale's

Servings: 4 

INGREDIENTS

4 medium sized potatoes (roughly 2 pounds) 

2 hard boiled eggs (I used 3-4 eggs)

5 baby dill prickles (I omitted) 

2 stalks of green onion (finely chopped) 

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill (I omitted) 

1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar (I used Japanese rice vinegar for sushi)

Dressing: 

1/2 cup of mayo (I substituted it with homemade tzatziki sauce)
2 tablespoons of sour cream (I substituted it with homemade plain low fat yogurt)

2 teaspoons of yellow mustard
2 teaspoons of dried parsley 

1/2 teaspoon of paprika powder

1 teaspoon of chopped garlic (roughly 1 clove) 

1 and 1/3 teaspoon of salt 

1/2 teaspoon of pepper 

STEPS

1. Cut potatoes into half with skin on. Halve the potatoes and put into a metal container. Steam the potatoes till you can push a fork easily till the end of the potato. (I used my electric food container to do this so I can't tell you how long you need to steam)
2. Remove the potato skin under cool running water. It should be easy to remove the skin. 
3. Simply cut the potatoes into dice (do not have to do this very accurately). 
4. Drizzle rice vinegar over the potatoes and mash with your fork. You do not have to mash till everything is mushy. Do according to your preference, whether you want partially chunky or completely mushy.
5. Prepare the dressing sauce: Add all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix well. It should taste very salty but don't worry. After it is added to the potatoes, the taste will be 'neutralized'. 
6. Add chopped green onions and mashed (or sliced) eggs. Toss everything together with the potatoes, you can even mash them with your fork if you want to. 
7. Drizzle the dressing sauce. Mix well. 
8. Chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours prior serving for best taste.
9. Serve. 

This tastes just too good! ;) 

I modified Laura's recipe and I really think this tastes very good even without the mayo

Of course, with the mayo, the taste should be doubled. 

Anyway if you want to stay slightly healthier, choose my version then. 

Fruit Salad Version 1

A simple breakfast which consists of healthy fruits and nuts. Let's just call this a fruit salad of my style.

Fruit Salad Version 1 

INGREDIENTS

1/4 of a dragon fruit (100g) 60cal

1 kiwi (80g) 44cal

5 roasted almonds (5g) 85cal 

Total Calories: 189 cal 

STEPS

1. Wash and clean all the fruits. 
2. Slice and serve.