Recipe: The Perfect Salad
May/111
by Melissa McKinnon
1. Start with a Leafy Green Base: the darker the green, the more nutritious. Be creative and try a new lettuce variety, especially if you’re stuck on Iceberg; Bibb, Red Leaf, and Romaine are always good options, or you can branch out and add spinach, kale, or other greens likes collards, mustard greens, or Swiss chard. My favorite is the Organic Girl brand (when I can’t get it from my own garden).
2. Add Some Color: I suggest at least one from each color group below…
- Something Red: grape tomatoes, red pepper, strawberries, pomegranate arils, sliced beets, dried cranberries, radishes, apples
- Something Orange or Yellow: bell peppers, carrots, banana peppers, mandarin oranges, mango salsa, corn
- Something Green: peppers, cucumbers, sprouts, green beans, granny smith apples, pears, zucchini, artichoke hearts, celery, broccoli, peas
- Something Blue or Purple: blueberries or other berries, purple cabbage, grapes, purple carrots, raisins
- Something White: mushrooms, onion, cauliflower, garlic or shallots
3. Add a Protein: this can be grilled chicken or salmon on top of the salad, or something simple like a half cup of rinsed and drained beans (kidney beans, black beans, whatever your favorite is), a hardboiled egg or an ounce of low-fat cheese.
4. Add a Healthy Fat Source: 1 Tbsp. of olive oil or chopped olives, ¼ avocado, or a small handful of nuts and/or seeds. You need healthy fat in your meal if you want to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins available in the rest of your salad!
5. Add Some Flavor: balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, fresh herbs, freshly cracked black pepper, etc. Stay away from high-sodium and saturated fat laden options. Something crunchy is always fun too (depending on what you’ve already added): whole wheat croutons, asian noodles, or these salad toppers from Oh She Glows are all fun ideas.
Bon Appetit! And Enjoy the Journey!
Melissa, My Journey to Lean Blog
Recipe: Swiss Chard and Swiss Cheese Egg Pie
May/110
by Melissa McKinnon
Crust Ingredients:
- 2 c. shredded organic potatoes (about 2 small to medium potatoes)
- 1 all-natural egg
- sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
- 1/4 c. all-natural all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
Pie Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1/3 c. organic red onion, finely chopped
- 2 large organic garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bunch (about 4 c.) Swiss Chard, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 8 oz. Baby Swiss Cheese, shredded
- 4 all-natural eggs
- 1 c. milk
- 1 Tbsp. dried marjoram
Topping Ingredients:
- 1/2 c. breadcrumbs (I used homemade breadcrumbs from feta spinach bread)
- 1 Tbsp. butter
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Shred potatoes and pat dry with a towel. Add flour, salt, pepper, and egg, combining well. Spread into 9-inch deep dish pie pan. Brush with oil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and lower oven temp to 350F.
While the potato crust is baking, heat butter and olive oil in saute pan over medium low heat. Chop the onion and add to the skillet, sauteing for 3-5 minutes. Add minced garlic, salt and pepper, and cook for another minute. Chop chard (Note: Spinach could be a good substitute; for the chard, discard excess stems, if desired. I used about 2 inches past the end of each leaf for the added color and discarded the rest.) Add to saute pan, cooking for 5-10 minutes, until sweated down.
Meanwhile, combine eggs, milk, shredded cheese, and seasonings in mixing bowl. Add chard mixture and pour into baked potato crust. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and put tabs of butter on top of breadcrumbs, evenly spaced. This will help the top brown up beautifully.
Bake at 350F for 35 minutes, or until knife inserted 1 inch from the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cover with foil. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before cutting. This allows the egg to finish cooking and solidify so your pieces come out perfect on the first slice.
Serves 8. Serve for brunch or a light dinner with a side salad and/or sliced tomatoes. Feel free to add chopped, cooked bacon to the pie ingredients for extra flavor (if you do this, you may want to eliminate the oil and butter and cook the onions, etc., in the bacon grease once you’ve cooked and drained the bacon). This is a great recipe if you have spinach or chard that has begun to wilt and you don’t want to throw it away. Also, you can prepare it the night before, if desired.
Enjoy!
Recipe: Organic Bacon and Greens Snack Wraps
Mar/112
Hi! My name’s Melissa and I’m excited to represent the Upstate of South Carolina on the Carolina Farm Stewardship Blog! Each week, I receive organic produce delivered to my home in a “sweetness basket” from Milk & Honey Organics (more about them in an upcoming post). This week’s basket had Collard Greens in it. I’m from the North, and while I love the South and all it has to offer, I have struggled to perfect the art of collard greens. This recipe was my first real success with the lovely, leafy vegetable. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Organic Bacon and Greens Snack Wrap
by Melissa McKinnon
Ingredients:
- 3 strips organic bacon, chopped
- 1 bunch organic collard greens (spinach would work too), washed, dried, stems removed, and chopped (about 3 c. chopped, fresh)
- 1 large organic garlic clove, minced
- 2 organic baby bella mushrooms, chopped
- 1 tsp. hot sauce (I used Texas Pete, still looking for a good organic brand, if you have suggestions)
- Sprinkle of seasoned salt (I used Lawry’s, still looking for a good organic brand here too)
- 4 oz. organic cream cheese (reduced fat or part skim, preferably)
- 4 all-natural/organic whole-wheat tortillas, quartered
Instructions:
- Heat skillet to medium heat. Meanwhile, chop ingredients.
- Fry 3 strips bacon to desired crispness, remove from skillet and drain on paper towel lined plate. Crumble.
- Reserve bacon drippings and add chopped greens, garlic, and mushrooms.
- Saute for 3-5 minutes, until greens are tender, garlic is carmelized, and mushrooms are reduced.
- Reduce heat to low, add hot sauce and seasoning salt to your taste.
- Add cream cheese and stir in until melted and well combined.
- Spread a tablespoon or two onto each tortilla quarter. Fold each in half and enjoy hot or chilled.
Musings:
- Quartering the wraps makes this recipe go further as an appetizer. Most people stick to two or three pieces, though I’ll warn you, these are addictive.
- If you prefer, you could add the filling to wontons and bake or fry for a delicious appetizer. This recipe would yield 20-24 wontons (1 1/2 tsp. per wonton).
- My husband and I think the wontons would be a great appetizer with grilled spare ribs.
Bon Appetit! And enjoy the journey! ~Melissa
