Bikini Season Salad

Bikini Season is coming!  Bikini Season IS COMING!!
You're sliding aren't you?  You were good for a while and you stuck to those New Year's resolutions for... a couple of weeks.  I bet you did great! 

Until you started craving Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese.  And then it was Mardi Gras and then Valentines Day is coming.  You can't let that chocolate go to waste!

I have a salad that's going to help you get into that bikini in a few months.

This salad is super simple to prepare and it gets better as it sits in the fridge for a couple of days.

In a large bowl, combine:
Carrots, red and yellow peppers, julienned
Broccoli and cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
Black olives, Kalamata olives (or green olives or even pickles)
Toss with Garlic Vinaigrette Dressing:

Red Wine vinegar
Extra Virgin olive oil
Minced garlic (or crushed, roasted garlic is delicious but doesn't seem to stay fresh for long)
I use 2 to 4 Tablespoons or cloves per cup of vinegar.
Dried spices (oregano, basil, marjoram)
Salt & pepper

I re-use an old plastic olive oil bottle and toss in the ingredients without measuring which gives me the freedom to make a little or a lot. Mix vinegar and oil using a One-to-One ratio (equal amounts of each-- just eyeball it in the jar) then add your other ingredients. Place the cap on the bottle and shake vigorously. Keep this dressing in the fridge for a month or more. Shake vigorously before each use.

I use about 3/4 cup of dressing for this large salad.  When you stir it, you should see a couple of tablespoons of dressing pooled in the bottom of the bowl.
Stir the salad after a couple of hours and then again after it has been in the fridge overnight.  It really does get better and better. A salad I can make ahead and it's not going to get all wilty and nasty? YAY! That is the best kind of salad. Come home after a long day and not have to think about what to prepare for dinner? Awesome!






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Collard Wraps

Wrap sandwiches are a quick, portable lunch.  Collard leaves make a wonderful Paleo alternative to tortillas for wrap sandwiches.  Turn over the leaf and with a sharp knife, remove as much of the rib as possible without cutting through the leaf.  I found that it's much easier to do this if I bend the leaf over the edge of the cutting board.

 

Add sliced meats and cheese (if you are ok with dairy), onion, peppers... or whatever you like.  Fold in the ends and roll up.  I look for large leaf bunches but if you can't find them, you can set two together: stem-end overlapping stem-end and continue wrapping the same way.  You will have a separation you have to pay attention to, but if you overlap enough, your wrap will stay together.

 



 

 

Wrap in plastic.

Another option for filling is cashew cheese or use cashew cheese as a base for mock chicken salad (add onion, celery, sunflower seeds, a bit of apple cider vinegar, some walnuts, if you like).

 

Dry ingredients work best as fillings since the collard leaf will not absorb any moisture.  Meatballs and marinara are not recommended... take my word for it.  You may as well try to eat soup with chopsticks.

 

 

 

 

 

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Paleo Teriyaki Sauce

There are many varieties of Teriyaki sauce.  My favorite is sweet, salty, and a tiny bit spicy.  Some say that garlic is not traditional in Teriyaki but I like it.  If you prefer, you can leave it out or replace it with a teaspoon of fresh ginger.

I may have mentioned that I like sauces.  I try not to over-indulge in sauce.  It's better to taste the food with a hint of sauce, I know... I know.  I'm getting better about that.  At least now, it's healthy, real food and not some mass of chemicals bound together with corn starch and soy. 

Paleo Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 can (12 oz.) frozen pineapple juice concentrate
1/2 cup Coconut Aminos
2 to 4 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup honey

In a medium sized pot over medium heat, saute onion and 1 teaspoon salt in olive oil until onion is translucent and beginning to brown.  Add pineapple juce concentrate, Coconut Aminos, garlic, red pepper, vinegar, and honey plus 1 tablespoon salt.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to medium and continue simmering for 10 minutes.  Turn off heat and mix well with a stick blender (or cool slightly and mix in a food processor or blender).  Taste and see if it needs more salt.  Return to heat and boil gently for another 3 - 4 minutes.  Sauce should be thick but not a paste.  Cool, then place in jars and store in the refrigerator for up to one month.  Makes 3 half-pint jars.





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