Simple Solutions Series: Summer [Vegetarian] Salsas

Simple Solutions Series

May Healthy Eating Presentation

Summer [Vegetarian] Salsas 

& a bonus tip: How to Cut a [Fresh] Pineapple

With an ode to growing up in Texas, Cinco de Mayo, eating the [real] rainbow and an early kick-off to summer, I held the third rendition of the Simple Solutions Series entitled, Simple Summer Salsas (I have not published my April presentation yet; you can find March's here.) My focus is always educating the importance of eating from the L.E.A.N. Traffic Light concept (more here) and these recipes fall in the green and yellow light categories which makes them A+ in my book! I hope you will agree!!

We made 4 fresh food chunky salsas. Three were savory and the last was the 'dessert' option. We had a variety of chips and crackers available for all palates including gluten free and without sunflower products (one guest has a food allergy).

The day of the food demo was unseasonably warmer than I remembered from last year. It reached 95* and though we were at an outdoor kitchen, it was shaded and we had several fans blowing. Thankfully we even experienced a light breeze here and there (which says a lot for being in the high desert because really, there is no such thing in the Spring for a 'light' breeze; winds are usually called gusts and they can go up to 55 mph all.day.everyday!). With that said, we wanted to finish earlier than normal and so we forgot to take pictures of the food as we talked about it during the demonstration. 

But guess what? My husband later told me that he wants to bring in a salsa to work on Monday for their potluck style on Cinco de Mayo. I also knew that I really wanted images for the recipes so that I could publish THIS post! So, the next day I went into the kitchen and made all of the recipes from the demo. These recipes were made using my Vitamix so it didn't take much time at all! At the presentation though, we used my co-host's Quick Chef system from Tupperware. 

One quick note before we dig in, these recipes are clean-eating and compliment the Clean Transformation Challenge a.k.a #ctransc. You can message me if you'd like further information on ways to incorporate more green and yellow light foods into your health regimen!

Without further adieu, here they are and I've even included several other food bloggers' recipes so that you have more than a few to choose from. I secretly hope that you choose mine to make and come back to give me some feedback. If you make theirs, be sure to leave a comment on their blog approving of their ingredient profile. I've not made theirs but I like them because they fall in the green and yellow light category of mostly fruits and/or veggies, healthy fats, and herbs and spices. =)

Southwestern Salsa Fresca

This recipe includes two types of plant protein - avocado and black bean. There was only a corner left after the guests tried their samples. I'd say that everyone liked it! =) (The recipe is here.)

Mango Cucumber Chunky Salsa

Ingredients for the dressing:

zest of 1 lime

juice of 2 limes

1 tbs raw honey (optional)

2 shallots

1 jalapeno, seeded 

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

sea salt to taste

fresh cilantro (to taste)

Yields: 3/4 cup

1. Using a Vitamix [or a food processor of your choice], add all of the ingredients to your container then blend on variable low for 10 seconds. The jalapeno, garlic, shallots, and cilantro will be chopped and the mixture should be a light, creamy green color. 

2. You will be using up to 1/4 cup of the dressing for this salsa recipe; set aside. The other 1/2 cup can be refrigerated in an air tight container to be used with your next salad! 

Note: If you do not have a Vitamix or food processor, you can chop everything by hand. It may take a few extra minutes but it'll still taste wonderful! You can whisk the dressing by hand as well until the flavors are developed to your taste preferences. 

Ingredients for the salsa:

1-2 mangoes, peeled 

1/2 english cucumber, unpeeled and cut in half

1/4 cup strawberries, hulled

1. Using your Vitamix, place mangoes, cucumber, and strawberries in the container and turn on variable low using tamper to push food towards the blades. In ten seconds, food is chopped! (Again, you can chop by hand.)

2. Pour the chopped ingredients into a medium bowl and add up to 1/4 cup of the dressing. Stir gently until combined. Dip with your favorite chip. Enjoy!!

Pineapple Prep & Spicy Salsa

About six years ago I was taught how to slice a pineapple from a food demo that I had attended at a health food store in Southern California. See, I had known about the other way where you slice down the sides of the rind until you're left with the flesh but I found that that way presented a lot more waste. Now I must caveat and say that the other way works great if you've let your pineapple turn completely yellow on the counter. It will help remove all the brown spots but of course, you're still wasting a lot of food. 

So you can do two things: 1) don't let your pineapple turn completely yellow and 2) cut it the way I'm about to share with you to cut down on waste. 

The best pineapple is heavy for its size and mostly green. The bottom will be yellow. This is the time to cut into the pineapple! Follow my images for the how-to and if this way was new to you, try it then come back and share with me your experience, okay? 

This way yields way more pineapple! This particular pineapple gave me 6 cups!! The pineapple cost me $3 (which is a very good cost considering I've seen them as high as $6.50). So when you pay a lot for your pineapples, don't let them turn completely yellow and then cut them the way I showed you above so you can get a good return on investment. =)

Now onto the salsa! 

Like the Southwestern Salsa Fresca this was also a crowd favorite. Two of the guests are not fans of pineapple but enjoyed the recipe because of the spiciness of the ingredients. IMO it was too spicy for me! But, I'm happy everyone else enjoyed it. 

Ingredients:

1 large shallot

2 cups of [fresh] pineapple (see demo above on how to cut)

1 jalapeno, seeded

1/4 cup cilantro

1/2 lime, juiced

Sea salt to taste 

Preparation:

1. Add all ingredients to a Vitamix and blend with tamper for 15 seconds. Done! 

2. Pour into a bowl and couple it with chips of your choice. I used Bean & Rice chips that are gluten free. 

Note: Like the mango cucumber salsa, you can chop by hand. It will take a few extra minutes and then you can control the sizes of the ingredients. 

Chunky Strawberry Apple Salsa 

From my food demo recipes, I saved the best for last - dessert!! We've all seen varieties of this simple fruit based salsa before but I wanted to switch things up by adding a fuji apple and kiwi. Some recipes call for onions to cut the sweetness but I really wanted to end my demo with a dessert option. Plus this is great for kids! I mean all of them are but this flavor profile is gentler on the palate.

A thought hit me when I was writing this blog post, I know for certain that adding soaked chia seeds to this recipe would bring up the nutritive benefit quite a bit (add 2 tbs)! I mean you've already got the seeds from the kiwi in plain view - why not add the chia!?! You try it and see if you like it. I prefer to soak my chia seeds so that they'll be easy to chew and digest. 

Ingredients:

1 apple, seeded

1 kiwi, peeled

1/2 lb of strawberries, hulled

1/2 lime, juiced

1 tbs raw honey (optional)

1/2 tsp cinnamon-coconut sugar mixture (just add 1/4 tsp of each together)

Preparation:

1. Using a Vitamix, toss in the apple alone first and chop it on variable low for 5-10 seconds. There were a few pieces that didn't make it to the blades so I ate them! Remove from Vitamix container and pour into a medium bowl. 

2. Toss the kiwi, strawberries and the juice of half of a lime into the Vitamix container and blend them on variable low for 5-10 seconds. Pour chopped fruits into bowl with chopped apples. Stir.

3. Sprinkle the cinnamon-coconut sugar mixture over the chopped fruits. If your fruits are not very sweet, you can add the optional raw honey at this point. If they're already sweet, omit the honey and gently stir the fruit salsa. 

4. Serve with organic animal crackers, plain or cinnamon pita chips, or it can be eaten alone. It is very good! The apples give it the necessary added crunch I believe it needs. 

I hope you enjoyed my recipes and that you'll be back for more. Be sure to subscribe to my blog to never miss a post that is delivered to your inbox! 

Now onto more vegetarian salsas from my foodie friends!

Pineapple Salsa (raw-vegan) from JarO'Honey {w/Bonus decorative bowl}

Tropical Fruit Salsa & Roasted Tomatillo Salsa from Honey, Ghee and Me 

Mango and Traditional Salsas from The Organic Kitchen 

Fresh Summer Salsa with Cucumber from Recipes to Nourish

Homemade Mango Salsa from Live Simply 

Lacto Fermented Salsa from Economies of Kale

Lacto Fermented Pineapple Papaya Chutney from Oh Lardy! 

Strawberry Salsa, Cherry Salsa & Salsa Fresca from Fresh Bites Daily 

You can order a Vitamix from Costco, Amazon, and direct from the manufacturer. I purchased mine direct in April 2010. It came with a 7-year warranty and for those that needed which I did at the time, an interest free installment plan. You can order one direct and use my code {06-00 8064} to earn free shipping (value $25 US/$35 CN). You can buy them at other places and some may come with the 7-year warranty. I prefer to buy from the manufacturer when I'm making a large purchase. 

Choose, eat, and live well! =)

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Quinoa Stuffed Stripetti

Want a filling and nutrient dense dinner idea? Try stuffed stripetti! 

It's vegetarian and gluten-free. You can omit dairy. 

Not knowing what to do with my stripetti squash, I considered my background in culinary acts of goodness. Yeah, I'm a 'wing-it' kind of chef! I was more than pleased with the outcome of this dish! 

A stripetti's appearance resembles a watermelon but its texture is similar to that of a spaghetti squash and its flavor closer to sweet potatoes. Sounds intriguing, yes? YES!!

After doing some research on how to prepare, I learned the best way was to bake it on 375* for 45 minutes in its wholeness - not cutting, piercing or anything. Just put it in a dish with a little bit of water and roast. It's a bit tough to work with if you avoid this necessary step. 

While your stripetti is roasting, let's prepare the filling. I used no animal protein in this recipe. Instead I used quinoa. More info about this fabulous grain here. 

Ingredients/Preparation:

1) Quinoa cooked in your own vegetable stock (as seen here) + 1 tsp cumin + 1/4 tsp cayenne; mix and cook covered (follow directions on package). 

2) Zucchini (any green vegetable you'd like!) in a quick stir-saute with 2 T EVOO, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, and 1/2 tsp basil.

3) 8 oz of spaghetti or tomato sauce (or yours done here).

4) 8 oz diced tomatoes (choose fresh) marinated in 1/4 tsp EVOO, 1/2 tsp basil, and 1/8 tsp sea salt. 

5) Mozzarella cheese (optional). 

When stripetti is done roasting, wait for it to cool slightly then cut it lengthwise. Remove seeds with a spoon. 

Spoon cooked quinoa into the stripetti. Top with tomato sauce, zucchini, a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese, and diced tomatoes. Carefully cut it in half. Serve! (You won't be eating the skin - it is kind of dense. If you roasted it long enough, it'll peel off easily.)

This recipe packs flavor. I'm glad I had my own tomato sauce on hand because I believe it gave it a step up in deliciousness! Experiment with different vegetables - add more! Some options: Broccoli, Purple Cauliflower, Spinach! Have fun with it!

Buon Appetito!! 

Choose, eat, and live well! =)

Other varieties of squash recipes can be found here:

Southwest Butternut Squash Chili (like a boss)

Savory Winter Squash

Slow Cooker Acorn Squash Stew

Harvest Time - Ratatouille 

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Brown or White #Eggs?

So I bought some brown eggs the other day at a health food store. They are locally (within 100 miles) raised, Chino Valley Ranchers, Organic Omega-3. The hens are fed a vegetarian diet that includes flax seed and are free range. They are USDA organic. The dozen cost $4 or $5, I can't remember. Seems like a lot of money but once you've learned what you eat eats then it makes you take a second look at typical things you buy. Eggs and milk are staples in my house and so we buy only organic. There is a difference in taste of regular (corn) fed hens' eggs to vegetarian fed hens'. There is also a distinct smell.

Anyway, I wanted to learn more about why the brown eggs cost more than the white. Some say that there's a nutritious difference between the two being that the brown ones are healthier but there had to be a real reason why the cost was higher for the brown ones.

So I did some research. I learned that there are two kinds of hens. Ones that lay white eggs and ones that lay brown eggs! Yep, it's that simple. Hens with white ear lobes lay white eggs and hens with red ear lobes lay brown eggs. Hens that lay brown eggs are also larger birds than those that lay white eggs. They need more food and they're offered different (or better) feed than the other hens thus the real reason the cost is higher for brown eggs. The red ear lobed hens makes bigger eggs too.

You can find white organic eggs from hens fed on a vegetarian diet. You'll save about a $1 or more on white organic eggs. So there are still affordable options if you want to go organic.

Support local farmers!

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Choose, eat, and live well! =)