Asian Slaw Salad

I love when you get to share a meal. There's something extraordinary about a seemingly ordinary meal around a table. Sharing a meal seems to bring added intimacy and an opportunity for great conversation.

My friend, Claudette, invited my husband and I over to her lovely home and made a delicious meal. The stand-out dish for me was this amazing Asian slaw salad. It was salty, a little sweet, and had a ton of crunch. She served the meal on a variety of colorful Fiesta ware. It was casual and felt special without being precious. You know that feeling? When you know someone made an effort, but it's not too fancy that you're worried about breaking something or accidentally putting your elbows on the table.

This Asian slaw salad is my entrée version of the side that I had at my friend's house. I hope you enjoy it! Here's the recipe.

Ingredients
2 cups shredded purple cabbage
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup English cucumber, julienned (cut into long strips)
1 pack of ramen noodles
1/4 cup almonds, toasted
1 pound chicken
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the salad dressing:
1/4 cup canola oil
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons granulate sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Equipment
Cutting board
Chef's knife
Large mixing bowl
Small mixing bowl or Mason jar
Whisk
Small sauté pan
Large, oven-safe sauté pan

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400*F. Preheat a large sauté pan. Add oil if pan is not non-stick. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Sear chicken on both sides for 5-7 minutes until golden. Transfer chicken to oven and cook until 165*F internal temperature.

In a dry sauté pan, toast almond over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Set aside to cool.

Shred purple and green cabbage. Place in a large bowl. Julienne cucumber. To julienne, cut the cucumber in long strips. Then, cut each strip into matchstick-size rectangles. Place in the large bowl.

To make the dressing, pour canola oil, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper into a small mixing bowl or Mason jar. Whisk until combined.

About 30 minutes before serving, pour 4 Tablespoons of dressing onto salad mixture to lightly coat. Toss to distribute evenly. **If you're not eating all the salad, wait to dress the salads individually.

Divide the salad into four bowls. Top with sliced chicken. Add a tablespoon of broken, uncooked ramen and toasted almonds. This adds delicious crunch and texture, which is super important in salad.


I hope you enjoy this recipe! Make it and share it with a friend. If you want it to be a side salad, you're welcome to leave off the protein. Let me know if you make this recipe; tag me on social media!

For more tips, encouragement, and recipes for a healthy lifestyle, you can follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

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Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Happy Spring! The beginning of a new year and new seasons tend to inspire change. When the seasons change, it feels like a good time to review resolutions, set a new goal, and make healthier choices. Changes in season can inspire change in other aspects of life.

As a registered dietitian, I talk with my clients about goal setting, healthy change, and barriers to maintaining healthy changes. The main barriers to healthy eating are time, budget, lack of confidence in cooking ability, and food preferences. I work with kids, so you can read food preferences as "picky eating."


Roasting vegetables is a quick, easy way to prepare vegetables. Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat to cook food. It brings out a caramelized flavor through the Maillard reaction, which is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars (reducing sugars include all monosaccharides, including sucrose, glucose, fructose, and galactose, and some disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides). Roasting at high temps, above 340* F, caramelizes sugar naturally found in foods. Roasting at a high temperature brings out a caramelized, nutty quality in vegetables that is super tasty. 

One of my favorite roasted vegetables is asparagus. Asparagus is in season in the US from February to June. Eating vegetables in season is a great way to save money. Produce is cheaper when it's in season.

If you or someone in your family has strong food preferences, try including them in the cooking process. This is a great beginner cook recipe or recipe to try with kids. You can break the asparagus with your hands, so you don't have to use a knife. Or, kids can help you toss vegetables with oil and seasoning. It's a great hands-on activity. 

 

Here's my recipe for roasted asparagus. I use the term 'recipe' loosely because this is such a quick and easy preparation. Give it a try!

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, rinsed and dried
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Tools

Half sheet pan
Spatula
Cutting board
Chef's knife

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400* F.

Rinse asparagus and pat dry. Break off the end of a few asparagus. This will give you a guide of where to cut your asparagus. Slice the bottoms of the asparagus off and discard  The top of the asparagus is tender, but the bottom of the asparagus can be tough and fibrous. 

Place asparagus on the half sheet pan. Drizzle olive oil. Sprinkle salt and garlic powder. Toss asparagus to coat.

Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are fork tender. The cooking time of asparagus varies based on the diameter of the asparagus. I've purchased asparagus that's as thick as a pencil and other asparagus is as thin as a chopstick. So, the cooking time will vary as the size of the asparagus varies.

Have you ever tried roasted vegetables? If not, I hope you try this recipe. Let me know what you think.

For more tips, encouragement, and recipes for a healthy lifestyle, you can follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. Tag me if you make any recipes!

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Football Food for Entertaining

It's Super Bowl week! Americans love football, and football food is a big deal. So, I'm sharing some of my favorite foods for entertaining. These are great recipes to feed a crowd. Click on the recipes below to build a tasty and easy menu for the Super Bowl!

Easy Empanadas

Jalapeno Chicken Sliders

Hummus

Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders

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Rice Cereal Bars

Brownie Football Bites
mini brownies toped with cream cheese icing

These recipes are easy to make and are great for feeding a crowd. Each of these recipes makes food that is easy to eat; no utensils needed. Try these recipes. Invite friends over. And, enjoy!

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