Avocado kale salad is even popular with children

4 large avocados
7 large bunches of lacinato kale
salt
oil and balsamic and/or red wine vinegar


Rip the kale stems out by hand and tear into bite size pieces.  Massage with salt oil and vinegar for several minutes, until soft.  Add avocado and mix.  Taste and adjust salt and vinegar if needed.

Eggplant Parmesan (no pasta)

First, slice the eggplants, salt, and let sit one hour to reduce bitterness.  Rinse and pat dry.

Then sautee in olive oil.

For the tomato sauce, we used a semi-homemade version with canned whole tomatoes from Trader Joe's, onions, oil and fresh basil.

Layer the eggplant with sauce and plenty of fresh mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, then bake at 350 for approx 45 minutes.

The $4 tomato

The $4 heirloom tomato lasted three meals and had barely any acid.  This one really proved that tomatoes are fruit.

3 parts Cali, 3 parts Italy

Easing back into eating at home.

Italy:
Parmesano reggiano
olive oil
white wine vinegar from Modena

California:
avocado
cabbage
greens 

Bitter foods are good for you

I crave arugula and radicchio, and lucky for me they're really good for you.  They even reduce sugar cravings!

The photo is salad greens topped with radicchio in oil and white wine vinegar, fried onions, and a filet mignon with ricotta salata crumbled on top.

Healthy - what does it mean?

Healthy means eating your colors. If you can walk to get your groceries, prepare, and enjoy them with loved ones, friends, or pets, even healthier.
This year, my cranberry sauce was enlivened by fresh grated ginger.

Winter is full of gorgeous tasty greens.

Turnip chips

Sliced as thin as possible, fried in coconut and olive oils, these were sweet and wonderful.  I seasoned with turmeric and red pepper, and I sprinkled basil after I pulled them out of the pan.

Spicy fresh garlic dip

Trader Joe's full fat Greek yogurt, a healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and minced fresh garlic.  With these three ingredients, you can customize the rest of the spices to make what you like.  This time I used red pepper flakes, paprika, basil and oregano.

Organic Power to the Greens - TJ's new bagged product

I'm always looking for easy ways to add greens, thought this was pretty good.  I tried it as a salad and sauteed to go with my beef.  The leaves were fresh and crisp, and the combination of kale, chard and spinach was delicious.  It is $1.99 for a bag.

Food Science is Beyond "complicated"

Here is a short slideshow of a few food pairings.  These foods, when eaten together, enhance each other's benefits. 

Carbs

It is important to experiment to find the level of carbohydrate feeding that your body can tolerate while you maintain your healthy figure. No grain or fruit for me, and I like to eat high fat. Tomatoes and a large avocado provide approximately 40g carbs, and I added cucumber, olive oil, basil and oregano.

Shrimp with Veggies is Very Fast

If you want good food fast, chop up your colors (here you see red pepper, green pepper, dark green, light green and yellow zucchini) and your garlic, sautee them in coconut oil to your desired texture, then add shrimp and cook until just opaque.  I seasoned mine with turmeric, black pepper and cayenne and served with a big wedge of lemon.  You can make this even faster if you have to - buy pre-chopped vegetables.

Green Leafies = Great Skin

We all knew we are what we eat. But did you know that veggies can make you prettier? It stands to reason.

Radiccio

I "discovered" radiccio in Rome, and I haven't been able to stop buying it since. It wasn't offensive before, but I never picked it up. It goes great in a salad, especially with vinegar-based dressing, and I like to put a pile on my plate before I put my hot food on top, especially eggs with veggies.

Good thing it has a variety of wonderful health benefits, including lots of antioxidants (the color tips us off) good for the eyes. Great news for me since I hate carrots.

Salsa verde my way

Roasted tomatillos, white onion, green pepper, jalapeno, and garlic with cumin and black pepper. Blended on high for a creamier salsa.


Shown on my breakfast of eggs and greens.

Deconstructed eggplant and beef lasagna

Salt, rinse and drain eggplant slices.



Roast them in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes with olive oil and pepper. Then put cheese mixture (whole milk ricotta, grated or finely chopped real mozzarella, Italian seasonings, fresh parsley if you have it) right on top of rounds and heat until cheese is melted.



A veggie mixture of your choice, grass fed grass finished beef with plenty of garlic and white onion and a homemade tomato sauce (tomatoes, garlic, butter, water) topped it off. The veggie mixture shown included Chinese broccoli and red pepper.

Tequila Turkey and Fun with Veggies

Stumbled on the evidence that cooking a turkey breast with tequila keeps the meat moist. This one also has Meyer lemon juice and paprika.

I have liked cooked celery in soups and stir fries, so I tried it with roasted cauliflower, cumin and turmeric. It came out soft and sweet. I had it for lunch with ahi and fried garlic.


Baby purple broccoli is pretty.

Eat Your Colors

Check out the color saturation in the purple kale. Kale is cheap and available everywhere.


The slaw has red cabbage, apple, celery, red pepper and orange juice dressing.

Dill Cabbage Slaw

Dill on sale at Von's (with card), cabbage, pepper, whole milk yogurt, raw apple cider vinegar, shown with canned salmon and pickling cucumbers, my favorite.

Zucchini "Pasta"

Everyone's talking about it, so I tried using a potato peeler to make pasta out of my yellow zucchini squash. Next time I will add a little salt to the water. Although my chunky sauce of white onions, grass fed beef, and fresh tomatoes was well-seasoned, the dish overall was a little bland. When I warmed up my sauce, I added plenty of fresh spinach.