Happy Spring! Eeeeek. Yesterday was “technically” the first day of Spring, although Nashville has been feeling like it for the past month with its weird highs and lows, so I’m looking forward to some consistency coming…and Spring veggies! Today I have a super simple side dish that can be transformed easily into an entreé and made in under 10 minutes. This Fresh Cilantro Corn Salad was first made for my love’s 30th birthday party which was taco themed because those are his favorites, so this was such a nice “fresh” addition to brighten up the taco feast. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as we did and still do!

SPRING FRESH 

For me, fresh herbs and raw veggies embody Spring and the turning of the seasons, and my favorite herb is cilantro with dill in close second. I purposefully use cilantro daily wherever I can fit it into my diet either by starting the morning with my Stripped Green Smoothie, adding some on a lunch bowl or salad, or topping it on omelets or a stir-fry for dinner. It’s versatile and instantly gives any meal you’re making a fresh, bright, and zesty finish! But in true NS fashion, I not only use and recommend cilantro because it tastes delicious but also for its health benefits.

Cilantro is a good source of vitamin C, phosphorus, zinc, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and antioxidants (mainly quercetin). It has been used for helping ease digestion from gas and bloating to killing parasites in the digestive system. Cilantro has also been used to help chelate metals (i.e. flush heavy metals out of our body) by binding metals together so they can be eliminated from the body. So how do you apply this? It can be as simple as eating cilantro with meals and/or especially with tuna, which has been shown to contain high metals like mercury. I recommend limiting tuna, if you do consume fish, to 1-3 times a month. The more you practice the NS food philosophy around animal proteins (including fish), the better off you’ll be regarding mercury intake since quality and the way fish is raised/treated is priority. But back to the health benefits, cilantro has also been shown to help improve sleep and anxiety due a bioactive compound called apigenin which is found in many plants and herbs like cilantro. It’s also a potent anti-cancer compound, so you can add that to the list of why to enjoy cilantro!

Warning, I go heavy on the cilantro in this recipe, but hear me out. I love cilantro, but did you know it’s a very divisive herb? Here’s why: have you ever had cilantro and love it but a friend right next to you says it tastes like soap?! They’re not lying! For about 4-14% of the population depending on your genes (OR6A2 an aldehyde receptor) and ancestry, cilantro tastes like soap. So, all that to say, you can STILL make this recipe if you don’t like cilantro – just use fresh flat leaf parsley instead! Also, I enjoy this most as a light side dish, but you can add a protein and some additional avocado for healthy fats to really amp up the nutrient and caloric density as a meal. Not sure which plant-based proteins to add in? Get the free ebook below!

Try this SIMPLE, FRESH Cilantro Corn Salad this weekend #nutritionstripped
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Are you ready?

Are you ready for Spring and all that it brings, including fresh produce?! What are your favorite spring vegetables? Do you have any favorite way to enjoy cilantro? Let me know in the comments. I literally read every single comment and answer, so let’s get this convo going. When you try this one at home be sure to share on Instagram with #nutritionstripped so I can see!

xx McKel

Resources:

• http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-117-coriander.aspx?activeingredientid=117&activeingredientname=coriander
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19902160
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8686573
• http://seafood.edf.org/tuna
• https://examine.com/supplements/apigenin/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22022003

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Happy new SIMPLE recipe Tuesday! This sesame snow pea salad was inspired by a salad bar dish I repeatedly got while life got busy, and now I’m making it at home for a healthier homemade option. Plus, it’s the perfect picnic friendly salad that doesn’t require chilling. It’s refreshing, crunchy, contains healthy fats, fiber, protein, and minerals, and did I mention it’s delicious? Read more for the recipe!

Sesame Snow Pea Salad

As much as my boyfriend Jesse and I love cooking at home together, it’s really nice to be able to have a couple healthy take outs spots on our radar for a quick, healthy, and delicious meal at home. These past several months have been full of moving, growing work, travel, and still maintaining our social life! All that to say, we reached for the Whole Foods salad bar more times than we can count on one hand the past month. I had this amazing sesame pea salad and was inspired to share my own version with you guys for a quick side dish.

Snow peas, not to be confused with snap peas a.k.a. sugar snap peas, are flat and typically used in stir-fry dishes. They can be eaten whole (including those sometimes pesky strings) or steamed and have a subtle sweet flavor. Sugar snap peas are juicy since they’re larger and contain more water. The peas inside the pod are also used like your standard “green pea” from the garden pea that’s used in cooking. It’s ideal to take off the string on snap peas since it can become very chewy and unpleasant to eat. The snow peas in this recipe are effortless to use and prep and taste amazing with the sesame oil and seeds.

This recipe…

• Made in under 10 minutes
• Rich in fiber
• Makes for a great leftover
• Side dish turned entree (by adding some additions below)
• Versatile since you can make this raw or lightly cooked
• Refreshing and crunchy

(nutrition) stripped and how this could be an easy dish to squeeze in more plants:

1. Fiber town! Just 1 cup of snow peas contains about 4g of fiber, which is pretty good for just a side dish and in the grand scheme of your day, it’s about 8% of your daily needs of fiber (based on 35g / day which is “standard”, some folks need more, some need less).
2. Healthy fat: in about 1/4 cup of sesame seeds, used in the entire recipe, there’s about 14g fat including both poly and monounsaturated fats.
3. Minerals galore: from copper, calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, phosphorus, molybdenum, selenium, to select B vitamins. Sesame seeds are a great “bone health” food with this mineral makeup.
4. Protein: surprisingly peas contain some plant based protein! In fact, 1 cup of snow peas contains about 3 grams of protein which is an added bonus for a side dish or snack.
5. Optimizer Option: to make this a meal, try adding a protein of your choice (i.e. tofu, chicken, fish, tempeh, hemp seeds), healthy fats, and a carbohydrate (try rice with this one!).

We love to make this on the weekend during batch cooking day, and it makes for a refreshing and super delicious salad, side dish, or entree when adding the optimizer options above. Since it’s summer, we’re in summer party and picnic mode so this is a great dish to share with friends – plus it doesn’t require chilling so you can enjoy it warm or cold!

Easy PEAsy! Share this Sesame Snow Pea Salad with friends this weekend #nutritionstripped
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If you try this recipe, I wanna hear about it, so let’s chat! Leave a comment, rate it (this helps me improve future recipes), and don’t forget to tag a picture with #nutritionstripped to show how you live and try these recipes on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. Onward to the kitchen!

xx McKel

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There’s nothing better than having a huge bowl of cold pasta salad ready to eat, loaded with fiber, veggies, protein, and healthy fats!

Growing up in Ohio, my parents had the sweetest little garden in our backyard and it was robust in the summer with cucumber, tomatoes, dill, and tons of other fresh herbs. Our go-to recipe to use up all the goodies from the garden were salads, including this cold pasta salad which is a play on my mom’s famous one! Hers includes cheese cubes, black olives, less arugula, and whole wheat noodles. I gave my mom’s pasta salad an NS makeover (sorry mom) with a bit more fiber and vegetables, more healthy fats, and selfishly making it work with my own personal health challenges (i.e. dairy and gluten free). The wonderful thing about this recipe is the flexibility, you can use whole wheat noodles if that works for you, add in high quality/organic cheese or follow my recipe to a “t” and try it out NS style!

I use gluten free pasta made from chickpea flour (hello added protein!), tons of fresh arugula which becomes wilted and so delicious when mixed with olive oil and lemon, sliced radishes, edamame, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, garlic. A couple things I like adding into this salad when I have them on hand is corn, bell peppers, and broccoli! This recipe is…

• Make it in under 10 minutes for a simple leftover
• Utilizes in season produce, hello fresh summer veggies!
• Is a great leftover for a quick lunch or dinner
• Family and kid-friendly

(nutrition) stripped and how this salad makes a great entree:

1. Healthy fat: olive oil, nuts, seeds, proteins, and avocado all contain healthy fat to a degree. A couple tips on the avocado, if you’re allergic try adding in hemp seeds for additional fat and protein or a little extra olive oil.
2. Protein power: depending on what your protein preference to add to this recipe is, the noodles I used are made from chickpeas which pack about 12g protein per serving (!) with the additional edamame we have a protein packed dish here. You can also add your favorite proteins in addition if you’re not using a chickpea pasta, such as fish, chicken, tempeh, tofu, lentils, or beans.
3. Carbohydrates: the obvious carbohydrate source here is the pasta no matter if you’re making a gluten free pasta or not, the key is to make sure you have a protein and healthy fat to help balance those blood sugars! We need carbohydrates though, remember?
4. Fiber boost: did someone say vegetables? The greens and vegetables used in this dish pack a punch of fiber which is another way to help balance blood sugars with a more carbohydrate rich dish. The avocado used here, which is also a healthy fat, contains a good amount of fiber as well – bonus!
5. Optimizer option: boost the protein by adding a single serving of protein per serving (i.e. organic tempeh, tofu, chicken, fish, shrimp, lentils, extra beans, hemp seeds, etc.)

This salad is something you can make in 10 minutes, toss with a simple dressing, and pop it in the fridge for a healthy leftover for lunch, dinner, or bring it to the next BBQ and pool party with your pals! I found a brand of gluten free noodles I’ve really been loving lately but I’ll list a couple more in the blog post to help navigate that aisle for you just incase you haven’t tried them before.

A Healthy Garden Pasta Salad that makes summer meals a breeze #leftovers #mealprep
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If you try this recipe, I wanna hear about it, so let’s chat! Leave a comment it, rate it (this helps me improve future recipes), and don’t forget to tag a picture #nutritionstripped to show how you live and try these recipes on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with!

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Truly, this is a summer salad made with fresh seasonal tomatoes, that takes 5 minutes to make! Depending on how quick you chop…

Summer tomatoes

If you’ve been keeping up with me on Instagram stories, each Friday I get a bushel of fresh produce with our CSA, from Bloomsbury Farm and the past 2 weeks we’ve been getting massive amounts of tomatoes. These aren’t just normal tomatoes, these are some of the best tomatoes I’ve ever had! I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not a big fan of tomatoes (and beets) but I eat both of them regularly for the nutrition and health benefits. The key to this recipe is to get fresh and in-season tomatoes or else you may be left with mushy or mealy tomatoes out of season from the grocery store. If that’s the case, table this recipe for another time (seriously!). Fresh and delicious tomatoes, make this recipe. So much so that I actually want to eat them raw in a simple salad to show off their flavor.

If you can chop tomatoes and put them in a big bowl, this recipe will take you 5 minutes. Fresh tomatoes, olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground pepper (pink peppercorn is delicious with this one), and fresh dill and chives. That’s it!

Takes 5 minutes to make
A fun twist on a salad made entirely of tomatoes versus greens
Loaded with antioxidants
Encourages the use of seasonal and local farmed tomatoes

(nutrition) stripped and how this will inspire you to give tomatoes a chance:

• Lycopene, a carotenoid, the most notable and highly studied antioxidant when it comes to tomatoes. The compounds in tomatoes, lycopene, in particular, have been linked to helping fight a variety of cancers (1), help improves circulation, decrease high blood pressure (2), reduce cholesterol (3), reduces cardiovascular risk (4), and reduction in metabolism syndrome (5).
• Antioxidants: We’ve chatted about antioxidants a lot here on NS, but in a nutshell, our bodies need antioxidants to fight off free radicals. Free radicals can damage our healthy cells causing oxidative stress, which may cause harm to our hormones, blood vessels, proteins, lipids, and genetic code; causing cancer, inflammation, pain, degenerative diseases, heart disease, and aging itself.
• Healthy fat: the olive oil used in the recipe is a must have! Healthy fat like olive oil helps your body absorb and soak up all those fat soluble vitamins and carotenoids (like lycopene). Also, cooking helps increase lycopene absorption, but I like to keep this salad raw for flavor.
• Optimizer Option: You can boost the healthy fat by adding toasted pine nuts, diced avocado, or if you enjoy cheese you can add that here as well. I use Kite Hill Foods non-dairy cheese (since dairy and I don’t jive) and it’s delicious!

We’ve been making this for the past several weeks as a side dish for dinner and it’ll last us a couple days including leftovers used for a quick lunch (with added protein and goodies to make it an entree).

Have tons of fresh tomatoes this summer? Make this 5 minute Summer Tomato Salad!
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If you try this recipe, I wanna hear about it, so let’s chat! Leave a comment it, rate it (this helps me improve future recipes), and don’t forget to tag a picture #nutritionstripped to show how you live and try these recipes on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. Now off to make a batch of these…

Resources: 

(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15006906

(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26471075

(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837214

(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25469376

(5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26857614

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There are two camps when it comes to enjoying a good potato salad: 1) mayonnaise based dressing or 2) vinegar based dressing. I’m the second camp and if you are too or if you’re looking for a mayo-free alternative to switch it up, here’s the recipe you need to try!

I created this recipe out of pure need. To set the scene, it was a Sunday and as I’m in the thick of our routine weekly meal prep and cooking some dishes including basil pesto from our enormous happy basil plant on our balcony garden. I was also making the Fingerling Potato Dill Toss for a potluck later that afternoon feeding lots of friends and family. It’s been a hot summer in Nashville, so anytime I’m contributing to recipes it’s a raw vegetable based like crunchy and refreshing salads (hello Summer Tomato Salad) or chilled dishes like this one.  Then it hit me, what if I just made these into 1 recipe? It worked and the odd combo is delicious!

Potatoes often get a bad rep but hear me out. Most likely because they’re sliced and deep fried in vegetable oil, but what about healthier cooking methods like roasting, boiling, and steaming? Potatoes are a carbohydrate (starchy vegetable) and as with any other carbohydrate, my recommendation is to make sure you’re enjoying it alongside a high-quality protein source, healthy fat, and fiber fiber fiber to keep those blood sugars humming along and hunger hormones happy and managed. This Basil Pesto Potato Salad…

Makes for great leftovers for lunch or dinner
Can be made into an entree easily with some suggestions below
Have extra Basil Pesto for other dishes during the week!
Delicious, delicious, and delicious

(nutrition) stripped and how this may become your new favorite side dish to share this summer:

1. Healthy fat from the olive oil in the Basil Pesto is a great way to add to the balancing act of keeping blood sugars stable while eating potatoes which are so rich in carbohydrates
2. Carbohydrates: potatoes like other starchy vegetables break down quickly, this causes an increase in blood sugar (i.e. glucose), then insulin increases to take care of all that sugar (i.e. takes the glucose out of our blood and transports it to our liver or muscles for energy or stored as fat if in excess), which can be a cycle for blood sugars going up and down (i.e. crashing an hour after you eat or you’re hungry soon after). To combat this, that’s why it’s an optimal choice to get protein, healthy fats, and fiber alongside to help decrease digestion of the carbohydrates (i.e. sugar) which helps decrease the surge of insulin released and overall slows down the process. Potatoes do contain a good amount of fiber so that does help a bit when it comes to slow and steady digestion of carbohydrates.
3. Potassium powerhouse: potatoes are known for their high amounts of potassium, 1 medium cooked potato contains about 900mg (or 25% DV). Potassium is an electrolyte our bodies need to keep balanced from a hydration level, nerve pulses and muscle contractions, digestion, heart rhythm, pH balance, and blood pressure.
4. Vitamin B6: B6 is an important vitamin in neurological and overall brain health! Vitamin B6 is involved in creating brain chemicals, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
5. Optimizer Option: keep it balanced by adding in protein to your meal, healthy fat, and tons of fiber from vegetables like a green salad. Also, 1 serving is about 1/2 cup of this salad (or the amount of 4 tiny red potatoes or 1 medium potato chopped).

I hope you give this recipe a go at your next family hang, potluck with friends, or just to make a big batch for you and your family this week. I recommend serving it room temperature so the basil warms up a bit and flavors enhance. Also from the macronutrient side of things, try to serve it as a side dish alongside a protein in your meal, some healthy fats (which this basil pesto has a good amount from the olive oil), and fiber from non-starchy vegetables like a big ole’ greens salad!

TIP! How to use extra basil pesto this week…

• As a dip for veggies
• As a salad dressing (add a splash of apple cider vinegar to thin out and toss)
• As a marinade or sauce for chicken, fish, or other proteins
• Gently heat on the stove as a sauce for pasta!
• Freeze for later in ice cube trays and thaw out when you’re ready to use

Basil Pesto Potato Salad, the new potato salad in town #delicious #summer
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If you try this recipe, I wanna hear about it, so let’s chat! Leave a comment it, rate it (this helps me improve future recipes), and don’t forget to tag a picture #nutritionstripped to show how you live and try these recipes on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with!

Shop the post: mixing bowls, olive oil and vinegar bottles

xx McKel

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Portobello mushrooms are delicious, hearty, earthy, and they absorb any flavor you put with them or marinate them in. Granted, this isn’t an equal meat-free option since portobello mushrooms aren’t a protein source to replace beef, but I have some options to add to this salad to make it a meal or keep it as a side dish! I don’t eat beef nor do I say the word “never” because who knows how life will change, how my preference will change, or how my health may change; but for the past 10 years, it hasn’t appealed to me. As much as I’ve been creative and clever with beef-free options and most meats for that matter, I miss some applications for beef like a hearty steak salad. So going back to my experimental days in grad school is a raw vegan, I use a recipe I created for marinated portobello mushroom strips and add them to butter leaf lettuce with sliced radish, onion, a little Kite Hill almond cheese, and a simple vinaigrette. Even my boyfriend who loves beef would eat this over a traditional steak salad any day – and I don’t think he’s saying it to get points

1. Portobello mushrooms: not only are these mushrooms really hearty, versatile, and love to soak up flavor they’re also nutritious. In particular, portobello mushrooms have selenium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, and an array of B vitamins. These mushrooms also contain CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid, a fatty acid) which is normally found in high amounts in animal proteins, CLA has been shown to help reduce inflammation, may help reduce fat mass and increase lean mass (more studies are needed). Selenium is also a nutrient to note in these mushrooms, we know selenium plays an important role in thyroid health, immunity, and acts as a notable antioxidant. The easiest way to get in selenium is to eat 1 brazil nut a day!
2. FIber: the entire recipe is fiber-rich from all the vegetables and even more so if you add in avocado. Portobello mushrooms alone have about 3g of fiber per 1 cup sliced (and about 5g of protein!). This salad can easily add up to 10g of fiber from the vegetables, mushrooms, avocado, and additional goodies you add on top which leaves you feeling satisfied.
3. Optimizer Option: easily make this salad a meal by adding in a protein of your choice (some ideas: cooked lentils, tofu, tempeh, chicken, salmon, fish, etc.), extra avocado 0r healthy fats (some ideas: pistachios, pine nuts, almonds, KiteHill cheese which is my favorite non-dairy cheese out there!), and another option add roasted sweet potato chunks, cooked quinoa, etc. Or serve with a side of soup (maybe the Chilled Borscht )

 

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Whether you enjoy leftovers or not, this simple salad is a great solution to being more resourceful with lovingly prepared dishes from the holiday season. Today, try this Thanksgiving-inspired Leftovers Salad with dark greens for a meal that’s rich in fiber, antioxidants, and a creative use for cranberry sauce.

If you’re like me, then wasting food doesn’t sit right and I’m always trying creative ways to use food or compost, especially when it’s from the Thanksgiving table. However, after a few days later, you may be tired of eating the same turkey-and-cranberry-sauce combo. I completely get it. That’s why today’s Thanksgiving Leftovers Salad can be your new go-to combination for using leftovers no matter what time of year.

I was hesitant to call today’s recipe a “recipe” because it’s so simple and incredibly versatile. To build the base of your salad, you’ll want any dark greens such as leftover sautéed kale, fresh arugula or spinach. I used fresh arugula, but all of these dark greens will pack a nutrient-dense punch and encourage your body to get back in sync, just in case you got off your routine. Once you have dark greens as the base, you’ll add in any other leftovers you have on-hand — cooked corn, sautéed green beans, fresh apples, diced vegetarian nut loaf, roasted squash, etc.

The beauty is in the variety, so don’t be shy about piling on the leftovers with any fresh fruit or vegetables you have, too. Lastly, to top it all off, I made a simple homemade dressing with my Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce—you can use any cranberry sauce here, but ideally, one that uses whole-food ingredients and not from a can—and olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper. The best thing about this recipe is getting in those greens!

• Fiber: Arugula, and other dark greens like kale with their high fiber content, supports healthy digestion. Added bonus if you add brussel sprouts or cauliflower from leftover side dishes, these cruciferous vegetables have been studied in relation to their cholesterol-lowering effect and may help reduce certain types of cancer.
• Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory: Arugula, spinach, and kale are all rich in antioxidants, and the olive oil in the homemade salad dressing and the cranberries do too. Cranberries are some of the highest sources of antioxidants around, helping our bodies protect our cells from free-radical damage and help reverse the signs of aging.
• Optimizer Option: If you are looking to add more protein to this salad, toss in raw nuts like almonds, walnuts, or leftover animal proteins (following the NS philosophy).

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Ah, lentils. I’ve been experimenting a lot this year with pulses and black lentils have quickly become one of my favorites for their rich and beautiful color, hearty texture that stands up to cooking, and earthy flavor. If you’ve never played around with lentils outside of daal, stews or soups, then I highly recommend you try this one out to get out of your lentil rut! This Simple French Inspired Lentil Salad is full of flavor from fresh parsley, spinach or you can use arugula, walnuts, and a vinaigrette that’s out of this world with lemon, olive oil, shallots, and some other goodies. I’m really confident you’ll love this one guys!

Lovely lentils

We have a great restaurant here in Nashville called Le Sel that’s my favorite joint to go get French modern food. This recipe was completely inspired by my favorite side dish there. I have a couple tweaks (obviously from not knowing the exact recipe), but it hits home and completely satisfies my craving for it when I can’t grab it from there. Lentils are my go-to in the pulses world because they’re rich in protein (about 15g per serving) and fiber (about 15g per serving) and from a culinary standpoint they’re versatile and absorb any flavor that surrounds it. A+ in my book. This year I’ve teamed up with USA Pulses and Pulse Canada in honor of the International Year of the Pulses and taken the Pulse Pledge where I’m trying to incorporate pulses (dry peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas) into at least one meal a week. You can join me in taking the pledge here.

My favorite way to enjoy this salad is for lunch on the go, or I’ll have it for dinner by adding a big ole’ scoop to a bed of spinach or arugula then topping with a poached egg and some avocado. You can use any green like romaine lettuce or spinach as the salad base- any green will go well with the tangy dressing in the lentil salad. Also, with all the summer picnics, pool parties, and BBQ’s going on this time of year, it’s a delicious side dish to bring and share with friends and family. I promise it’s a crowd pleaser!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do, guys! Can’t wait to see these in action during your summer hangs, be sure to tag #nutritionstripped when you try it and rate the recipe since it helps me improve them in the future. Have a beautiful week!

xx McKel

This post was created in partnership with USA Pulses and Pulses Canada. All opinions and endorsements are my own. Thanks for supporting!

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One of my most cherished memories when I visit home (hi, Ohio) is spending time with my family in the kitchen cooking together. You know, as much as I love food, cooking is now literally part of my career and sometimes I forget the essence and the passion-factor cooking elicits. It’s a beautiful reminder of why I love cooking so much, it’s not just nourishing on a cellular level but on a mental, emotional, social, and spiritual level of sorts. So, over Christmas, my stepmom shared this beautiful Italian recipe with me and ‘Tina (my brothers love, who is Italian) and we had a blast making it…especially peeling these little lupini beans! I’m really excited to share with you this super simple, healthy salad and side, and How to Make Lupini Bean Salad using 1 Bowl.

Lupini, what?

If you’re like me when my stepmom was talking about lupini beans I had to ask her a couple times, what? What are you saying?! Because I’ve never heard of them, I got the 411 from her to share with you. My stepmom lived in Spain for most of her adult life raising my step brother and sister there- nonetheless she had a lot of experience with fresh and fast cuisine that was also healthy. Lupini beans are one of the most laborious beans to cultivate and after they’re picked you still have some manual “processing” to do like peeling slippery skins off of them before their fully enjoyed. They’re nutritionally fairly similar to other legumes having about 26g protein per 1 cup, 16g carbohydrates, 5g fiber and fat.

Unlike beans most of us may be more familiar with, lupini beans have a unique texture– they have a crunch, density, yet breakdown like a pine nut that’s been soaked for a couple hours. Odd way of describing it, but are you following me here? They’re flavor is neutral with a slight nuttiness to it unlike any bean or legume I’ve ever had and overall so delicious! Even though these beans are typically used in Italian cuisine around the holidays, don’t let it limit you from eating this salad year round, it’s too good to save for a couple months of the year! You can definitely use dried lupini beans and start from “scratch”, if so check out this mildly hilarious article by the Kitchn. Otherwise, I’ll pick them up from the health food store or speciality store in the Italian section, or good ole’ Amazon here.

TIP: call in the troops, grab a friend, your love, or blast some fun music to help some of the time go by when peeling these skins off!

Lupini much?

Have you had a lupini bean salad or played much with lupini beans in cooking? I’d love to hear what other recipes you like making with em’! If you make this at home, be sure to share your thoughts in the comments or by leaving a review which helps me make these recipes better for you. When you make this recipe, share a pic on Instagram with #nutritionstripped so I can see (added bonus for some bean slip ups)!

xx McKel

p.s. so many of you have been asking me about the epic seafood stew we made on Christmas too with my step mom from IG stories and I PROMISE I’ll bring that recipe to you guys here on the blog, I just gotta grab the details from her (and perfect it on my end)!

p.s. ICYMI the Stripped Reset is a 21-day guide to reboot and optimize your health. Learn more about your body’s detoxification process and how you can optimize it through whole foods and lifestyle in the #StrippedReset. Learn more here:

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It’s easy to see why kale is king with this simple salad recipe.

I’m so happy to finally share this recipe with you, partially because I feel like I’ve been keeping it to myself for the past several months. It’s a super Simple Kale Caesar Salad with Maple Pepper Tempeh. It’s loaded with fiber from all those hearty greens and protein and healthy fats from the tempeh and the Caesar salad dressing. Plus the dairy free caesar dressing is made in a blender, so you’re not washing a million dishes afterwards. I hope you guys enjoy this recipe for a quick lunch or dinner – no matter if you’re plant-based or not, this is an excellent dish to squeeze in some plant-based proteins!

Is everyone over kale yet? I hope not! Food trends pop up left and right, but nutrient dense foods will always be here – they’re classic! Kale is one of those that the media and the wellness industry went wild over. Just think about the craze of kale chips back then, they even made chocolate covered kale chips (hey, I did too!). Kale is still one of my favorite hearty greens that I keep in weekly rotation of my meals, mostly in the form of a Massaged Kale Salad which is also the base for this recipe. I’ll also enjoy it blended up in a smoothie or boiled in water with other hearty greens like dandelion, mustard, and chard from local gardens.

Kale isn’t the only star in this show. Cashews take a supporting role when blended with lemon juice, olive oil, and nutritional yeast to create a “cheesey” sauce that’s thick and creamy like caesar, but with added minerals, B vitamins galore, healthy fats, and proteins you won’t get with traditional caesar. To top it off, the way I prepare this tempeh is going to be your new favorite! It’s sliced thin, cooked in coconut oil, drizzled with maple syrup, heavy on the freshly ground black pepper and a touch of sea salt, then cooked on the skillet until the maple syrup caramelizes. It’s incredible and you can enjoy this tempeh in SO many ways. This way of cooking tempeh was actually inspired by my recipe in the Nutrition Stripped Cookbook called Peppery Tempeh with Polenta which is a must try. 

If you want to read up on cashews, nutritional yeast, or the health benefits of kale, I created  “The Kitchen” page to help you learn what the health benefits and nutrition content is of your favorite whole foods used in my recipes. All you do is click on an ingredient and a screen pops up with all the details on it.

So…

I’d love to hear what other recipes you like making with tempeh! If you make this at home, be sure to share your thoughts in the comments or by leaving a review which helps me make these recipes better for you. When you make this recipe, share a pic on Instagram with #nutritionstripped so I can see (added bonus for some bean slip ups)!

xx McKel

p.s. ICYMI TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER the Nutrition Stripped 4th birthday giveaway! Enter here.

The post Simple Kale Caesar Salad with Maple Pepper Tempeh appeared first on Nutrition Stripped.

Welcome spring with this simple, fresh salad.

Happy Spring! Eeeeek. Yesterday was “technically” the first day of Spring, although Nashville has been feeling like it for the past month with its weird highs and lows, so I’m looking forward to some consistency coming…and Spring veggies! Today I have a super simple side dish that can be transformed easily into an entreé and made in under 10 minutes. This Fresh Cilantro Corn Salad was first made for my love’s 30th birthday party which was taco themed because those are his favorites, so this was such a nice “fresh” addition to brighten up the taco feast. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as we did and still do!

For me, fresh herbs and raw veggies embody Spring and the turning of the seasons, and my favorite herb is cilantro with dill in a close second. I purposefully use cilantro daily wherever I can fit it into my diet either by starting the morning with my Stripped Green Smoothie, adding some on a lunch bowl or salad, or topping it on omelets or a stir-fry for dinner. It’s versatile and instantly gives any meal you’re making a fresh, bright, and zesty finish! But in true NS fashion, I not only use and recommend cilantro because it tastes delicious but also for its health benefits.

Cilantro is a good source of vitamin C, phosphorus, zinc, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and antioxidants (mainly quercetin). It has been used for helping ease digestion from gas and bloating to killing parasites in the digestive system. Cilantro has also been used to help chelate metals (i.e. flush heavy metals out of our body) by binding metals together so they can be eliminated from the body. So how do you apply this? It can be as simple as eating cilantro with meals and/or especially with tuna, which has been shown to contain high metals like mercury. I recommend limiting tuna, if you do consume fish, to 1-3 times a month. The more you practice the NS food philosophy around animal proteins (including fish), the better off you’ll be regarding mercury intake since quality and the way fish is raised/treated is a priority. But back to the health benefits, cilantro has also been shown to help improve sleep and anxiety due a bioactive compound called apigenin which is found in many plants and herbs like cilantro. It’s also a potent anti-cancer compound, so you can add that to the list of why to enjoy cilantro!

Warning, I go heavy on the cilantro in this recipe, but hear me out. I love cilantro, but did you know it’s a very divisive herb? Here’s why: have you ever had cilantro and love it but a friend right next to you says it tastes like soap?! They’re not lying! For about 4-14% of the population depending on your genes (OR6A2 an aldehyde receptor) and ancestry, cilantro tastes like soap. So, all that to say, you can STILL make this recipe if you don’t like cilantro – just use fresh flat leaf parsley instead! Also, I enjoy this most as a light side dish, but you can add a protein and some additional avocado for healthy fats to really amp up the nutrient and caloric density as a meal. Not sure which plant-based proteins to add in? Get the free ebook below!

TIP: Store leftovers in an airtight glass container for up to 5 days. Plates are from Rookwood Pottery.

Are you ready?

Are you ready for Spring and all that it brings, including fresh produce?! What are your favorite spring vegetables? Do you have any favorite way to enjoy cilantro? Let me know in the comments. I literally read every single comment and answer, so let’s get this convo going. When you try this one at home be sure to share on Instagram with #nutritionstripped so I can see!

xx McKel

Resources:

• http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-117-coriander.aspx?activeingredientid=117&activeingredientname=coriander
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19902160
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8686573
• http://seafood.edf.org/tuna
• https://examine.com/supplements/apigenin/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22022003

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Happy new SIMPLE recipe Tuesday! This sesame snow pea salad was inspired by a salad bar dish I repeatedly got while life got busy, and now I’m making it at home for a healthier homemade option. Plus, it’s the perfect picnic friendly salad that doesn’t require chilling. It’s refreshing, crunchy, contains healthy fats, fiber, protein, and minerals, and did I mention it’s delicious? Read more for the recipe!

Sesame Snow Pea Salad

As much as my boyfriend Jesse and I love cooking at home together, it’s really nice to be able to have a couple healthy take outs spots on our radar for a quick, healthy, and delicious meal at home. These past several months have been full of moving, growing work, travel, and still maintaining our social life! All that to say, we reached for the Whole Foods salad bar more times than we can count on one hand the past month. I had this amazing sesame pea salad and was inspired to share my own version with you guys for a quick side dish.

Snow peas, not to be confused with snap peas a.k.a. sugar snap peas, are flat and typically used in stir-fry dishes. They can be eaten whole (including those sometimes pesky strings) or steamed and have a subtle sweet flavor. Sugar snap peas are juicy since they’re larger and contain more water. The peas inside the pod are also used like your standard “green pea” from the garden pea that’s used in cooking. It’s ideal to take off the string on snap peas since it can become very chewy and unpleasant to eat. The snow peas in this recipe are effortless to use and prep and taste amazing with the sesame oil and seeds.

This recipe…

• Made in under 10 minutes
• Rich in fiber
• Makes for a great leftover
• Side dish turned entree (by adding some additions below)
• Versatile since you can make this raw or lightly cooked
• Refreshing and crunchy

(nutrition) stripped and how this could be an easy dish to squeeze in more plants:

1. Fiber town! Just 1 cup of snow peas contains about 4g of fiber, which is pretty good for just a side dish and in the grand scheme of your day, it’s about 8% of your daily needs of fiber (based on 35g / day which is “standard”, some folks need more, some need less).
2. Healthy fat: in about 1/4 cup of sesame seeds, used in the entire recipe, there’s about 14g fat including both poly and monounsaturated fats.
3. Minerals galore: from copper, calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, phosphorus, molybdenum, selenium, to select B vitamins. Sesame seeds are a great “bone health” food with this mineral makeup.
4. Protein: surprisingly peas contain some plant based protein! In fact, 1 cup of snow peas contains about 3 grams of protein which is an added bonus for a side dish or snack.
5. Optimizer Option: to make this a meal, try adding a protein of your choice (i.e. tofu, chicken, fish, tempeh, hemp seeds), healthy fats, and a carbohydrate (try rice with this one!).

We love to make this on the weekend during batch cooking day, and it makes for a refreshing and super delicious salad, side dish, or entree when adding the optimizer options above. Since it’s summer, we’re in summer party and picnic mode so this is a great dish to share with friends – plus it doesn’t require chilling so you can enjoy it warm or cold!

If you try this recipe, I wanna hear about it, so let’s chat! Leave a comment, rate it (this helps me improve future recipes), and don’t forget to tag a picture with #nutritionstripped to show how you live and try these recipes on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. Onward to the kitchen!

xx McKel

Things I used to make this with ease: sesame seeds, sesame oil, raw apple cider vinegar, Glasslock containers

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There’s nothing better than having a huge bowl of cold pasta salad ready to eat, loaded with fiber, veggies, protein, and healthy fats!

Growing up in Ohio, my parents had the sweetest little garden in our backyard and it was robust in the summer with cucumber, tomatoes, dill, and tons of other fresh herbs. Our go-to recipe to use up all the goodies from the garden were salads, including this cold pasta salad which is a play on my mom’s famous one! Hers includes cheese cubes, black olives, less arugula, and whole wheat noodles. I gave my mom’s pasta salad an NS makeover (sorry mom) with a bit more fiber and vegetables, more healthy fats, and selfishly making it work with my own personal health challenges (i.e. dairy and gluten free). The wonderful thing about this recipe is the flexibility, you can use whole wheat noodles if that works for you, add in high quality/organic cheese or follow my recipe to a “t” and try it out NS style!

I use gluten free pasta made from chickpea flour (hello added protein!), tons of fresh arugula which becomes wilted and so delicious when mixed with olive oil and lemon, sliced radishes, edamame, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, garlic. A couple things I like adding into this salad when I have them on hand is corn, bell peppers, and broccoli! This recipe is…

• Make it in under 10 minutes for a simple leftover
• Utilizes in season produce, hello fresh summer veggies!
• Is a great leftover for a quick lunch or dinner
• Family and kid-friendly

(nutrition) stripped and how this salad makes a great entree:

1. Healthy fat: olive oil, nuts, seeds, proteins, and avocado all contain healthy fat to a degree. A couple tips on the avocado, if you’re allergic try adding in hemp seeds for additional fat and protein or a little extra olive oil.
2. Protein power: depending on what your protein preference to add to this recipe is, the noodles I used are made from chickpeas which pack about 12g protein per serving (!) with the additional edamame we have a protein packed dish here. You can also add your favorite proteins in addition if you’re not using a chickpea pasta, such as fish, chicken, tempeh, tofu, lentils, or beans.
3. Carbohydrates: the obvious carbohydrate source here is the pasta no matter if you’re making a gluten free pasta or not, the key is to make sure you have a protein and healthy fat to help balance those blood sugars! We need carbohydrates though, remember?
4. Fiber boost: did someone say vegetables? The greens and vegetables used in this dish pack a punch of fiber which is another way to help balance blood sugars with a more carbohydrate rich dish. The avocado used here, which is also a healthy fat, contains a good amount of fiber as well – bonus!
5. Optimizer option: boost the protein by adding a single serving of protein per serving (i.e. organic tempeh, tofu, chicken, fish, shrimp, lentils, extra beans, hemp seeds, etc.)

This salad is something you can make in 10 minutes, toss with a simple dressing, and pop it in the fridge for a healthy leftover for lunch, dinner, or bring it to the next BBQ and pool party with your pals! I found a brand of gluten free noodles I’ve really been loving lately but I’ll list a couple more in the blog post to help navigate that aisle for you just incase you haven’t tried them before.

If you try this recipe, I wanna hear about it, so let’s chat! Leave a comment it, rate it (this helps me improve future recipes), and don’t forget to tag a picture #nutritionstripped to show how you live and try these recipes on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with!

Things I used to make this: banza gluten free noodles, raw apple cider vinegar, olive oil, my FAV mixing bowls (and they’re beautiful), and a fun watermelon towel to get in the summer mood!

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Truly, this is a summer salad made with fresh seasonal tomatoes, that takes 5 minutes to make! Depending on how quick you chop…

Summer tomatoes

If you’ve been keeping up with me on Instagram stories, each Friday I get a bushel of fresh produce with our CSA, from Bloomsbury Farm and the past 2 weeks we’ve been getting massive amounts of tomatoes. These aren’t just normal tomatoes, these are some of the best tomatoes I’ve ever had! I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not a big fan of tomatoes (and beets) but I eat both of them regularly for the nutrition and health benefits. The key to this recipe is to get fresh and in-season tomatoes or else you may be left with mushy or mealy tomatoes out of season from the grocery store. If that’s the case, table this recipe for another time (seriously!). Fresh and delicious tomatoes, make this recipe. So much so that I actually want to eat them raw in a simple salad to show off their flavor.

If you can chop tomatoes and put them in a big bowl, this recipe will take you 5 minutes. Fresh tomatoes, olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground pepper (pink peppercorn is delicious with this one), and fresh dill and chives. That’s it!

Takes 5 minutes to make
A fun twist on a salad made entirely of tomatoes versus greens
Loaded with antioxidants
Encourages the use of seasonal and local farmed tomatoes

(nutrition) stripped and how this will inspire you to give tomatoes a chance:

• Lycopene, a carotenoid, the most notable and highly studied antioxidant when it comes to tomatoes. The compounds in tomatoes, lycopene, in particular, have been linked to helping fight a variety of cancers (1), help improves circulation, decrease high blood pressure (2), reduce cholesterol (3), reduces cardiovascular risk (4), and reduction in metabolism syndrome (5).
• Antioxidants: We’ve chatted about antioxidants a lot here on NS, but in a nutshell, our bodies need antioxidants to fight off free radicals. Free radicals can damage our healthy cells causing oxidative stress, which may cause harm to our hormones, blood vessels, proteins, lipids, and genetic code; causing cancer, inflammation, pain, degenerative diseases, heart disease, and aging itself.
• Healthy fat: the olive oil used in the recipe is a must have! Healthy fat like olive oil helps your body absorb and soak up all those fat soluble vitamins and carotenoids (like lycopene). Also, cooking helps increase lycopene absorption, but I like to keep this salad raw for flavor.
• Optimizer Option: You can boost the healthy fat by adding toasted pine nuts, diced avocado, or if you enjoy cheese you can add that here as well. I use Kite Hill Foods non-dairy cheese (since dairy and I don’t jive) and it’s delicious!

We’ve been making this for the past several weeks as a side dish for dinner and it’ll last us a couple days including leftovers used for a quick lunch (with added protein and goodies to make it an entree).

If you try this recipe, I wanna hear about it, so let’s chat! Leave a comment it, rate it (this helps me improve future recipes), and don’t forget to tag a picture #nutritionstripped to show how you live and try these recipes on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with. Now off to make a batch of these…

Favorite items pictured: these mixing bowls I’m obsessed with lately (they’re also my big salad bowls), serving spoons, dress pictured (I’ve been getting a lot of questions about outfits lately, hope that helps!)

Resources: 

(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15006906

(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26471075

(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837214

(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25469376

(5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26857614

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Love potato salad? Here’s a mayo-free alternative for you to try.

There are two camps when it comes to enjoying a good potato salad: 1) mayonnaise-based dressing or 2) vinegar based dressing. I’m the second camp and if you are too, here’s the recipe you need to try!

I created this recipe out of pure need. To set the scene, it was a Sunday and as I’m in the thick of our routine weekly meal prep and cooking some dishes including basil pesto from our enormous happy basil plant on our balcony garden. I was also making the Fingerling Potato Dill Toss for a potluck later that afternoon feeding lots of friends and family. It’s been a hot summer in Nashville, so anytime I’m contributing to recipes it’s a raw vegetable based like crunchy and refreshing salads (hello Summer Tomato Salad) or chilled dishes like this one.  Then it hit me, what if I just made these into 1 recipe? It worked and the odd combo is delicious!

Potatoes often get a bad rep but hear me out. Most likely because they’re sliced and deep fried in vegetable oil, but what about healthier cooking methods like roasting, boiling, and steaming? Potatoes are a carbohydrate (starchy vegetable) and as with any other carbohydrate, my recommendation is to make sure you’re enjoying it alongside a high-quality protein source, healthy fat, and fiber fiber fiber to keep those blood sugars humming along and hunger hormones happy and managed. This Basil Pesto Potato Salad…

Makes for great leftovers for lunch or dinner
Can be made into an entree easily with some suggestions below
Have extra Basil Pesto for other dishes during the week!
Delicious, delicious, and delicious

(nutrition) stripped and how this may become your new favorite side dish to share this summer:

1. Healthy fat from the olive oil in the Basil Pesto is a great way to add to the balancing act of keeping blood sugars stable while eating potatoes which are so rich in carbohydrates
2. Carbohydrates: potatoes like other starchy vegetables break down quickly, this causes an increase in blood sugar (i.e. glucose), then insulin increases to take care of all that sugar (i.e. takes the glucose out of our blood and transports it to our liver or muscles for energy or stored as fat if in excess), which can be a cycle for blood sugars going up and down (i.e. crashing an hour after you eat or you’re hungry soon after). To combat this, that’s why it’s an optimal choice to get protein, healthy fats, and fiber alongside to help decrease digestion of the carbohydrates (i.e. sugar) which helps decrease the surge of insulin released and overall slows down the process. Potatoes do contain a good amount of fiber so that does help a bit when it comes to slow and steady digestion of carbohydrates.
3. Potassium powerhouse: potatoes are known for their high amounts of potassium, 1 medium cooked potato contains about 900mg (or 25% DV). Potassium is an electrolyte our bodies need to keep balanced from a hydration level, nerve pulses and muscle contractions, digestion, heart rhythm, pH balance, and blood pressure.
4. Vitamin B6: B6 is an important vitamin in neurological and overall brain health! Vitamin B6 is involved in creating brain chemicals, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
5. Optimizer Option: keep it balanced by adding in protein to your meal, healthy fat, and tons of fiber from vegetables like a green salad. Also, 1 serving is about 1/2 cup of this salad (or the amount of 4 tiny red potatoes or 1 medium potato chopped).

I hope you give this recipe a go at your next family hang, potluck with friends, or just to make a big batch for you and your family this week. I recommend serving it room temperature so the basil warms up a bit and flavors enhance. Also from the macronutrient side of things, try to serve it as a side dish alongside a protein in your meal, some healthy fats (which this basil pesto has a good amount from the olive oil), and fiber from non-starchy vegetables like a big ole’ greens salad!

TIP! How to use extra basil pesto this week…

• As a dip for veggies
• As a salad dressing (add a splash of apple cider vinegar to thin out and toss)
• As a marinade or sauce for chicken, fish, or other proteins
• Gently heat on the stove as a sauce for pasta!
• Freeze for later in ice cube trays and thaw out when you’re ready to use

If you try this recipe, I wanna hear about it, so let’s chat! Leave a comment it, rate it (this helps me improve future recipes), and don’t forget to tag a picture #nutritionstripped to show how you live and try these recipes on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with!

Shop the post: mixing bowls, olive oil and vinegar bottles

xx McKel

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Portobello mushrooms are delicious, hearty, earthy, and they absorb any flavor you put with them or marinate them in. Granted, this isn’t an equal meat-free option since portobello mushrooms aren’t a protein source to replace beef, but I have some options to add to this salad to make it a meal or keep it as a side dish! I don’t eat beef nor do I say the word “never” because who knows how life will change, how my preference will change, or how my health may change; but for the past 10 years, it hasn’t appealed to me. As much as I’ve been creative and clever with beef-free options and most meats for that matter, I miss some applications for beef like a hearty steak salad. So going back to my experimental days in grad school is a raw vegan, I use a recipe I created for marinated portobello mushroom strips and add them to butter leaf lettuce with sliced radish, onion, a little Kite Hill almond cheese, and a simple vinaigrette. Even my boyfriend who loves beef would eat this over a traditional steak salad any day – and I don’t think he’s saying it to get points

1. Portobello mushrooms: not only are these mushrooms really hearty, versatile, and love to soak up flavor they’re also nutritious. In particular, portobello mushrooms have selenium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, and an array of B vitamins. These mushrooms also contain CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid, a fatty acid) which is normally found in high amounts in animal proteins, CLA has been shown to help reduce inflammation, may help reduce fat mass and increase lean mass (more studies are needed). Selenium is also a nutrient to note in these mushrooms, we know selenium plays an important role in thyroid health, immunity, and acts as a notable antioxidant. The easiest way to get in selenium is to eat 1 brazil nut a day!
2. FIber: the entire recipe is fiber-rich from all the vegetables and even more so if you add in avocado. Portobello mushrooms alone have about 3g of fiber per 1 cup sliced (and about 5g of protein!). This salad can easily add up to 10g of fiber from the vegetables, mushrooms, avocado, and additional goodies you add on top which leaves you feeling satisfied.
3. Optimizer Option: easily make this salad a meal by adding in a protein of your choice (some ideas: cooked lentils, tofu, tempeh, chicken, salmon, fish, etc.), extra avocado 0r healthy fats (some ideas: pistachios, pine nuts, almonds, KiteHill cheese which is my favorite non-dairy cheese out there!), and another option add roasted sweet potato chunks, cooked quinoa, etc. Or serve with a side of soup (maybe the Chilled Borscht )

 

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A Thanksgiving-inspired Leftovers Salad with dark greens for a meal that’s rich in fiber, antioxidants, and a creative use for cranberry sauce.

Whether you enjoy leftovers or not, this simple salad is a great solution to being more resourceful with lovingly prepared dishes from the holiday season. Today, try this

If you’re like me, then wasting food doesn’t sit right and I’m always trying creative ways to use food or compost, especially when it’s from the Thanksgiving table. However, after a few days later, you may be tired of eating the same turkey-and-cranberry-sauce combo. I completely get it. That’s why today’s Thanksgiving Leftovers Salad can be your new go-to combination for using leftovers no matter what time of year.

I was hesitant to call today’s recipe a “recipe” because it’s so simple and incredibly versatile. To build the base of your salad, you’ll want any dark greens such as leftover sautéed kale, fresh arugula or spinach. I used fresh arugula, but all of these dark greens will pack a nutrient-dense punch and encourage your body to get back in sync, just in case you got off your routine. Once you have dark greens as the base, you’ll add in any other leftovers you have on-hand — cooked corn, sautéed green beans, fresh apples, diced vegetarian nut loaf, roasted squash, etc.

The beauty is in the variety, so don’t be shy about piling on the leftovers with any fresh fruit or vegetables you have, too. Lastly, to top it all off, I made a simple homemade dressing with my Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce—you can use any cranberry sauce here, but ideally, one that uses whole-food ingredients and not from a can—and olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper. The best thing about this recipe is getting in those greens!

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Endive is cool — we’ll show you how to make a crowd-pleasing endive and apple salad with it.

If you haven’t used endive before, say hello to this delicate leafy bundle in the chicory family. It’s the star of this simple salad and it’s a nice change from routine — if you’re like me, you don’t buy endive on every grocery run! Endive is typically more expensive than most lettuce at the grocery store, but it’s worth it for the right recipe. Here, its delicate, crisp leaves offer a nice little crunch alongside sweet apple slices for a light, refreshing salad. This endive and apple salad is a simple, light, and is beautiful enough to make for your friends the next time you have them over.

Endive delivers a nutritious punch too. It’s full of fiber, and it’s rich vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin E, folate, beta-carotene, riboflavin, iron, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Add that to apples, which are incredibly digestive-friendly and packed with their own gang of vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium, potassium and phosphorous and you have a winning combo.

In this recipe, you’ll see that I use a very simple lemon and olive oil dressing on the salad. I’ve found that it’s all you need — the endive and apple really shine that way. If you’re looking for another variation, try the Zesty Lemon Shallot Dressing!

If you try this endive and apple salad, I want to hear about it! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag a picture #nutritionstripped to show how you live and try these recipes on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with and how you enjoy this simple salad.

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Thought quinoa was so last year? Quinoa gets a salad makeover rich in plant-based protein, fiber, and antioxidant-rich toppers.

You know how we’re always saying “sneak in those greens”, incorporating dark leafy greens with a grain-based salad is great to add more fiber and phytonutrients from greens. Along with greens and quinoa, there’s a full flavor profile here with sweet golden raisins, crunchy almonds, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, and bright dressing with olive oil and lemon to bring it all together. The result is proof that simple flavors can come together to make a dish that tastes really complex, is easy to make, and leaves you satiated.

Quinoa, when paired with fresh greens and nourishing toppers, is a great meal that can be pulled together in a flash. When prepared on batch cooking day, it can easily be added to meals throughout the week. This plant-based protein has a neutral, versatile flavor that combines beautifully with tons of flavor-packed ingredients. As you may remember, I’ve shared different variations of quinoa salad before; the Curry Quinoa Salad, Warm Quinoa Salad, and Apricot Quinoa Salad all prove how amazing — and different — quinoa salad can be!

Are You Trying It?

Let me know when you try out this recipe — I want to see how it turns out! Submit your photo in the comments section below, and/or tag NS on Instagram @nutritionstripped and #nutritionstripped.

xx McKel

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This is not your average vegetable slaw or salad recipe made with heaps of mayo — this is the best cauliflower salad.

I’m from the midwest and we grew up on cauliflower and broccoli salad — my mom would make it pretty close to the traditional recipe using lots of mayo, sugar (I know, it sounds super weird typing it out too), garlic, cheese, dried cranberries or raisins, lots of red onion, and oh yeah, broccoli. I loved it and would eat it by the spoonful. Fast forward to adulthood and my taste preferences have changed coupled with my expertise in nutrition so I’ve come up with a way to enjoy the concept of this salad but I put a spin on it using just cauliflower and a mayo-free dressing.

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of mayo, everything from the texture to the flavor is offputting to me and I’ve always come across this in conversation with other foodie friends — mayo seems to be a divisive food, you either love it or it’s totally not your jam. The best way to create a dressing sans mayo is to use a vinegar-based dressing made with olive oil and apple cider vinegar (sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar will do just fine, too).

Why single out cauliflower? A couple reasons why we’re using cauliflower solo in this recipe is because it lasts longer in the fridge when you make this for the week ahead, i.e. more meal prep friendly. Also, like broccoli, cauliflower is in the cruciferous vegetable family and both of these vegetables have incredible health benefits and nutrients you should know about. I have a hunch, the best cauliflower salad will be a crowd pleaser to bring to your next party, spring or summer picnic, and to share with friends.

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