The Healthy Journal

When you were a kid did you not like mixing your food? I'll bet some of you didn't like different foods to even touch on the plate? Or were you the type that mixed it all up when you ate? My father used to say, "It all goes to the same place..." so it doesn't matter that you don't mix the food, it gets mixed up eventually. Here's a recipe that you can mix or not. Those with "do to touch" requirements... well... you can get a bigger plate. Vegetable Mélange with Tamari Ginger Dressing from Inspired by Food Matters yield 6-8 servings category Salad cuisine Vegan ingredients 1 C farro, soaked for 6 hours & rinsed 1-2 C filtered water 1/4 red cabbage shredded 2 tsp apple cider vinegar juice of 1/2 lime 1 C cooked garbanzo beans 1 avocado, thinly sliced 1 large carrot, grated or spiralized 1 large zucchini, graetd or spiralized Dressing: 2 Tbsp tamari 1 tsp freshly grated ginger 2 Tbsp sesame oil 1 tsp garlic sesame seeds, aka Gomasio directio...

For Memorial Day weekend we took a road trip up the state (California) to the college town of Chico where my husband Bob earned his finance degree. He always raved about Bidwell Park, which followed Big Chico Creek through a portion of the town. There are miles of paved trails under a shady canopy of large trees and lush greenery bordering the creek. Picnic benches dot the route offering an invitation to stop and enjoy the cool creek. We brought our mountain bikes for the purpose of riding the trials. So off we went. We rode from Lower Bidwell Park all the way to Upper Bidwell Park where you can opt for more adventurous single-track, dirt trails. We saved the dirt trails for the following day when we spent several hours navigating up and down slightly technical trails (filled with protruding rocks of all sizes) getting a great workout—ending with a stop along the upper creek with a chilly dip for our weary feet. Since I may not find healthy food to eat on trips, I always plan ahead and...

Here's a great salad that's yummy anytime. It comes by way of Kalyn's Kitchen who got the inspiration from a recipe in Bon Appetite Magazine. I changed up a few items and made it my own based on what I have on hand and my food preferences. I chose to include sprouted pumpkin seeds in the recipe to add a nutrient boost. These seeds are very high in protein, low in carbohydrates and contain loads of minerals including iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc, as well as heart-healthy niacin and vitamin B3. Plus sprouting seeds multiples powerful nutrients and unlocks enzymes to super-charge digestion and support optimal wellness. Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Pick up a package of Go Raw Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds next time you go to Costco. You might also get a package of Go Raw Sprouted Sunflower Seeds while there. Both of these seeds are ingredients for my DIY trail mix . To cut the kale in short strips follow the technique I wrote in the recipe directions. Che...

I've made this salad three times since seeing it on Kalyn's Kitchen . It is so delicious and easy. Four simple ingredients: cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions and avocado. I went to the Wednesday Farmer's Market and got a basket of beautiful cherry heirloom tomatoes. Look at those beautiful tomatoes. The dressing is one ingredient: a good quality balsamic vinegar. I used the Trader Joe's brand, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Avocado with Balsamic Vinegar Salad from Kalyn's Kitchen yield 4 servings category Salad cuisine Vegan ingredients 3 small persian cucumbers, sliced in half-moons 1 C cherry tomatoes, halved 1/4 C thinly diagonally sliced green onion 1 firm ripe avocado, cut-up 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar sea salt and pepper to taste directions 1. Combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and avocado in a large bowl. 2. Pour vinegar over the salad and gently toss to coat. 3. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Try this one and I think you...

A dear friend made this salad for dinner during a stay with them in Costa Mesa, California recently. This was one of three raw salads that was our dinner. Yum! This girl leapt for joy!  We planned on hiking the beach from Corona del Mar to Crystal Cove at low tide in the morning. We traversed rocky terrain, scaled big rocks and even crawled through a hole in one spot to continue forward on our trek. Had we embarked any later, the rising tide would forbid our passage. Absent any other people, we enjoyed our shore stroll until the last rock scramble brought us to a wide, flat beach where other explorers romped in the bright sun. We reached Crystal Cove just in time to get on the lengthy wait list for lunch at the popular Beachcomber Cafe . I ordered the delicious Ahi Tuna Salad: sesame crusted Ahi, mixed greens, avocado, mango and radish with passion fruit vinaigrette. Mexican Salad with Coriander & Macadamias from Kemi's Raw Kitchen yield 2-4 servings category Salad cuisine ...

Wonder what to do with those leftover grilled vegetables from Saturday's BBQ? Here's a great salad you can prepare with those vegetables as a main course or side dish. Cook a large batch of quinoa for breakfast and save 2 cups (or an appropriate portion) for your salad that evening. Chop the grilled vegetables into large pieces (3/4 inch). The photo shows the grilled pieces before chopping (in case you were wondering). Chop the kale leaves into small pieces. Here's my quick and neat technique for chopping kale: Strip the leaves from the thick stem then slice the pieces lengthwise into 1-inch strips.  Next cut the strips into shorter strips then stack them lengthwise and slice thinly across the width. You're left with 1x1/4-inch pieces to add to your dish.  Alternatively, de-stem and cut into large pieces then  chiffonade  the kale. Grilled Vegetables & Quinoa Salad from Chris Pedersen yield 4-6 servings category Salad cuisine Vegan ingredients 2 C cooked qui...

Since I'm eating lots of plant-based food, I need to be conscious of getting enough complete protein. Quinoa is a great source of a perfect or complete protein. It contains all the amino acids you need. And it's so versatile. Even restaurants are adding quinoa to the menu in place of rice. The part I like is how easy and fast it is to prepare quinoa. I think you'll love this salad I came up. Lots of yummy veggies and quinoa plus a dressing with a tinge of sour flavor. I love Kalamata olives. I hope you do too. If not, you can add black olives for a milder taste. And who doesn't love avocado, which this salad also has? I've eaten it all my itself as a meal. Yes! For dinner! Never be afraid of having it for dinner. It's light. It's healthy. It contains all the nutrition your body needs. Why wouldn't you have it for dinner? Quinoa, Cherry Tomato & Olive Salad from Chris Pedersen yield 4 - 6 category Salad cuisine Vegan, Vegetarian ingredients 2 C lo...

I visited a high school friend recently and we took a  memory-lane  drive down Pacific Coast Highway to Laguna Beach. We walked around town reminiscing about the times we rented little cottages at the beach in the summer time. Lathered our bodies with baby oil. Baked in the sun for hours. Ate hamburgers and smoothies. And stayed up late. Geting hungry for some dinner, I quizzed Siri about vegan restaurants and found one a couple of short blocks from us. She came up with  Zinc Cafe and Market —a deli style cafe. I ordered three sides from the deli case. Kathy ordered the same dishes I got. "I should eat healthier," she said. One of the salads, a Thai-style cabbage salad with peanuts, tasted delicious. Loved it. I studied the ingredients and flavor. "I must recreate this," I said. So here it is... Thai Cabbage & Peanut Salad from  Chris Pedersen yield  8 servings category  Salad cuisine  Vegan ingredients 1 1/2 C sliced red cabbage 1 1/2  C...

I tossed this together for my lunch the other day. It's the perfect example of what I do regularly. With plenty of green and yellow summer squash coming out of home gardens, you'll find this one a winner. It fits my  simple and quick  to prepare requirements. From now on  simple and quick shall be known as SAQ—yes, it's time to give those recipes an identity. This recipe includes smoked paprika. If you haven's discovered this spice, you better go get some. Once you start adding it to recipes, you can become a revered chef like me (in my own head). For dressing I used what I had pre-made, which is typically equal amounts of extra-virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar. I might add a bit of balsamic vinegar, honey, lemon or lime, spices or even fruit concentrate. Mix a tiny amount of this and that and you've got yourself a delicious fresh dressing without all the #%*&% added that you find in store-bought dressing—even the organic ones. The additives are just as...

Besides making juice and smoothies to eat my partially raw food diet, I make lots of raw salads. These are not your lettuce salads. I'm talking raw cut-up vegetables that most people would not think of eating raw. But why not raw? This salad is inspired by one I had with cooked yams. But yams are so yummy raw and they provide a crunch, which I love. So here you go—add another raw veggie salad to your salad recipe file. Raw Yam Salad with Sweet Corn & Black Beans from Chris Pedersen yield 6 servings category Salad cuisine Raw, Vegan ingredients 2 medium yams, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces 1 ear sweet corn, removed from cob OR 3/4 C thawed sweet corn 1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed and drained 1 red pepper, diced 2 green onions, sliced thin 1/2 C chopped cilantro 2 firm avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped 2 limes, juiced salt & pepper to taste directions 1. Add yams, corn, black beans, peppers, onions, and cilantro to large bowl. Stir together. 2. Add avocados and...

My green beans are producing enough for a meal every day. Unfortunately those lengthy legumes are hard to spot amongst like-colored foliage. Plus foraging through the greenery, my arms get a bit chafed from the leaves. Lots of veggies have nasty little prickles on them that can scratch and poke at you. The best part of those green delights? ... the plants were completely volunteer this year. That's the bonus of composting and then working the lovely completed soil into the garden in early spring. Green beans  are rich in carotenoids and antioxidants plus silicon, an important mineral for bone health. Add to that a healthy dose of vitamins C, K, A, manganese, folate, fiber, vitamin B6, molybdenum, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B2, iron and vitamin B1. Green beans even provide protein and omega-3 essential oil. Store fresh green beans unwashed in a plastic bag in the crisper. They will keep for a week. They freeze well while retaining valuable nutrients for up to six months. If you o...

Recently I attended the regional Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) conference. When registering for the conference, I was able to choose vegan as my choice for lunch. Yippy! I appreciate that the conference organizers always think of the growing number of vegetarians and vegans in our community of children's writers. Usually the only choice available for me is vegetarian, which means there is cheese I remove before eating. The vegan lunch I received was a mixture of brown rice and various roasted veggies with a yummy light dressing. Delicious! I kept thinking, I must try to duplicate this and pass it on to you —my faithful readers. And so here it is... The salad I had at the conference contained green beans, zucchini, yellow squash and bell peppers. I added asparagus and carrots to my salad (shown in the pictures). You can add (and subtract) any veggies you want. Make it sing with what you love. You will not need all the dressing you make for this, ...

Except for the orange color from the carrots, this salad could be called the Italian Salad. Green, white and red like the Italian flag. After all, Italians are in with  chopped veggie salads. They call them Antipasto—meaning "before the meal" or the traditional first course. On special occasions the antipasto includes sliced, cured meats. Of course, olives are always included. This salad would be wonderful served with a small bowl of olives to toss in the mix. Red Potato, Green Bean & Cauliflower Salad from PCRM yield 6 1-cup servings category   Salad cuisine Vegan, Vegetarian ingredients 1 red potato, diced 1 carrot, sliced 1 C green beans 1 C cauliflower florets 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced 2 Tbsp finley chopped fresh parsley 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 Tbsp rice vinegar 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp of cranberry or apple juice concentrate 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp dijon mustard 1/4 tsp seal salt 1/4 tsp pepper directions 1. Steam ...