Spring Salad

Laura — Sun, 22 May 2011 14:44:51 +0000

Spring Salad: wild cress, butter lettuce, wild violets, hazelnuts, avocado, red spring onion, champagne vinaigrette

Spring Salad: Wild Cress, Butter Lettuce, Wild Violets, Hazelnuts, Avocado, Red Spring Onion, Champagne Vinaigrette
Yield: two large or four small servings

Ingredients:
1 head butter lettuce, torn into pieces
1 bunch wild foraged cress
1 handful wild violets
1 handful hazelnuts
1 ripe avocado, sliced
1 red spring onion, sliced into rings
1 T. champagne (or other) vinegar
2 T. olive oil
1 t. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Place all of the salad ingredients except for the violets in a serving bowl.

Place the vinegar, oil, mustard, salt and pepper in a small jar and shake vigorously until well combined.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss it well. Garnish with the violets. Serve immediately.

A Virtuous Smoothie

Laura — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 13:49:46 +0000

I have a master’s degree in nutrition, though you wouldn’t guess it from the content of this site. I suppose I assume that most people don’t get too excited about recipes for seaweed salads and kale. But after a day of button-popping indulgence, perhaps this virtuous berry banana smoothie will be appealing. I make one almost every day. It’s packed full of things that are ridiculously good for you, but it tastes like a treat and comes in around 300 calories per generous serving.

My mom’s husband likes to tease me about recipes like this and about things like tofu and shopping at a natural foods co-op. I think he has visions of men with flowing hair in burlap tunics spontaneously clasping hands for a round of “Kumbaya” or “I’d Like To Teach the World to Sing.” We’ve only done that a few times where I shop, and we weren’t wearing burlap tunics—well, most of us weren’t. (Do I need to clarify here that I’m kidding?) When I write a recipe like this, I think of him. This one’s for you, Tim! To your good health —no tunic required!

Music for making a virtuous smoothie:
Cat Stevens’ Gold

Smoothie Tips
Pay attention when you are shopping. Adding ingredients that contain sugar, flavorings, or other sweeteners negates the virtue of this drink. It’s quite sweet naturally, so you won’t miss them.

Blend this thoroughly, but stop when it looks mixed. If you continue to mix, it will become voluminous and the texture will be rather gloppy.

Berry Banana Smoothie
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
2/3 c. frozen blueberries*
2/3 c. frozen strawberries*
2/3 c. frozen blackberries*
1 banana*
1 scoop plain, unsweetened whey protein powder
1 heaping T. psyllium husks powder
2/3 c. plain, unsweetened kefir*
2/3 c. unsweetened pomegranate juice*

*organic if you can

Method:
Put all of the ingredients into a blender in the order listed and blend until smooth.

Calorie breakout:
Blueberries: 48 calories
Blackberries: 39 calories
Strawberries: 27 calories
Banana: 90 calories
Protein powder: 90 calories
Psyllium husks powder: 45 calories
Kefir: 79 calories
Pomegranate juice: 198 calories
Total for recipe: 616 calories
Total per serving: 313 calories

a little zaftig » Virtuous Recipes

Spring Salad

A Virtuous Smoothie