Real Life

Inspired Cucumber Salad

stargrace August 8, 2013 0Comment

This recipe is adapted from ‘Oh she glows’ – Thai-Inspired Hydrating Cucumber Salad with Roasted Spiced Chickpeas

• 1 medium cucumber (I used 2 small lebanese cucumbers)
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup sliced red onion (I kept the pieces larger as I really enjoy red onion)
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
• Roasted spiced chickpeas (recipe follows)

Roasted chickpeas

• 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Preheat oven to 400F

Rinse and drain the chickpeas, and with a couple of pieces of paper towel, roll them around until they’re dry.

Add the chickpeas to a bowl and stir in the oil. Then add the rest of the spices.

Put the chickpeas on a baking sheet

Roast at 400F for 20 minutes. Stir the chickpeas up a bit, and roast them again for another 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on them since ovens are different. Cool for 5 minutes and add them to your salad. They don’t stay crisp too long. You can also freeze them when they’re cool and reheat them in the oven for about 5 minutes to get them crispy again.

On to the salad!

Slice cucumbers down the middle lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Slice into half moons and toss into a bowl.

Add the cut up red pepper and red onion, and cilantro. Add the chick peas.

Ta da. Simple!

I left the dressing off of this recipe. I actually made the one from the original but it smelled really.. interesting, and decided that I would try it plain. It was quite delicious and the chickpeas make it a very filling (and spicy) salad.

Broccoli Inspired Salad

stargrace August 7, 2013 0Comment

This salad was inspired by Skinnymom – skinny broccoli salad

•  1/2 head fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow pepper
• 1/2 cup green olives chopped
• 1 cup tomato chopped
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup cilantro, diced
• 2 tsp italian dressing (can omit)

Chop it all up and mix it. This salad is very simple – and delicious.

Quinoa and Spinach Patties

stargrace August 7, 2013 0Comment

Recipe is adapted from Skinnytaste.com – Quinoa and Spinach Patties

• 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 egg, whisked, another egg for on top of the patty if you want
•  feta cheese
• 1/2 a leek, sliced thin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Rinse quinoa and cook according to instructions. Basically it cooks like rice. Let it cool when it is done.

In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, eggs, feta cheese, leek, and spinach. The mixture will be runny. Add oil to a non-stick skillet, and drop the mixture into the pan – almost exactly like you would a pancake. Cook the patties covered 5-8 minutes on each side, they’ll crisp right up and turn golden.

Serve with an egg on top however you like it but I prefer mine sunny side up so that the yolk breaks down into the patty. This dish tastes amazing and was a real surprise to me. Would highly recommend.