Easy Greek Salad

So I've never been a big salad eater. And the salads I do love are just as unhealthy (cough Caesar Salad cough) as getting a crappy sandwich or pizza for lunch. I studied abroad in Athens, Greece when I was in college -- and besides it being the best choice I ever made in my college career, I also got a love for a healthy salad out of it.

In college, we always used to walk around the city and eat outside in the gallery of restaurants and cafe that line the sidewalks. I was shocked to see that their truly Greek salad did not contain any lettuce, but just tomatoes, cucumbers and some amazing Greek feta cheese.

I loved seeing the Acropolis every day on my way to class :)

I don't know why but I haven't made it in a while. I just did for lunch and it was SO EASY to make and hit the spot! My husband and I are headed to Greece for our 1 year wedding anniversary so this is the perfect pre-game.

This is a salad good enough for the Greek Gods:
Tomatoes - provide an excellent amount of vitamin C and beta-carotene, and a good amount of vitamin E. In terms of phytonutrients, tomatoes are basically off the chart. Reduced risk of heart disease is an area of health benefits in which tomatoes truly excel > antioxidant support and regulation of fats in the bloodstream.
Cucumbers - have three types of phytonutrients found in cucumbers provide us with valuable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer benefits
Olive Oil - lowers bad cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, reduced risk of cancer, protects from oxidative damage and it helps with cognitive function (dude I have got to add more olive oil into my diet!!)

Still can't believe I went to college in this wonderful city - so lucky

Simple Greek Salad Recipe:
- 1 tomato
- 1/2 cucumber
- Feta cheese
- Olive oil
> Dice up the tomato and cucumber (use as much as you want),  throw in feta with it and sprinkle some olive oil to mix it up

Fresh, tasty & brings me back to my Athens college glory days :)

This was so easy to make in the office and really refreshing to eat in the middle of the day. Heavier lunches tend to give me an end of the day crash, so this is a great lunch to depend on. I'm keeping olive oil at my desk and can grab a tomato and cucumber from a deli anytime I want to!

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String Beans & Tomatoes: A Light Summer Dish

This has been my staple lunch a few times in the past 2 weeks. It's a flavorful way to get in some greens (although, I have no problem with that as string beans are my favorite veggie). This could be a great side dish, too!

Ingredients:
Vegetable Broth
String beans
Tomatoes (halved cherry or diced regular)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Thyme, Parsley, Dill Weed, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Salt & Pepper- all to taste (or any other Italian flavors you might like!)

Directions:
1. Pour vegetable broth in a pan, just enough to coat the bottom to steam your string beans. Depending on how big your batch will be will change how much broth you'll use. For a pound, use a few tablespoons.

2. Place beans and garlic in pan with veggie broth.  Cover pan and allow to steam on medium-high heat for approximately 5-7 minutes. I like to leave a bit of a crunch to my beans. No need to cook them so long until they're limpy and all their nutrients are gone.

 

3. Add in your seasonings, all to your liking.  Allow to cook on low heat for 5 minutes so the beans can absorb the flavors of the seasonings.

 

 4. Add your tomatoes and cover pan, keep setting on low for about 3 minutes.

 5.  After the three minutes is up, you're done! I don't like to cook the tomatoes too long. I leave them in just enough to get warm that way they don't get mushy and weird. This helps keep the dish tasting fresh and light.

 6. Pair with your favorite salad wrap or eat the entire thing by itself!!

To fresh dishes that fill you up without making you feel gross!

-Lacey

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Flavorful Bruschetta

Fresh tomatoes picked straight form the garden seem (to me) a summer staple. I grew up being able to walk into my father's garden, pick off a big, juicy tomato, slice it up, add it to some toast with a sprinkle of salt and a teaspoon of mayo. It was my favorite lunchtime sandwich.

Here's a great bruschetta recipe with lots of flavor that you could add to your salads, on top of some toasted baguette, or add to your wraps.  This tends to be my "go-to" dish for parties as it's healthy and everyone loves the fresh flavors.

Ingredients:
7 roma tomatoes
1/2 sweet onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
5-7 basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1 T dried parsley
1 T dried oregano
1 tsp salt
Dash of garlic powder
Some cracked pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (to taste)
Vegan Parmesean cheese (optional- I tend to add this for parties, but leave out when made for home)
1 baguette, sliced into 1/2" rounds

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 425.
2. Quarter your tomatoes and gut (scoop out all of the seeds and gooey stuff. All you want left is the meat).
3. Dice the tomato meat. I can't stress enough how much you need to do this by hand. I tried this once in the food processor and it made the batch extremely liquidy. It releases way too much of the juice in the meat of the tomato. If you dice by hand, while it takes some extra time, you end up with a much better end product.

Notice: NO GUTS!!!

4. Slice your baguette and bake for 3-5 minutes on each side. Keep a close watch. You don't want your rounds to end up hard as a brick.
5. Add the remainder of your ingredients to your tomatoes. Add as much oil as you'd like (some prefer more, some less. It'll end up being around 4 T.  Top off with your vegan cheese if you'd like.

6.  I typically like to let my bruschetta sit for at least an hour or more (overnight if you can) to allow the flavors to blend. It is not necessary as it tastes wonderful after it's just made!

7. Top your toasted baguette rounds with a little of your bruschetta and enjoy. Or simply use the bruschetta atop your salads or in your wraps as a great dressing alternative.

Avocado & Tomato Summer Wrap (or Sandwich)

I've slowly come to enjoy avocado. Previous to my nutrient-dense eating, I hated the texture of this crazy green fruit.  But after learning of the crazy-awesome health benefits of it (such as this***), I started adding it slowly to my diet. Now I rather enjoy it, especially on my salads in small chunks and when making my funky guacamole. This is a great healthy sandwich you can put together that incorporates some avocado. I prefer the lettuce wrap version (find a big piece of romaine lettuce to wrap around your ingredients) but these photos show you the version with toasted bread as I was out of lettuce that day.

Ingredients: 
Sliced avocado
Sliced tomato
Your favorite dressing
Bread or romaine lettuce
Pinch of salt & pepper

Directions:
Toast your bread or lay our your romaine lettuce.
Spread your favorite dressing on the lettuce or bread. I used Walden Farms Thousand Island (gluten free, dairy free, and everything else-free). You could also try with with my homemade Sundried-Tomato & Macadamia Nut Pesto.

Layer on your avocado and tomato and sprinkle with a pinch of salt & fresh cracked pepper.

Feel free to add a side of your favorite fruit, veggies, salad, nuts, or my personal favorite, Quinoa Tabbouleh, as shown below! 

Happy summer eating!
-Lacey


***This one factoid on avocados had me especially impressed:
Better Nutrient Absorption: Research has found that certain nutrients are absorbed better when eaten with avocado. In one study, when participants ate a salad containing avocados, they absorbed five times the amount of carotenoids (a group of nutrients that includes lycopene and beta carotene) than those who didn't include avocados.