Grub It Up: Winter Salad

We know. Another salad. But, according to mom, this one is just too delicious and simple to make not to share. Plus, Cam and I have been picky eaters lately. And it's easier for mom to stick with tried and true main dishes and experiment a bit with sides for the 'rents to change things up. For that reason, and because we had NO leftovers last week, mom doubled most recipes this week. Which meant that we also ate leftovers way more than usual this week. By Sunday, when mom asked whether he'd like chicken burgers for dinner, dad said "you mean the chicken burgers I ate three times this week? no." Oh well.

btw, if you haven't checked out mom's other blog in a while, they posted a great weekly Paleo shopping list template and menu planner recently. You can download it for free -- just follow this link. Mom uses it to plan, organize, and shop for the week.

Monday -- dinner out at Daily Grill with Aunt Erin. Steak for mom and mac n' cheese for us.

Tuesday -- Roasted Pork Loin with Grapes and Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts -- mom somehow ordered a 10.5 pound pork loin! She had to cut that baby into threes and freeze two sections of it. Even then, 3 pounds of pork is a lot of loin.

Wednesday -- leftovers (shocking).

Thursday -- Apple Basil Chicken Burgers and Roasted Carrots -- despite being our favorite chicken burger the last time mom made these, we were both finicky about them. We did love those carrots, though.

Friday -- leftovers (hahaha).

Saturday -- Baked Egg + Prosciutto Cups and Winter Salad -- we had a big group of friends over for brunch on Saturday and had leftover egg + prosciutto cups for din. Dad and Cam were itching to get out of the house, so they actually went on a dinner date. But mom and I stayed in and noshed more brunch food. If you don't eat dairy, just leave the cheese out.

Sunday -- Paleo Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries and Winter Salad. leftovers? mom tried. We insisted on something new, so she whipped up some easy burgers WITHOUT onions this week -- they were quite tasty (mom cut the paprika in half and left out the red pepper).

Winter Salad

(from Heirloom)

Ingredients

Salad:

- 4-6 cups mixed fresh spinach and arugula

- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

- 1-2 apples, chopped or diced

- 1/2 cup walnuts

- sea salt and pepper to taste

Vinaigrette: 

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

- 1 tbsp raw honey

- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 1 tsp water

Directions

- Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl. 

- For vinaigrette, whisk together all ingredients. Pour over salad and toss. 

Grub It Up: Shaved Beet, Carrot, and Radish Salad with Coriander Mustard Viniagrette

Mom started her second (and much-needed after a long holiday stretch of dabbling in carbs and drink) Whole30 challenge this week and planned ahead to incorporate some interesting salads. Her first challenge was successful, but she felt like she made the same side salad over and over and over again. First up this week was a yummy beet, carrot, and radish salad. Well, yummy for mom and dad. We were interested in it, but no way were we touching it. Instead mom mandolined some long carrot strips separately for us and that novelty did the trick for a bit. If your everyday dinner salad needs some shaking up, give this one a try.

And here's our menu from this past week, in case you're looking for something to go with your salad. Any newbie paleo/primal/clean eaters out there? What are YOU cooking?

Monday -- Lemon Chicken with Olives and Cauliflower Rice -- mom's favorite quick meal that is a sure win with everyone.

Tuesday -- Italian Baked Eggs (minus the cheese and bread), Shaved Beet salad below -- mom wipes the sauce off our eggs for us and serves ours with fruit.

Wednesday -- Burgers and Salad (no recipes here, just easy quick fixes) -- despite being the most straightforward meal of the week, we threw fits about the onion in our burgers.

Thursday -- Creamy Shrimp over Zucchini Pasta -- daddy was not a fan of the coconutty sauce. mom said it was so-so and probably won't make it again. the kids had mac n'cheese.

Friday -- Honey Orange Chicken and Broccoli -- kiddos got brown rice, too

Saturday -- dinner out at District Chophouse -- steaks the size of our heads for all.

Sunday -- BBQ Baked Chicken and Sweet Potato French Fries -- mom generally followed the BBQ sauce directions, but left out the spicy spices and pineapple. she added honey instead. and she baked the chicken instead of grilling it. it was just OK. we're guessing it would have been better grilled.

Shaved Beet, Carrot and Radish Salad with Coriander Mustard Vinaigrette 

(slightly adapted from gourmande in the kitchen)

Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 1/2 tbls apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- freshly ground black pepper to taste

Shaved Salad:
- 4 small golden beets, peeled
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into two
- 1 small bunch of radishes, trimmed and cleaned
- 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl.

- Thinly slice the beets, carrot, and radishes on a mandolin or in a food processor with the slicing attachment.

- Toss the sliced vegetables with the dressing to coat evenly. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, season to taste with additional salt and freshly ground pepper if desired.

Grub It Up: Watermelon-Cucumber Salad with Feta and Mint

We like to dine out as a family, but mom sometimes has a hard time getting us to eat our fruits and veggies when we do. So she's been loving that so many of DC's restaurants have been dishing up watermelon in a variety of summer salads -- we're generally good for some of that, especially because we get to take it off of mommy's plate. Here's a yummy one Grammie B made on our Mathews vacation last week with mint she brought all the way from her Chicago garden! 

Watermelon-Cucumber Salad with Feta and Mint 

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup lime juice (about 4 limes)

- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

- 8 cups watermelon, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 1/4 of a large melon)

- 1/2 English cucumber, seeded and sliced

- 1 cup feta, cut into small cubes

- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- 1/2 cup mint, chiffonade

Directions

Juice the limes into a bowl and add sliced red onion to marinate. Gently mix watermelon cubes, cucumber slices and feta cheese in bowl. Add olive oil to the red onion, stir and then pour over salad. Sprinkle mint chiffonade over salad. Toss and serve.