Unique Cole Slaw

I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the Super Bowl whether the outcome for you was favorable or not.  We had only five people total at our place, but we had a great time none-the-less.  Kevin and our friend Ian took off to go pick up the wings that Kevin had ordered earlier that week from one of his favorite restaurants in town.  Unfortunately, due to the volume of orders for Super Bowl, they were running 30 minutes behind in their pick up orders... our order was supposed to be picked up at 3, but the game was to start at 3:30... oops.  I was strictly instructed to pause and record the game at kick off until they were able to get back.  By the time we actually started the game, we were around 40 minutes behind.

Since we preferred the Ravens this year, (the 49ers are in the Seahawks division, so technically a rival) the first half of the game went just the way we were hoping, then the blackout happened.  Unfortunately, the Ravens got a bit tripped up after that, but we were able to fast forward through the sports guy commentary and catch up to real time.  In the end, it turned out to be a very exciting and suspenseful game.  During which we all ate and drank to our hearts content.  I tried to get down as many things from the veggie tray as I could throughout the day, but unfortunately a few things made it into my mouth that shouldnt have.  But that is the past, and today I have a great slaw recipe for you!

Every now and then I watch the Food Network just to get some ideas for recipes I can recreate and nutritarian-ize.  One gal was making a pork butt roast (not very appetizing), but along with it she was also making a cole slaw (much more down my alley!).  The base of her cole slaw was actually broccoli stems that had been peeled and julienned.  There actually wasnt any cabbage in it at all.  This afternoon I decided to make a similar cole slaw to clean out some of the veggies in my fridge.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

•  3 broccoli stems, outer edge peeled off, and cut into matchsticks
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 2 large celery stalks, ends cut off and cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 cucumber, cut into matchsticks, seeded core discarded
• 1/4 red onion, sliced very thinly
• Dressing:  ANKs Vegan Ranch Dressing
• I used a variation of my ranch dressing from the link above.  Instead of cashews I used chickpeas, and instead of dill weed I used celery seed.  This made my dressing a bit of a darker color than the original, but it is also lower in fat and gets you a small serving of beans.
• In a pinch, I would have mixed a couple of tablespoons of regular ranch dressing with some tablespoons of non-dairy milk.  This will give you a similar taste, but not be as bad as adding straight regular dressing, or making a dressing with mayo.
• Topped with one or more of the following:
• Croutons
• Tofu
• Sunflower seeds
• Almonds
• Peanuts
• Sprouts
• Beans

Directions:

1. Cut all of the vegetables into matchsticks.... this will take some time if you are a slower cutter like me.
2. Place all of the cut veggies into a large bowl.
3. Prepare the dressing.
4. Pour the dressing over the veggies and mix periodically.  Add the amount of dressing that you desire, but not too much.
5. Serve cold as a main salad for 2 or a side dish for 4-6.

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What I ate Wednesday and Tex Mex Slaw

Alright, this is my first time doing "What I ate Wednesday", so bare with me.  The pictures below are of what I basically had during the week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  If youd like the recipes to these dishes, stay tuned, they are coming very soon in future posts!

Breakfast: Green Smoothie... a big serving
Yep, I love me my green smoothies in the morning!  Ive never been too big of breakfast person to begin with.  I really like oatmeal, but I find that it is a bit heavy to eat in the morning and just sits at the pit of my stomach for half the day.  Back in college I used to drink coffee just about every morning (kicked that habit thank god), so having a drink in the morning like a green smoothie is a great replacement and helps me to get my greens in!

Lunch: Tex-Mex Slaw (Recipe Below)
This slaw has been the perfect recipe to take for lunch lately.  Because the greens are cabbage, I can eat it cold straight out of the fridge, or I can add a bit of water and microwave it until the cabbage has wilted a little.  Depending on my mood I get to choose from cold lunch or hot lunch!  Oh, and the spiciness of it just hits the spot.

Dinner: Potato Leek Soup (recipe coming in a future post)
This soup has been my new recent favorite.  I am always a huge fan of creamed soup, and this one is no exception.  I got this recipe to try from my sister-in-law who was raving about it over our regular daily online chats, so I knew I had to give it a try.  She was not joking when she said it was "amazing". It makes me want fall to get here even sooner so I feel like its soup-making weather more often.

Lately I have not been very good at eating salads.  This has been mostly because I like to save the darker greens I buy for green smoothies, but also because I dont currently have very many ingredients to make homemade healthy dressings yet.  So, I came up with this recipe that I could make ahead and use fairly basic ingredients with.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small green cabbage, chopped
• 2 c black beans (or 2 cans)
• 1/2 c black olives, sliced
• 1 c frozen corn, defrosted
• 1/2 pepper, chopped (any kind: bell, poblano, etc.)
• 2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 c fire roasted tomatoes (I used a Tex-Mex version)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• sprinkle of ground red pepper 

Directions:

1. Prepare all ingredients and combine all ingredients except for the cabbage, cumin, ground red pepper, diced tomatoes, and rice vinegar in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, mix together the diced tomatoes, cumin, ground red pepper, and rice vinegar. 
3. Pour the dressing mixture over the slaw contents.
4. Once the dressing mixture has been thoroughly mixed in, begin to add the sliced cabbage until you have reached a good cabbage to "goodie" ratio.
5. Serve chilled with your favorite hot sauce as a salad or serve in tacos.
6. Another serving option is to water saute the slaw and serve hot over rice or in tacos.

Amys notes:  

I think next time I make this slaw I would want to add some diced avocado and possibly some lime juice to the recipe, Mmmmm!

What salad dressings do you like to make out of ingredients you keep regularly in your kitchen?

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