Summertime Orzo Salad

This is the perfect salad to bring to all your summer picnics. I first published it last summer here: Orzo Salad, but had to let it shine again.
Summertime Orzo Salad
Ingredients:
1 pound dry orzo pasta
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups fresh spinach, torn, best to buy organic
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup dried cranberries
8 fresh basil leaves, torn, gentle with these as they bruise easily
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, no pine nuts? Try walnuts!
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 & 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 carton cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions:
Cook orzo in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain pasta and spread on a large baking sheet to cool. Transfer cooled orzo to a large serving bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine. Serve chilled.
Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

So what did I make with all of my leafy greens...?

A big ol' salad of course! With all the goodness of being local and organic from Turtle Farms CSA.

J and I both loved the diversity of flavors from the different kinds of greens...some were peppery while others were sweet. It was nice to change it up from the basic spinach or romaine salad.

In fact, the sloppy Joe meat was local as well from Wallace Farms (yummy grass fed products).

How does Wallace Farms work? View this fun video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWM-l_3swEM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

(their jerky rocks!)

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THOSE RUNNING DAM TO DAM TOMORROW...INCLUDING MY DAD, SISTER-in-LAW and ALL THOSE IN THE CROSSFIT DSM ENDURANCE TEAM. PROUD OF YOU!

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Throw Together Pasta Salad

My mom is the queen of making something out of nothing (she could probably make a 9 course meal out of peanut butter, cottage cheese, and apples) so taking some inspiration from her I threw together a cold pasta salad with the leftover goulash noodles, whatever veggies I had on hand, and a few basic condiments.

Throw Together Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

cooked whole wheat noodles

green beans

fresh or canned diced tomatoes

red onion

honey mustard

olive oil

sea salt

ground black pepper

other seasoning suggestions: garlic, dill, Italian dressing

Instructions:

A little of this and a little of that....mix it together :)

Just remember FASS when putting together a recipe....

do you have a fat, acid, sweetener, spice?

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

www.sarabconsulting.com

Holiday Celebrations and Cuisine

For Christmas Eve I prepared this salad and dressing. It brought cheer to everyone's taste buds.
Spinach and Red Pear Salad
with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Salad:
Organic baby spinach
1/4 sliced red onion
sprinkle 0f blueberries (optional)
1 red pear, sliced into pieces
toasted walnuts
blue cheese
Dressing:
1/2 C pomegranate juice
3 T sugar, could try honey
3 T balsamic vinegar
1 T canola oil
1 tsp grated orange rind
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or jar and whisk/shake together until blended.
calories for 3 T serving of dressing: 96grams

Quinoa, Couscous and Cranberries (recipe another day)

Mom made these feta, tomato, and cucumber kabobs for NYE. So light and delish!

Just soak the tomatoes and cucumber in a little olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette and viola...a super easy appetizer!

Dad splurged and surprised Mom with an edible arrangement....I loved the chocolate covered granny smith apples!

Christmas at the Schwertfeger's

the kids sharing the Christmas story before presents, so we can all remember what it is truly about

Anna sporting her Hawkeye jersey, complete with shoulder pads
Christmas at the Boisen's

Emmerson, Peyton, and their cousin Isla (far left)

Peyton passing out the presents

Emmerson scored on the ISU gear!

and Ironman/triathlon swag!

Peyton shows off her gifts....

and other people's gifts

Some attire from myself and Baby S.

Two things that I hold dear to my heart....veggies and the Cyclones!

NYE at the Schwertfeger's

with the Boisens and the Browns

fun games, good food, great company

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

Quick Quinoa and Garlic Salad

This wonderful quinoa salad was another one of my girlfriend Leigh's cooking show creations.
I then went on to make it for a nutrition presentation I did at Continental Western Group.
It was a hit!
Leigh also taught the secret to making a perfectly seasoned and flavored recipe....FASS.
Is there a fat? Is there an acid? Is there a spice? Is there a sweetener?
So next time when you just can't figure out what is missing in a recipe....think FASS.

Quick Quinoa and Garlic Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa
2 ish cups water
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1/3 cup parsley, minced
1/4 cup sunflower seed

Dressing
2 -3 cloves garlic, minced SPICE
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice ACID
2 tablespoons olive oil FAT
2 tablespoons soy sauce (such as Tamari Soy Sauce)
2 tablespoons honey SWEETENER

Instructions:
Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add quinoa, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until all water is absorbed. Let stand for 5-10 minute, then fluff with fork. Place quinoa in large bowl and add carrots, parsley, and sunflower seeds. In a seperate bowl, prepare dressing by combining all ingredients and mixing. Pour over quinoa and toss well. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Today is my 26th Birthday! Wahoo! Thank you J for making the day so special and to everyone else for the wonderful b-day wishes!

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
http://www.sarabconsulting.com/

CrossFit Des Moines party - Red and Gold Potato Salad

Good times, good food, good friends at the Crossfit Des Moines party last Saturday.
Thank you Paul and Kelly for hosting. You have a beautiful home and property. Perfect for a relaxing summer evening.
Keith provided a smoker (is that how I term it?) and smoked up salmon, ribs, and pulled pork.
Everyone else provided a side dish....there were so many yummy ones to choose from.

I decided to try a new salad recipe...
Red and Gold Potato Salad
loosely adapted from Simply Recipes
Ingredients: (for the party I doubled everything)
1 lbs of red potatoes, peel on, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes, peel on, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil mayo
2 teaspoons of mustard (your favorite, yellow, Dijon, stone ground)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 medium carrot, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 red bell pepper, raw or roasted, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup chopped red onion (optional)
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 dill pickles, chopped into 1/4 in cubes (about 3/4 cup)
4 Tbsp juice from dill pickles
Fox point seasoning from Penzeys (salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion and green peppercorns)
sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

lots of added veggies!

thick, creamy sauce
Instructions:
1. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

In a large bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, mayo, pickle juice and mustard. Add about a tablespoon of Foxpoint, dash of sea salt and some pepper.
Add the eggs and potatoes, gently combine using a rubber. Add the rest of the ingredients again, gently combine. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4-6.

I also made the infamous refreshing summer dessert...Jello Cake! I will post later.

Until next time...
look good, feel good, do good
www.sarabconsulting.com

Buy Fresh, Buy Local- on KCCI news tonight at 5

I am blessed with another opportunity to spread the word on living a healthy lifestyle!
Today on KCCI Channel 8 News I will be discussing

"Buying Fresh, Buying Local"

This is a topic I am very passionate about so I am excited to highlight it today on my blog. Agenda:

• Share a couple tasteful and seasonal recipes for using your purchased local produce.
• Highlight some benefits to buying fresh and local.
• Share how easy it is to find farm fresh, local foods.
• Resources to learn more.

Heirloom Tomato, Basil, & Mozzarella Salad
from Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

Heirloom tomatoes, sliced

fresh basil, leaves carefully chopped as not to bruise

fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

extra virgin olive oil

balsalmic wine vinegar

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Instructions:

Assemble the salad with slices of tomatoes, basil leaves, and mozzarella slices. Sprinkle extra virgin olive oil over the salad. Add a dash of vinegar and a very light sprinkling of sea salt and pepper.

Other popular recipes I have posted using local produce:

Portobello Mushroom & Chicken Ragu

Wilson's Apple Orchard

Rhubarb Crisp

Where does your food come from?

Apple Squash Soup

Benefits to buying fresh, buying local:
1. Helps strengthen the local economy - buying local foods helps support growers in Iowa, who are more likely to reinvest their revenue back into their own community. This builds and strengthens Iowa's communities.

2. Protecting the environment - local foods travel on average 45-65 miles while most food items found in the supermarket travel around 1500 miles. The added travel supermarket produce goes through increases pollution from the extra transportation, distribution, and packaging.

3. Protecting your family's health - You can get to know your local farmers and learn about their farming practices. This enable you to choose farmers who avoid or limit the use of pesticides, chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, or genetically modified seeds.

Also, you get max health benefits from fresh produce. When a tomatoes is allowed to ripen on the vine it gains valuable nutrients. Local produce is typically harvested within a day of it being purchased, since it has such a short distance to travel to make it to your plate. This 'on the vine' ripening allows the produce to retain higher nutritional value than those harvested, handled, and transported thousands of miles. Basically, an increase in travel means a decrease in nutrients.

4. It just tastes better! No one from Iowa can deny the sweet goodness of peaches and cream corn purchased from a farm stand on the side of the road. I challenge all my readers to purchase some local produce this week and share their fine food moment with the rest of us.

So easy to buy local:

According to an economic analysis of Iowa's farmers' markets, in 2004 Iowa had around 160 farmers’ markets, the highest per capita in the nation. Full report: www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/marketingfiles/marketsrfswg.pdf

Another wards....there is no excuse to NOT find one near you. To find a market.

I visited the Valley Junction Farmers Market last week:

scrumptious blueberries and scrumptious things made with blueberries

Timber Ridge Flax-fed Cattle

Another way to buy local is through a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture group. I visited Turtle Farms located in Granger, IA last week to learn more.
"A CSA Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between growers and consumers that seeks to recognize the importance of healthy food and the manner in which it is grown. Consumers (or CSA members) share costs of supporting the farm, including the risks. In turn, members receive locally grown, fresh, wholesome food grown in a sustainable and responsible manner by a farmer that they know." -from Turtle Farm's website

Turtle Farms was one of the first CSA's in Iowa. Angela (owner) and Ben (farm manager) are proud to grow all organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

you receive your "share" as a box of produce each week throughout the growing season


Angela and Ben gave J and I a tour

they grow everything from okra and bell peppers, to sweet potatoes and strawberries



getting ready to plant more veggies!

Other resources:
Find CSA's at http://www.localharvest.org/

Take your family for a fun filled day at Picket Fence Creamery

Find local grassfed meat at http://www.eatwild.com/

Greater Des Moines Buy Fresh, Buy Local

Until next time...

look good, feel good, do good

http://www.sarabconsulting.com/