Spinach Beet and Feta Salad

The lovely color of beets against the green is pretty to see, the contrast of texture — soft beet against the fresh leaves, creamy feta and the crunch of nuts make this salad delight for the palate. And the concentration of phytonutrients in these power foods are a big boost for the immune system.

Variations:

  • Use arugula or baby kale instead of spinach
  • Add avocado
  • Add orange  (peel, cut away pith and segment the orange slices)
  • Use pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of nuts

 

Spinach Beet and Feta Salad
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Spinach Beet and Feta Salad
Print Recipe
Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
Adjust servings: servings
Units:
Instructions
  1. Peel beets, cut in half and slice or cut in cubes. Steam in a pot over low heat for 10 - 12 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork.
  2. Place spinach and chopped green onion in large bowl. Toss with 2 – 3 tablespoons vinaigrette.
  3. Place tossed spinach and green onions on a platter.
  4. Arrange beets and feta on top, drizzle another 1 - 2 tablespoons of salad dressing on top.
  5. Sprinkle nuts over salad and serve.
  6. CMF Salad Dressing
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Spinach and Orange Salad with Black Olives

There’s alchemy between oranges and black olive that is delightful.

I like to make this salad with dishes I associate with Spain such as the Roasted Cod with Red Bell Pepper and Tomato Sauce or Seafood Paella with Edamame.

Toss salad with CMF Basic Salad Dressing

Variations:

  • Instead of spinach, use mixed greens or baby kale
  • Instead of green onion, use 1/4 finely sliced red onion
  • Try this salad without the greens, slicing the onion in rounds, red onion in rounds and slivers of black olive sprinkled over them
Spinach and Orange Salad with Black Olives
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Spinach and Orange Salad with Black Olives
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Ingredients
Adjust servings:
Units:
Instructions
  1. n a bowl carefully toss orange segments, black olives and green onion, reserving a few slices of orange and a few black olives.
  2. Add spinach and carefully mix.
  3. Add about 1/4 cup salad dressing and toss; if desired add additional salad dressing.
  4. Place reserved orange slices and black olives decoratively on top.
Recipe Notes

If serving for company, place salad on a platter rather than in a bowl.

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Pumpkin Shrimp Curry

“Curry Powder has a number of valuable health benefits, including the prevention of cancer, protection against heart disease, reduces Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, eases pain and inflammation, boosts bone health, and increases the liver’s ability to remove toxins from the body.”

Facts about Curry Powder

Pumpkin Shrimp Curry
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Simply yum. Make it vegan by using red lentils or garbanzo beans instead of shrimp. Or replace shrimp with chicken or even grass-fed beef tips. Onion, garlic, broccoli (or cauliflower) and pumpkin are super foods, loaded with nutrients—making this an immunity boosting dish. Curry and turmeric also have health benefits.
Pumpkin Shrimp Curry
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Simply yum. Make it vegan by using red lentils or garbanzo beans instead of shrimp. Or replace shrimp with chicken or even grass-fed beef tips. Onion, garlic, broccoli (or cauliflower) and pumpkin are super foods, loaded with nutrients—making this an immunity boosting dish. Curry and turmeric also have health benefits.
Ingredients
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Units:
Instructions
  1. Heat canola oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and ginger; sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add curry, coriander, cumin and turmeric; cook, stirring 1 -2 minutes. Stir in plum tomato, pumpkin purée and vegetable broth; and cook about 5 minutes. 3. Add coconut milk, simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. 4. Add shrimp, broccoli, green beans and lime juice and cook over low heat until shrimp, broccoli, and green beans are cooked, about 10 minutes. 5. Add spinach and mix in, cooking an additional 3 – 5 minutes just until it is wilted.
  2. Serve over cooked rice. Top with chopped cilantro, and toasted pumpkin seeds (or chopped nuts) Serve chopped jalapeño or Serrano pepper on the side.
Recipe Notes

Modified from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Pumpkin-Shrimp-Curry-368281" target="_blank">Epicurious: Pumpkin Shrimp Curry

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Dijon Chicken Breasts

This is a quick recipe. You can double it and use left over chicken for sandwiches the next day—cut thin slices and replace processed ham or turkey. Or make a chicken salad with a nice crunch of bell peppers or celery.

Dijon Chicken Breasts
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Dijon Chicken Breasts
Print Recipe
Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
Adjust servings:
Units:
Instructions
  1. Combine first 5 ingredients in heavy large skillet.
  2. Bring to gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
  3. Add chicken to skillet. Cover and poach about 15 minutes. Add spinach and cook another 5 minutes until chicken is just cooked through.
  4. Transfer chicken to platter. Boil liquid in skillet until reduced to sauce consistency, about 2 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
Recipe Notes

Adapted from Epicurious: Dijon Chicken Breasts

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Spinach and Pea Salad

This is a quick salad that infuses the body with a  good dosage of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. This can be a foundation on which to add many different ingredients: add some left-over quinoa and a hardboiled egg for a satisfying meal. Use defrosted edamame or lima beans instead of the peas and add a chopped ripe avocado.

Fresh green peas in their pods
Spinach and Pea Salad
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"Spinach is associated with the lowest levels of cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and macular degeneration. The more spinach people eat, the less likely they are to develop any of those disases. Spinach contains a stunning collection of micronutrients, including lutein, beta-carotene, plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids (only a few plants vegetables contain these faty acids), antioxidents, vitamins B12, C and E, coenzyme Q10, the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc. It also has chlorophyll, which may be a potent anticancer substance." SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods that Will Change Your Life, by Steven Pratt MD and Kathy Matthews
Fresh green peas in their pods
Spinach and Pea Salad
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"Spinach is associated with the lowest levels of cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and macular degeneration. The more spinach people eat, the less likely they are to develop any of those disases. Spinach contains a stunning collection of micronutrients, including lutein, beta-carotene, plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids (only a few plants vegetables contain these faty acids), antioxidents, vitamins B12, C and E, coenzyme Q10, the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc. It also has chlorophyll, which may be a potent anticancer substance." SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods that Will Change Your Life, by Steven Pratt MD and Kathy Matthews
Ingredients
Salad
Adjust servings:
Units:
Instructions
  1. Place salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add vinegar and water and stir until salt is dissolved.
  2. Whisk in extra virgin olive oil.
  3. Season to your taste by adjusting salt and pepper, and also another tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil.
Salad
  1. Place all ingredients in salad bowl, toss and serve.
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Spinach, Grated Broccoli, and Grape Salad

With the current enthusiasm for the health benefits of kale, spinach seems to have been pushed into the background. But it is to has stood the test of time as an incredibly nutritious food. Medical research continues to demonstrate its value.

[su_expanding_quote_without_link source=”SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods that Will Change your Life”full_quote=”In epidemiological studies, it’s been found that the more spinach consumed, the lower the risk of almost every type of cancer…There are a number of different flavonoid compounds in spinach working to prevent different stages of cancer development. Spinach contains two vital antioxidants—glutathione and alpha lipoic acid. The first is the primary antioxidant in all cells where its critically important job is to protect our DNA. It repairs damaged DNA, promotes healthy cell replication, boosts the immune systems and reduces chronic inflammation. Alpha lipoic acid not only boosts glutathione, it helps stabilize blood sugar…Lutein, another powerful antioxidant in spinach, works to enhance the body’s immune system, thus warding off many types of cancers.” short_quote=”In epidemiological studies, it’s been found that the more spinach consumed, the lower the risk of almost every type of cancer…There are a number of different flavonoid compounds in spinach working to prevent different stages of cancer”]
spinach broccoli grape salad
Spinach, Grated Broccoli, and Grape Salad
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spinach broccoli grape salad
Spinach, Grated Broccoli, and Grape Salad
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Ingredients
CMF Vinaigrette
Salad
Adjust servings:
Units:
Instructions
CMF Vinaigrette
  1. Place salt and pepper in a small bowl, add vinegar and water, stir until salt is dissolved
  2. Whisk in extra virgin olive oil
  3. Season to your taste by adjusting salt and pepper, and also another tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil
Salad
  1. Mix all ingredients in a salad bowl
  2. Drizzle vinaigrette on top and toss until combined
Recipe Notes

[su_original_recipe]

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Pasta with White Beans, Pesto and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Pasta is not my choice; white flour pasta has so little nutrition. But sometimes whole-wheat pasta is on our weekly menu because my family loves it.

This recipe enhances the nutritional value of pasta with beans and spinach, the pesto adds an antioxidant boost and makes it simply delicious; try Cilantro Pesto, or the Arugula Pesto. In a hurry I’ve also used store-bought pesto.

Serve with the Mixed Green Salad with Pecans and Cranberries and dinner is ready.

Variations:
• Use 1/4 cup sunflower seeds of Parmesan cheese for a vegan meal
• Use roasted red bell peppers instead of sun-dried tomatoes for a different taste and texture

Pasta with White Beans, Pesto and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 servings 10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 servings 10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Pasta with White Beans, Pesto and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
4 servings 10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 servings 10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Ingredients
Adjust servings: servings
Units:
Instructions
  1. Bring a large, covered, pot of salted water to boil. Pour in pasta and turn down to medium heat and cook, covered, until pasta is tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water.
  2. Heat olive oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, sauté 2 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes, wine (or broth) and pesto; simmer over medium heat until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add cannellini beans and spinach and stir until heated through and spinach begins to wilt.
  4. Add pasta and cheese to sauce; toss to coat.
  5. Mix in enough reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes

Adapted from

Epicurious: Pasta with Pesto and White Beans

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