Avocado Kale Caesar Salad + Crispy Potato Fries

These days I have been OBSESSED with all things Caesar. When I was in Ireland a few weeks ago, I had a Caesar salad for at least one meal per day. As you know, making things from scratch is my way of living. I like to know what is going into my body. Don’t get me wrong, I can definitely take longer and sometimes costs more money to make these recipes. That being said, this recipe is a clone to the original Caesar dressing that I crave (not the calories and fat). Now that we have made our salad even more healthy, I say, let’s have some crispy french fries as a great combination. The fries are tossed in olive oil and homemade breadcrumbs. The recipe for the bread crumbs are on featured on this blog http://bit.ly/2O6hXz2. Comment below and let me know what you think…

Avocado Kale Caesar Salad + Crispy French Fries

Avocado Kale Caesar Salad + Crispy French Fries

Prep Time: 10 minutes

• Cook Time: 0 minutes

• Yield: 4 servings as an entree salad, 6 as a side

  Avocado Caesar Dressing:

  • 1 avocado, divided

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise or Plain full-fat yogurt

  • 2 small cloves garlic

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  Kale Caesar Salad:

  • 1 bunch kale, stems removed, chopped (5-6 cups)

  • Parmesan and/or pepitas for topping

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Directions

1. Cut the avocado in half.

2. Reserve one half for the salad. Blend the other half with the water, mayo, garlic, lemon juice, Dijon, and salt. Taste and adjust!

3. Toss the chopped kale with the dressing. Throw in a handful of pepitas and Parmesan and toss it all around. Finish the salad with the remaining half of the avocado, cut into cubes. YUM!

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Recipe adapted from: pinchofyum.com

How to make Breadcrumbs...Italian Style...From Scratch

Do you love breadcrumbs like I do??? They add such flavor and crunch to any recipe. Store-bought breadcrumbs are filled with processed ingredients and salt. ONLY 7 ingredients to make Italian Bread Crumbs from Scratch. Keep reading to see how easy it is to make breadcrumbs.

All you need is some bread and 6 spices and you have Italian Breadcrumbs. Keep reading to learn how to make these flavorful crumbs.

Step 1: Tear up bread into small pieces onto cookie sheets. Leave in oven at 250 degrees until hard and golden brown, about 30 minutes; darker if you prefer.

Step 2: Place pieces of bread in bowl of food processor and process until fine. To achieve fine crumbs, process in batches. Three minutes per batch.

Step 3: Place breadcrumbs into large bowl. Add all spices and mix well. THAT’S IT!!!

Step 4: The best step….bread something….and EAT IT!!!!!

Italian Breadcrumbs

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 3 cups

Ingredients

• 1 loaf of bread (fresh bread)

• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1⁄4 teaspoon onion powder

• 1⁄4 teaspoon  dried oregano

• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried basil

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Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

1. If you have stale bread, skip to step 2. Tear up bread into small pieces onto cookie sheets. Leave in oven until hard and golden brown, about 30 minutes; darker if you prefer.

2. Crumble slices into a large bowl until reduced to fine crumbs, or place in bowl of food processor and process until fine.

3. Place breadcrumbs into large bowl.

4. Add all spices and mix well. THAT’S IT!!!

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Note

• Feel free to add more spices until you have reach your desired amount

• Place in a resealable bag, and store in the refrigerator for up to one month or in the freezer for up to three months.

• I immediately put them into a gallon sized freezer bag and place them in the freezer. No need to defrost them when needed, they defrost in minutes.

Nouveau Nutrition's Guide to Walnut Oil

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Walnut oil comes from English walnut , which are also known as Persian walnuts. This oil has a light color, delicate scent and nutty flavor profile takes any cold recipe to another level. A short shelf life should not stop you from using this oil that is filled with essential fatty acids and antioxidants.

Here are 5 incredible advantages to using this nutty oil:

• Reduces signs of aging- Walnut oil contains vitamin B which protects us from premature aging. AMAZING.

• Reduces dark circles- Stress, sleep deprivation and not taking good care of yourself can result in dark circles. Gently massaging a little warm walnut oil under your eyes can brighten the dark circles and soothe puffiness.

• Helps with digestion- Walnuts are know to be chocked full of FIBER. It improves the movement of the bowel and keeps most digestive discomforts at bay.

• Nighty-night- If you have issues with sleeping (I do!), walnut oil contains melatonin which promotes sleep and regulates it too. 

Check out this recipe from New York Times Cooking

Lentil Salad With Walnut Oil

YIELD Serves six

TIME About 1 hour

FOR THE LENTILS

• 2 cups green Le Puy lentils, washed and picked over

• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 medium onion, cut in half

• 1 medium carrot, quartered

• 6 cups water

• Salt to taste

• Freshly ground pepper

• ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

• ½ cup broken walnuts

FOR THE DRESSING

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• Salt

• 1 shallot, minced, or 1 garlic clove, minced

• ⅓ cup walnut oil

• Salt

• freshly ground pepper

  PREPARATION

  1. Combine the lentils, garlic, bay leaf, onion, carrot and water in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Add salt to taste (1 to 2 teaspoons), reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 35 to 45 minutes until the lentils are tender. Remove from the heat. and discard the onion, carrot, garlic cloves and bay leaf. Drain through a strainer set over a bowl.

  2. Whisk together the vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and shallot or garlic. Whisk in the oil and 2 to 4 tablespoons of the liquid from the lentils. Stir into the lentils. Add the parsley and pepper, and taste and adjust salt. Spoon onto plates, arrange walnuts on top of the lentils, and serve.

Thank you Swanson Health for making such beautiful infographics.

Popcorn-Coated Popcorn Chicken

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients
Olive oil cooking spray, for spraying the baking sheet and chicken
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
1 pinch Terrasoul Superfoods Himalayan Pink Salt
1/2 teaspoon Simply organic garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Simply organic onion powder
1/4 teaspoon Simply organic ground black pepper
8 cups Trader Joes plain popped popcorn (recipe below)
1/2 cup Pamela's Products Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend
1/2 cup buttermilk, or Organic Valley Milk 1%
2 large pastured grass fed eggs
1 cup Aleia’s gluten- free panko crumbs
1/2 teaspoons Simply organic sweet paprika

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large releasable plastic bag, combine the chicken, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper. Seal and then shake and massage the bag so all the chicken pieces get coated with the seasoning. Set aside.

Popcorn recipe below. You can also use a popcorn popper. Add the popcorn to a separate large resealable plastic bag. Close the bag and, using a rolling pin, crush the popcorn into small pieces.

Set up your breading station using 3 breading pans. In the first pan, add the flour. In the second pan, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs. In the third pan, combine the popcorn, panko and paprika and stir to combine.

Working in batches, dredge the chicken pieces first in the flour, then in the buttermilk mixture and finally in the popcorn breading mixture, pressing the chicken into the breading mixture to make sure it gets completely coated. Place on the prepared baking sheet in 1 even layer. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray.

Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, flipping each piece halfway through. Serve immediately.

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Paper Bag Popcorn Method:

Measure 1/4 cup popcorn kernels into a lunchbox-sized brown paper bag.
Loosely fold just the very top of the bag.
Microwave until there are more than 3 seconds between popping sounds. About 2.5 minutes. Stay near the microwave. Allow the bag to sit in the microwave for 1 minute.
Adult only: Remove bag carefully and enjoy!