Asian Salad with Thai Peanut Sauce

So I found this recipe on this amazing website called Once Upon a Chef.  I have been drooling staring at it, on and off, for almost a month now, waiting for the day to make it.  Well,  I invited my parents and mother-in-law over for dinner last weekend in anticipation of serving this dish. (Actually I bribed them to come help me preserve food and work around the house by saying I would make dinner - but that's still an invitation to dinner right?!)

I recruited my dad to help with making the sauce and got out my handy food processor for shredding all the veggies.  This dish actually took very little time to put together (and would take even less time with pre-shredded cabbage and carrots), and the peanut sauce had amazing flavor.  We smothered everything we ate that night with the sauce!  So I can easily say DOUBLE the sauce.  It was great on chicken, rice, other veggies... The next day for dinner, I used the left over Asian salad and made raw, rice wrapper spring rolls and used the peanut sauce for dipping.  Again, simple and delicious.

My wraps didn't look quite this pretty,
 but you get the idea for using leftovers

So here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy it as well.  Enjoy Dad! Changes I made to the original recipe follow in the parenthesis.

Ingredients

For the Thai Peanut Dressing

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used Tamari to make it gluten free)
• 2 tablespoons honey

• 2-1/2 tablespoons sugar (I was able to cut this out and not notice a difference in taste)
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt (I was able to cut this down to 1/4 tsp)
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

For the Salad

• 4 cups chopped Napa cabbage or shredded coleslaw mix, (toss in a little shredded red cabbage for color) (I used just a regular sweet green cabbage).
• 1 cup prepared shredded carrots
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced (I did not de-seed)
• 1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
• 2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

• TO MAKE THE DRESSING: Combine peanut butter through red pepper flakes and process in a blender until smooth.  Then add the 2 tbsp.cilantro and pulse until smooth again.  NOTE:  The first time I made this sauce I used my Nutri-Bullet.  The sauce became VERY thick.  I had to add a splash of water to even be able to extract it from the container.  The second time I made this I used my food processor.  It was much thinner this way and still came out amazing.  
  
• TO MAKE THE SALAD: Combine cabbage through 1/2 c. cilantro and toss until mixed well.  Drizzle sauce on just before serving or keep it on the side and let everyone add what they like to their salads (and meats, and other veggies)!

• In health, and supporting you on your journey to becoming Your Sensational Self,

• 
  
  Shelley Allen
  Health Coach, MS OTR/L

  www.yoursensationalself.com
  www.facebook.com/yoursensationalself
  yoursensationalself@gmail.com

  or follow me on Instagram @shelley_allen24

  or Twitter @shelleyhealth1

Juggling

Well reality has settled on the Allen household this week.  After having what seemed to be the shortest school summer vacation ever, we are now back into the fray.

My kids have transitioned into 6th grade and 4th grade respectively; at this point without too much of a struggle.  Their days of simply playing Legos, listening to Harry Potter on audio, and running around freely have come to an abrupt halt.  They now must succumb to scheduled bed times, forced wakings by 6:30am, active intellectual engagement for 6 hours, homework, etc.  Then they must TRY to be civil and respectful to mom (who takes the brunt of their over-tired, cranky attitude) as well as too each other, before it all starts again.

Benjamin and Gabriel

My husband, who has had the benefit of help on the farm as needed, a house full of family, and summer heat and humidity, has now found himself alone for the day in much cooler temperatures.  His struggles don't include the peace and serenity that come with us returning to school, but rather with trying to run the farm by himself, helping with homework, increased housework responsibilities, and still trying to find time for family.

The role I play this year has changed, though not for any less chaotic results.  School is back in session, and though I have cut back to 4 days a week, those 4 days will be filled to the brim with working with kiddos, meetings, paperwork, paperwork, paperwork and evaluations ...(did I mention paperwork?) .  My one day off will be to work on my Health Coaching business.

Where I found I had the summer to blog 2-3 times a week, create healthy recipes, and preserve food, I find I am now struggling to juggle the time needed to help my business take off, help my kids, help on the farm, maintain a moderately clean home, fold laundry and make even basic meals.

Of course, one of my passions with Health Coaching is to help people (and myself), find ways to juggle all these demands and still find time to eat healthy, nutritious meals!  I have found that the best and easiest way to ensure that I am eating healthy, with minimal effort, and a maximum way to engage the rest of the family around meal time, is to have a weekly menu.

I will think of all the fresh veggies in season right now on the farm, think about what is in the freezer, what I have for grains that may have been forgotten, and start the basics of a 7 day plan.  At least one of those days will simply be a left over day.  I will engage my kids by having them plan one or two days of the meals.  I will simplify the challenges we all face around dinner time by posting the menu on the fridge and recruiting everyone to help chop, slice, stir and bake.

Consistently, I have found this method to be the most sure-fire way of helping us stay on track with healthy eating.

Here is an example of one of our weekly dinner menus from earlier this year:

Monday: Quiche; quinoa with sliced almonds; roasted chick peas; grilled salmon
Tuesday: Crockpot chicken; braised asparagus; sauteed sweet potatoes with roasted peppers, onions, mushrooms and garlic
Wednesday: Quinoa burritos with corn, carrots, roasted peppers, black beans and chicken; salad; green beans
Thursday: Thai chicken curry with rice noodles; peas; cabbage with apples
Friday: Homemade pizza with chicken, mushrooms, roasted peppers, onions; salad
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Pork chops; rice; carrots; spinach; cabbage steaks

We may not always follow the menu exactly, but at least we all have an idea each night of what's for dinner.  It also help to cut down on the [insert whiny voice here], "mom, what's for dinner?" question every 5 minutes from 4 o'clock until we sit down at the table).  With a menu, I can also more easily delegate tasks for each family member to help with, which makes prep and clean up time much faster.

So plan your weekly menu.  Share it with us in the comments section.  See how it will help you to stay on track with healthy eating, even in the midst of chaos.  If even thinking of what to write down for meals sends you to the nearest box of mac and cheese or the take-out counter, let me know here, or on Facebook, or email, and I will be glad to work with you on creating menus and meals to help keep you eating healthy...while juggling.

In health and supporting you on your journey to becoming Your Sensational Self,

Shelley Allen

Health Coach, MS OTR/L

www.yoursensationalself.com

www.facebook.com/yoursensationalself
yoursensationalself@gmail.com

or follow me on Instagram @shelley_allen24

or Twitter @shelleyhealth1

Cinnamon Caramel Apple Energy Bites

One thing I am always looking for is healthy snacks for work and school.  I am talking homemade snacks, not processed stuff you buy at the store that doesn't really count as food.  I am thinking about simple ingredients, minimal work and delicious taste.

So I have been wanting to make these for the last 2 weeks and finally bought all the ingredients.  Let me tell you these, are delicious.  I substituted 1 whole fresh apple, cored, for the dried apple.  I did not bother to peel it.

Other than that one change, oh and I made them tablespoon size, this is the exact recipe from the site cupcakesandkalechips.com

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup pitted dates
• 1 cup dried apples (not freeze dried, these are the chewy ones)
• ½ cup uncooked oats
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until it forms a thick paste.
2. Using about a tablespoon of the mixture, roll into balls. If you want the little bites, use about ¼ teaspoon.

Tried and tested by one of my kiddos, the neighbor and hubby, all with the thumbs up.


Enjoy!

Shelley Allen

Health Coach, MS OTR/L

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