I'm cheap: CSA part quatre

I beat the hell out of my liver and kidneys with alcohol for too many years. Sure, it was super fun doing it. But now I'm in my upper 30's, and it's taken its toll on me. My liver might be detoxing until I die. And as a good friend says, "If you're not detoxing, you're toxing." ... or something like that. So, I eat salad every day ... several times a day. There's such variety in salad. It's oh so pretty too. I dig pretty things.

But I don't really dig kohlrabi. So, I hit up google to find a recipe that might work with a few of the goodies I got this week in our CSA. I came across this little gem.

KOHLRABI, BEET SUMMER SALAD
I took one pound of raw beets, kohlrabi & carrots (from the grocer), and shredded them. I added the zest and juice of one lemon, 1TBSP olive oil, 1TBSP raw honey and gave it a quick stir. This became the perfect salad for a day like today: 88 and humid! It made a generous amount, which will feed a few meals through the week. And it's just how I like it. Simple. Quick and easy!
(and pretty too!)

And this is without a filter. Nature's colors!

For dinner, I went with my staple kale salad. I'm not usually a fan of fruit in my salad. If you follow the laws of proper food combining, it's kind of a "no no". But, I feel I digest it just fine. And this salad is totally dessert. TOTALLY. Not to mention kale holds up super well to dressing. So, you can create this and store in fridge for a few days. I usually have 2-4 salads in my fridge that I can pull out and munch on. Keeps me from raiding my husband's snack cupboard!

Everyday kale salad.

EVERYDAY KALE SALAD: Simple and amazing
Shredded kale
Chopped onion
Apple chunks
Hemp seeds

Top with my fave dressing: Tangy honey vinagrette
3/4 cup olive oil (I actually do an olive/sesame oil blend)
1/4 (plus a splash more) apple cider vinegar (raw with mother)
2 TBSP water
2 TBSP honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (I don't usually use pepper in this, but it's an option)

Before I bore you to pieces, I'm going to wrap up my CSA week recipes.

Sauteed beet greens with garlic.

But I left out the beet greens (leaves). Darn! Okay, use these however you would use spinach. My favorite way (not raw, but I do love a cooked veggie once in awhile!) is to tear them and saute with fresh chopped garlic, sea salt and olive or coconut oil. I seriously think it's one of my favorite foods ever. I sometimes add in some tarragon for an "OMG, die!" moment.

Garlic scapes!

Oh. Scapes!!! How can I forget. Garlic has a stem while growing, and it's not only edible, it's delicious! I look forward to scape season just so I can make batches of Garlic Scape Pesto and freeze it. Our last CSA season gave me so much pesto, I ate it until the following season.

One last thing. Stay tuned to see how you can use all the little parts of the veggies you cut off and toss (i.e. beet or carrot "skins", flimsy celery stalks, cabbage center stalk, etc.). Listen, I compost. But very little goes in there once I'm done with a plant. I told you I'm cheap. I'm frugal. And I've had countless people ask me how I can eat so healthy on such a small paycheck. So, I'm really happy to finally be able to have a forum to share this with all of you. My secrets are out! I wish I could fit them all in one post! But it would take me a year to write, and then you'd have nothing to look forward to tomorrow.

Peace in, friends. Be well.

I'm cheap: CSA, part trois

YAAAAAWWWWWWNNNNNNNN!!!!! Good morning. I promised you breakfast. I know. Today, skip the coffee. Coffee leaves your body in an acidic state. Your best body, mind and soul can take a break from it, just for today. I promise you won't miss it.

Hello? Are you still there? Beuller? Did I lose you? I hope not. Okay. This is going to give you a jolt, but not from caffeine. This jolt is from nutrients and minerals coursing through your veins. And your body will thank you with tons of energy and no post-caffeinated crashing!

Spare parts ready for juicing!

Take your spare parts:
1. Kale/broccoli/kohlrabi stems
2. The core of a pineapple. Yes. Start saving these now too!
3. The leaves of your celery

Pineapple core is no longer tossed away.

Add in one non spare part (optional): Lemon

Throw these all through your juicer, and you have breakfast. If you don't have a juicer, you can blend them in a vitamix/nutribullet/blender/etc and strain through a nut milk bag. If you don't have one, you can use an old tshirt instead. But you should really get a nut milk bag. They come in very handy for lots of things! This is my favorite of all I've tried. It has the tightest weave!

Pineapple crushin' on some cruciferous stalks!

Pineapple does an excellent job at covering the overwhelming green taste of the leaf stems. Lemon gives it a little zing.

I know you're probably thinking "I will be starving by 9, if I had only this for breakfast". And I get that. I'm a nursing mom and have to eat 2-3 breakfasts/day. But, often times we feel hunger simply because we aren't getting all the vital nutrients we need to sustain our bodies. Sometimes I can go until 2/3 o'clock on just my morning juice. Tis true. But always listen to your body. What works for me, might not work for you.

If the idea of green juice just makes you want to hurl, you can use those stems as a crunchy veg to dip into some hummus.

So, let's see, we got snacks for the week and one breakfast out of our csa so far.

I still have a ton of kale, beets, scapes, kohlrabi, snap peas, etc. to get to. Stay tuned.

I'm cheap: CSA, part deux

Part of our weekly CSA share.

In a continuation of this "eating on the cheap" segment, I am still talking CSAs. If you forget what we got this week, take a peek here. So, we got all this produce. Now what? Normally, when you see big leaves on your broccoli, you'd snip them and toss them. Same with kohlrabi. Maybe even with beets. But those pieces and parts are all edible. Not just edible, but delicious!

When I looked at my pile of veggie kingdom pickins', I went straight after those leaves ... you know ... the broccoli & kohlrabi ones I used to throw away. Well, not anymore. They now become my snack of the week. Chips. Yes, green/nutrient dense chips. And here's how.

BROCCOLI & KOHLRABI LEAF CHIPS: The simple version
First, cut them off your stalk.
Next, trim off the stem. The stem, if left on, will become a twig when done. So, it's best to cut them out to avoid feeling like you're eating sticks.
Make sure leaves are dry, then toss in olive oil, seasonings of your choice, sea salt and pepper.

 

Broccoli & kohlrabi leaves being tossed in their marinade.

Work the oil and seasonings into the leaves with your hands, making sure every bit of the leaves is covered.

Next, throw them on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate overnight at 105. If you do not own a dehydrator, you can make these in your oven by putting it on low (anything under 350) and watching them closely for a few minutes. It usually takes less than 8 minutes, and they burn fast. So, keep a close eye on them.

See those in the second row? That's the brocc/kohl leaves ready to crisp!

And voila! You've got a tasty snack for the week. If you're not a vegan, you can toss in pecorino romano. I bet that would be tasty. I don't eat cheese, personally. But my mom does. So, I tried this out with her, and sent them home with her. She liked them.

brocc/kohl leaf chips - vegan

While I was at it, I decided to do the same with half of my kale. Green chips don't last long in my house (mainly my fault ... and Finn's too). So, extra are always welcome.

kale about to be turned into chips ...

I keep these stored in my fridge in the summer, because we have no AC, and the humidity can sog them up again. If they do sog on you, just dehydrate them for a bit again.

I have a few kale chip recipes that I love. I love these simple ones when it's hot, because they aren't heavy with rich flavors. And, I'm a busy mom. And I'm guessing you are a busy person too. And simple reigns king in my house, yo. Sometimes, I mix olive or coconut oil with stevia or honey and cinnamon and make "cinnamon sugar" chips. Hey, don't knock it till you try it.

Someday, I'll do a post on just kale chip recipes. I've tried a TON, and I have a few that'll win the hearts of even the most DIE HARD veggie loathers. I promise. 

So, now I have a pile of stems from my broccoli and kale. (DON'T TOSS THESE!) They are going to become breakfast tomorrow.Yes, breakfast.

Breakfast plans?

I will save the broccoli stalk too, once we eat the florets. I keep them in a container in my fridge and let them pile up over a month-ish. I'll explain that one later. My basic idea for you, is how to use every part so that you can get the most bang from your buck. Life is expensive. Feeding growing offspring is ridiculously expensive. And nobody wants to work 80 hours a week. Little things like this add up over a month and can shred your grocery bill. I call it "youponing". I'm not a couponer. There are rarely coupons for things that I use or eat. So, I had to find a different way to save. And I'll be peppering those ways throughout this blog as long as I'm alive and kickin. (Which will be a very long time with all these greens! Lucky you!)