A Clean Plate:: Micro Green Arugula Salad with Fresh Mozzarella

Despite the amount of desserts that I bake and feature here, the majority of the time I am eating a very healthy diet consisting of a lot of leafy vegetables, fruits and healthy fats.  In fact, right now I am on a healthy cleanse (I am inspired by Bon Appétit's Food Lovers Cleanse) trying to get my body back on track. The steroid medication that my doctor subscribed must leave my body (this medicine can linger for over a month in your system), so I am trying to assist by eating very clean for at least one week, which means no added sugar, dairy or gluten, let's see how I do.  Yikes! (The recipe below includes dairy, in the form of mouth-watering homemade mozzarella, this was PC - pre-cleanse. )

In order to reflect that I am excited to start a new column here titled, Clean Plate, where I will dedicate posts to not only eating healthy, but simple meals that do not take a long time to prepare.  Oftentimes when it comes to eating healthy, time is of the essence, so each recipe that I share here will take this precious element into consideration.  I am starting off today with a Micro Green Arugula Salad with Fresh Mozzarella that not your typical greens, yet are a powerhouse of nutrients.  This salad is topped with my go to dressing for every salad - a lemony vinaigrette that features buttery olive oil, lemon juice and Dijon mustard and paired with fresh mozzarella, handmade at Caputo's here in Brooklyn.  

Garlicky Kale and Wheat Berry Salad

I love going to the fresh market this time of year, because it is over flowing with so many different varieties of fruits and vegetables, some that only stick around for a short while.  One of my favorites is spring garlic, a milder version of the variety that you can find at the store.  I was recently craving a healthy salad for lunch so I decided to combine spring garlic with kale and wheat berries for a nutrient packed lunch. I bet you wouldn't know it since I have a strong love, okay obsession, with baking and baked goods but I usually eat very healthy.  I love incorporating fresh vegetables into my diet as much as possible. Continue for more...

Winter Citrus Salad

I hope that everyone had a fabulous and safe New Years! It was nice to take a bit of a break from blogging, but it feels good to be back.  I am not sure about you, but there is only one thing that I have been craving since Christmas - healthy and refreshing meals.  Right now, I have been in the mood for anything citrus, as I love how when added to a meal  they bring a bit a sunshine, especially during the winter months.  Today I am sharing with you one of my favorite side dishes during the winter, a Winter Citrus Salad with Orange Vinaigrette.  It is so light and healthy (not to mention a heavy dose of vitamin C) - you will feel as if you negated all of those sweets during the holidays, if only!

The Dinner Table: A Greek Salad

 Oftentimes when I really want to remember the delicious food that we ate while in the Greek islands, I close my eyes, feel the breeze of the Aegean Sea and specifically remember biting into the juiciest, most amazing tomato that I had ever tasted, all while the sunset overhead.  

Prior to visiting Greece, I had quite a different idea in my head of what a Greek salad consisted of, oftentimes it was mixed greens (or even worse iceburg lettuce), crumbled feta, sliced black olives, and tomato. There was definitely something lost in translation when this salad started appearing on the menu in the United States.  The Greeks incorporate thickly sliced cucumber, sweet cherry tomatoes, diced feta, thinly sliced red onion, capers and Kalamata olives.  They then season it with a drizzling of olive oil and dried or fresh oregano.  Greek salad according to the Greeks, in my opinion is how salad should be; they combine the freshest ingredients and flavors that visitors will dream about and try to recreate for the rest of their life.  Continue for recipe...