Recipe Redux Contest: Smokey Potato-Avocado Salad

This month The Recipe Redux is hosting a challenge to create a healthier version of one of the all-time favorite barbecue side dishes, potato salad! According to the United States Potato Board, a medium potato has only 110 calories, contains more potassium than a banana, and half your daily value of vitamin C. Seems like good ol’ potato salad is already on the right track to being healthy, so I helped it along by giving it an even bigger helping of vitamins and minerals (such as potassium, vitamin E, folate and vitamin B) from one my favorite nutrient-dense foods, avocado.

This potato salad is a good accompaniment to anything from the grill and, because it has no dairy, won’t spoil as quickly like regular potato salad, so you can bring it on a picnic and not worry about keeping it ice-cold. It has chunks of creamy avocado instead of mayonnaise, a sprinkle of fresh tomatoes, chopped cilantro, and is infused with a hint of smoky spices. The firm texture of earthy red potatoes brings all this creamy goodness together. If you love barbecues, you’ll love the smokey flavors of this potato salad!

Smokey Potato-Avocado Salad

Smokey Potato-Avocado Salad

1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1″ chunks
1 ripe, firm avocado, pitted and cut into large cubes same size as potato
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 ripe tomato, seeds removed and diced, reserving 1 tablespoon for garnish
fresh cilantro or coriander sprigs

Directions:

Fill a large pot halfway with water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, making sure they are covered with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and bring to a low boil on medium/medium-high and cook 7 minutes more or until just tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and cool for 15 – 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Set aside.

Cut avocado in half, remove pit and cut into 1″ pieces. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon lime juice. Sprinkle half of seasoning mixture and toss gently with a fork. Add potatoes and mix gently (the mixture will get creamier, but keep some chunks of avocado.) Sprinkle in half of remaining seasonings, adding more to taste. Fold in diced tomato. Top with remaining chopped tomato and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Added note, 6/28: avocados tend to brown, so be sure to serve this within 4-5 hours of preparation. One trick you can do is garnish with fresh diced avocado right before serving, so even if the salad is a few hours old, it will look nice and fresh! (Thank you, Emily, for asking me about this! )

 By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the United States Potato Board and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

A quick and easy dairy-free, gluten-free potato salad

 

Almost Raw Comfort Food: Zucchini Noodle Salad with Peanut Satay Sauce

Because of the sauce ingredients this dish is not 100% raw...but oh, so close!

Just when I thought spring has sprung, the weather started getting chilly again. It rained last night and drizzled a bit today, and the creek next to our house was flowing along nicely. The snow missed us, but it looks like it’ll be pretty cold and rainy for the rest of the week. I started making some cozy comfort foods over the weekend but now it’s time to search for more recipe ideas that’s not only filling and warming, but healthy, as well.

I’ve been wanting to try some zucchini “noodles” for some time. This is nothing more than very thin-sliced zucchini that is eaten raw and in place of regular noodles, but it’s higher in vitamins and minerals, easy to prepare and there’s no cooking involved! I wanted a creamy sauce to go with it, so I searched online for a dairy-free alfredo sauce, but when I was slicing the zucchini, for some reason I just thought, “I want satay sauce!”

I love peanut butter and peanut butter-based foods, sweet or savory, they’re all delicious to me. Satay is Thai-style grilled meat skewered and cooked over hot coals. It is accompanied with a peanut dipping sauce made with peanut butter and can include a combination of coconut milk, soy sauce, or fish sauce. This peanut sauce recipe is based off the one in The Best International Recipe Cooking Light cookbook. I still had it nearby when I made their moussaka the other night, so I flipped it open and found just what I needed.

Here are the ingredients for the sauce:

L-R: Coconut milk, raw sunflower seeds, lime, patis or nampla (fish sauce,) garlic, Sriracha, peanut butter, sugar.

This Native Forest brand of coconut milk is really good. Chaokoh used to be my regular brand, then I tried this  (on sale) and noticed how much fresher the cream tastes. The Asian markets will have the coconut milk, fish sauce and Sriracha, a popular Thai hot chili sauce that is thick like ketchup but hot like Tabasco (very different flavor, though.) If your market carries ethnic foods, you’ll probably find those ingredients there.

To make the zucchini noodles you can use a vegetable spiral slicer. If you’re like me and don’t have one, you can achieve similar results with a sharp vegetable peeler and a good knife. First, remove the skin from the zucchini. Use the vegetable peeler to peel of wide slices of zucchini, rotating after every two “peels.” The zucchini was slippery, so be careful and place it on the cutting board, holding it with one hand as you cut off slices with the other.

Slice them thin like noodles then place in a bowl. I was worried they'd get brown (like apples) but they stay nice and creamy white.

Rotate and slice until you reach the seeds. Stack two or three zucchini slices and carefully slice them into thinner noodle-like strands.

I wanted something satisfying but not heavy, and this really hit the spot! And it didn’t feel like I was eating a regular salad at all. The zucchini noodles were more filling than I expected, and the savory peanut sauce was rich and velvety. I served this at room temperature and it was just right for what I wanted: a healthy, creamy, satisfying dinner with a good dose of raw veggies. More importantly, my husband also enjoyed his super-size helping of fresh veggies! There’s enough sauce for four servings, so feel free to double the salad mix, or save the leftovers for the next day. Just be sure not to store the salad and satay sauce together, it will make the veggies soggy.

Zucchini Noodle Salad with Peanut Satay Sauce

Salad:

1 zucchini, cut with a vegetable spiral slicer or sliced into thin “noodles”
1 carrot, julienned (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped celery

 Toss all ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.

Peanut sauce:

3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 hours, drained
1/2 cup no-sugar/no salt peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
juice of 1/2 lime, about 1/4 cup
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1 teaspoon sugar (use 1/2 teaspoon if using peanut butter with sugar)

Blend all the ingredients  until smooth, sauce will be thick. Add more Sriracha and sugar to taste.

Scoop 1 cup of sauce into zucchini salad mixture, toss well to coat. Garnish with cilantro, serves two.

Drizzle Sriracha on the plate if you need some extra heat.

 

The Best Thing I Ate This Week: Avocado Key Lime Parfait

Perfect for parties, just layer it, serve it, enjoy it!

Hi, everyone! I’ve been invited to a Linky Party by justafrugalfoodie and I’m bringing the best thing I ate this week, this delightfully delicious avocado key lime parfait! It’s light and creamy, refreshing, and filled with wholesome, nutritous ingredients. One taste of this lip-puckering parfait and you’ll be pleasantly pleased!

Having not grown up with the four seasons, spring is a new experience for me. I always thought winter would be a snow-covered scene until the first day of spring, when the snow would melt on cue, birds would start singing and blossoms would start popping up. I guess it  doesn’t happen exactly like that, but there’s that unmistakable transition to earlier mornings that make me feel better about waking up with the sun.

I saw a cooking show that featured a delicious key lime pie, something that made me yearn for a fresh tasting “hello, spring!” kind of dessert, yet still be comfy and homey-feeling. I love the immediate pick-me-up that the scent of lime and lemons can give you, there’s no other fruit that leaves you feeling more optimistic. Key lime pies are so delicious and refreshing, but can also be overly sweet, cloying, and leave you feeling like, “Blech, I just ate some key lime pie,” instead of “Yay, I just ate some key lime pie!”

I needed a healthier version, and a search for ‘raw key lime pie’ on the internet led me to The Bees Knees Kitchen where her incredibly delicious recipe uses the nutrient-dense avocado as the base. Avocados are a wonderful source of fiber, vitamin E,  potassium, and folate, and also helps your body assimilate fat-soluble nutrients like lutein and alpha- and beta-carotene*. Such a simple recipe with healthy ingredients, no baking, and the fresh, lively citrus certainly satisfies your sour tooth, while the smooth, velvety texture just says ‘comfort food’.

I made a few modifications to the ingredients and served it up parfait-style. I took one parfait to my husband (two spoonfuls lighter, I had to be sure it was up to snuff!) and he enjoyed the tart flavor from the avocado filling as well as the addition of the yogurt-lime topping. What a great dessert to bring into spring!

*source, http://www.avocado.org/avocado-nutrients/

Avocado Key Lime Parfait
This would also make a great breakfast, where the crust can be sprinkled on like granola.

Filling:

2 avocados
1/3 cup key lime juice or lime juice
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon stevia
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
zest of 1 lime

Blend all the ingredients  in a blender until smooth, adding more honey or stevia to taste. Set aside.

Crust:

2/3 cup pecans, walnuts or almonds
2 teaspoons coconut flour or flaked unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup agave syrup
stevia
1 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch of salt

Directions:

For crust texture – Put pecans, coconut flour or flaked unsweetened coconut, stevia, lime zest and salt into a food processor, pulse into crumbs. Process and slowly drizzle in 1/3 cup agave syrup in the chute. To test if done, pinch a small amount between your fingers, crumb mixture should hold. For crumbly topping, don’t pulse as long, but keep larger chunks of nuts for that “granola look.”

Yogurt topping:

1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1/4 teaspoon stevia
2 tablespoons lime juice

With a spoon, mix all ingredients until well combined, adding more agave to taste.

To assemble:

In a glass cup, layer 1 teaspoon crumb mixture, 1 tablespoon of key lime filling, and 1 teaspoon of yogurt, repeat. Garnish with mint sprigs, lime slice, and coconut flakes. Makes 4 servings.

For Key Lime Avocado Pie: Use 1 cup sunflower seeds and 1/2 cup almonds, soaked for at least 2 hours and drained. In a food processor add nuts, 1 teaspoon stevia, 1 tablespoon agave and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Process until it forms a dough. Press into springform pan lined with wax paper. Press dough 1″ up the sides. Add avocado filling and top with yogurt. Freeze for at least 30 minutes or until firm enough to slice.

 

 

My cat Wolfie loves yogurt, but this snack is for me!