This recipe is sponsored by Walmart. I used their product to make this delicious Roasted cauliflower with parsley and lemon. The opinions and text are all mine. The end.

Seasonal vegetables is something that I always strive to use as much as possible. This summer I have been cooking quite a bit with one of my favorite vegetables, cauliflower. When it comes to cauliflower, one of my favorite ways to serve it is roasted. I have made it my mission to make at least one new cauliflower recipe per week the past 2 months and this roasted cauliflower with parsley and lemon recipe has been one of my favorite by far.

I was recently at Walmart’s Rediscovering America Campaign at the James Beard House in Manhattan where it tasks 10 James Beard Chefs that feature fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables available at Walmart.

The recipes that were showcased were nothing but sensational. All canapés were delicious, unique and super tasty. All chefs made sure to use fresh seasonal ingredients which elevated the quality of the recipes by providing a tastier result.

Then menu for the Walmart’s Rediscovering America Campaign consisted of:

• Okra fries.
• Shishito peppers.
• Cauliflower curry with coconut sticky rice.
• Brussels sprout Yassa, spiced broccoli with avocado pistou.
• Watermelon cucumber salad with west African peanut sauce.
• Brown rice milk ice cream with organic strawberries.

I mean, don’t these recipes look sensational? I really don’t know what my favorite was but the cauliflower curry and Brussel sprouts were just plain sensational. Nothing like using fresh seasonal vegetables to obtain top notch tasty recipes.

I am extremely happy that Walmart is committed to offering a fresh, broad assortment of locally grown and organic produce to our customers.

Supporting local farmers allows Walmart to not just positively impact the economy, but also offer our customers incredibly fresh, high-quality produce. And we literally support thousands of American farmers.

This roasted cauliflower with parsley and lemon recipe was super simple yet delicious. Just a few ingredients, a few minutes for prep and you have an awesome vegetable side dish or appetizer. The lemon, parsley and oil were a fantastic combo for the dressing and paired with the roasted garlic and cauliflower it was a match made in heaven.

When cauliflower is roasted it becomes nutty and buttery which is the perfect vehicle to introduce just one or two more ingredients to enrich its flavor.

One thing to keep in mind with cauliflower is to be careful not to over roast it. I roast cauliflower for just 10 minutes, check and then rotate for another 2-3 minutes. I don’t like my cauliflower super soft. I like it with some sort of a crunch so if you are like me I suggest that around the 10 minute mark you start to check on it.

Roasting cauliflower is one of my favorite ways to prepare cauliflower. I tend to make double the batch to be able to enjoy it a few days through out the week. My family doesn’t mind leftovers and since we all love cauliflower so much it is a win win when making more.

With this recipe you can swap the main vegetable if you like. If you prefer to use Brussel sprouts or even broccoli instead of cauliflower you can do so. It will work great as well. I think next time I might actually use Brussel sprouts.

I hope you get to make this amazing simple, healthy super tasty roasted cauliflower with parsley and lemon. If you like cauliflower and I am sure it is going to become one of your favorite recipes to prepare.

Enjoy!

Roasted cauliflower with parsley and lemon

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 large head cauliflower, cut into large florets
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt
• Pepper

Dressing

• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Toss the cauliflower and garlic with the oil and a generous pinch
of salt. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, turn once and roast further for
another 5 minutes.

Combine sunflower seeds, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir to
combine. Taste and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Arrange the cauliflower on a large serving plate and spoon the dressing over it. Toss to serve.

The post Roasted cauliflower with parsley and lemon appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I simply love grilling. Whenever possible, I like to have grilled vegetable skewers. Having grilled vegetables is one of my favorite ways to have them even though I don’t get to grill as much as I would want to. I find that grilled vegetables are way more flavorful and juicy, especially on a charcoal grilled.

Since my family hardly eats any meat or chicken, having grilled vegetable skewers is perfect for us. I always like to find different ways to served vegetables and the flavor the charcoal gives to the vegetables is just very unique and tasty. Everyone enjoys the distinct flavor it gives to the vegetables.

I decided to use Kingsford® Original Briquets. I chose my favorite charcoal, Kingsford Original because it’s ready in 15 minutes and has a long burn time besides that it lights quickly.

Believe or not grilling on a charcoal grill it is easier than you think. Here are a few tips for those that have never tried it before.

Before you light the briquets in your charcoal grill just make sure:

• If you have any leftover ash in your grill dispose of it. Link here on how to do that.
• Clean the grill grates.
• Place the briquets in a mountain shape and light them up.
• Once the briquets have been burning for 15 minutes and are a pale grey color they are ready to be used. Spread them out and place the grill grate over the briquets.
• Preheat your grill grates and oil them slightly to make sure your food won’t stick to it. Now your grill is ready for action!
• I use metal skewers that I find work best. Wooden skewers turn to burn and brake.
• Once I was done grilling, the vegetables skewers were gone in no time. I wish I had doubled the batch. If you have leftover veggies you can serve them the next day on a salad or just simply as a side dish.

Fall is a great season to get creative and use many of the vegetables available at grocery stores. Make your own combinations and use your favorite veggies. Any vegetable combination will do.

I hope you try to give charcoal grilled a go. It is the authentic way to grilling. The flavor it brings to your food is just sensational. Once you start grilling this way you will never go back!

Enjoy!

Grilled vegetables skewers

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1-2 Large Zucchini
• 16 oz Mushrooms
• 2-3 red Onions
• 2-3 Large Peppers
• 1 tbsp Oregano
• 1 tbsp Garlic salt

Directions:

Alternate chicken and 2-3 pieces of veggies repeating until you have about 3-4 pieces of chicken on each skewer. Repeat until you have run out of veggies and chicken. I got 10 skewers.

Once your grill is ready place skewers in the grill and cook on each side for 4-5 minutes depending on how far you have placed the grill grate from the heat.

Serve immediately.

The post Grilled vegetables skewers appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I haven’t been able to make new recipes lately. I have a stack of new recipes that I want to tackle but having my last 3 months of Physician Assistant school is giving me a lot of anxiety and very little time to do the things that I want to do.

The next two weeks are going to be hell on earth because I have 3 of my exit exams and I am really praying that I do well enough to pass. I have been working really hard so I hope everything turns out ok. My anxiety doesn’t help but I will try my hardest to get a handle on it….we shall see.

Once I am done with school, I am also planning on spending time overseas. First I would like to secure a job before my departure so let’s see how that turns out as well…. So much to these few months…..Just wish me luck!!!!

This super awesome high protein white bean arugula salad was something I just put together in about 10 minutes….literally. I have never added pesto as a dressing for any of my salads but I think the combo was rather tasty.

As any salad, you can add any veggies of your liking and if you are not too fond of white beans you can just use any other legumes you may like. Chickpeas will go great in this salad as well.

On another note, this coming summer I will be going to Morocco for about 10 days. I have been there once but really didn’t get to explore or do much. I am really excited to explore some of the areas and experience their culture, food and much more.

It is something that I have been wanting to do for quite some time so I can’t wait. I will be posting much of my adventure in my blog so you will be able to learn things to do while there if you ever make it to that side of the world.

Anyways, I leave you with this amazing high protein white bean arugula salad. I have to head to school to practice and study now.

Until my next recipe,

Enjoy!

High protein white bean arugula salad

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 15 oz white beans, I used canned
• 7 oz fresh Arugula
• 1 large cucumber, chopped
• 6 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 large red onion, sliced
• 1/3 cup hemp hearts
• 1/2 cup pesto sauce
• 3 tbs rice wine vinegar

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl mix all the ingredients. Toss to combine. Serve.

Note: I have taken this for lunch many times to work. It is the perfect salad.

The post High protein white bean arugula salad appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

The only thing about making Asian food, whether it is Thai, Japanese, Chinese, etc…the important thing is to obtain the main ingredients which are the sauces and spices. Once your kitchen is equipped with them the sky’s the limit.

I always keep my pantry well stocked with Asian ingredients. Since I cook a lot of Asian inspired recipes it is a must for me. Lucky enough, I have an Asian market nearby so I have access to most of the ingredients there.

I called this recipe 15 minutes soba noodle salad because it literally takes about 15 minutes to make if not less. While the soba noodles are boiling in water I pretty much prep the red pepper, green onions and cilantro. Enough time for all that chopping since the soba noodles only need about 5-8 minutes max.

On another note, I am almost done with Physician Assistant school…I can not see the day I am done studying to the intensity I am currently studying. I can’t wait to be able to relax a bit and spend some more time with my kids at home.

Anyways, my daughter has requested this salad two times on a row. This 15 minutes soba noodle salad it is truly refreshing, easy and incredibly tasty. The sesame oil really gives this salad a great flavor so make sure you don’t omit it.

Enjoy!

15 minutes soba noodle salad

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 16 oz soba noodles
• 2 red bell peppers, julienne
• 6 oz Green onions, chopped
• 2 oz fresh Cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Sauce

• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce, or coconut aminos for GF version
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp harissa paste, or sriracha sauce

Directions:

Cook soba noodles according to package instructions. Make sure you run some cold water through them once they are cooked. You want the soba noodles sort of chilled.

In a small mixing bowl combine the sauce ingredients. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl place the chopped veggies and sesame seeds. Add the cooked soba noodles and pour in the sauce. Mix through and serve immediately.

This makes a great salad to take to work for lunch. I do all the time!

The post 15 minutes soba noodle salad appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I have never ever been fond of diets. As a clinical dietitian and now almost to be physician assistant it perplexes me how many medical professionals have no idea about healthy eating and still advice patients wrong when it comes to healthy eating. Very sad to say the least.

Diet are something that have never work and will never work, that is, if you want lose some pounds temporarily and then gaining all back!

There is no diet, pill, trick in the world that you will find that will aid you to lose the weight for ever. Diets are not sustainable, that is why they are called diets. A change in lifestyle is a different story so I hope you come to that realization and know that diets don’t work. A change in lifestyle is 100% the only healthy and sustainable way.

I will tell you the secret and the things that I have seem to work for those that are ready to take the step. I will list a few pointers here but if you are interested in more detail visit my page here and here.

My food philosophy in a NutShell:

• Eat without depriving yourself of anything. (Processed and junk food does not count though). When eating things such as rice, pasta and bread try to eat the whole grain counterparts.
• Eat food of highest quality. EAT REAL FOOD. If you want ice cream, eat real ice cream. If you want a cookie, eat a real cookie, and if you want cake, eat real cake. A cake made with 30 ingredients and fake frosting from the supermarket does not count.
• Eat from scratch. Cooking meals yourself helps you control what it is in your food allowing you to increase its quality to include less sodium, bad fats and tons of sugar.
• Don’t skip any meals, especially breakfast. You need to get your metabolism going and start burning calories!! (If you have any questions about this go to the FAQ section for more info)
• Moderate your servings. This doesn’t mean you have to eat bird portion sizes or gigantic ones either. Use your common sense :-)
• Exercise when ever possible, walk, run, swim, bike etc If you can get a routine even better, what ever works for you.
• Try to avoid fake foods and try to buy organic and natural foods when ever possible. Do what you can.
• Try to avoid soda, even diet versions, and when drinking juices make sure they are 100% juice. Just don’t over drink juice though, 1/2 cup to 1 cup per day is plenty. You don’t want to drink your calories now do you?
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate with H2O and nothing else!!
• This is not food related but it is very important. You need to make sure you get enough sleep. This is crucial to have your body in balance and allow your immune system and hormones to do their job well.
• AVOID trans fat, high fructose corn syrup and olestra at all costs. If you want more detail as to why visit my link.

Well, I hope this information was of some value to some of you. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.

I hope you like this power quinoa kale salad. It is fulfilling, easy, healthy and delicious. Note that you can use any type of dressing of your choice, anything goes.

Enjoy!

Power quinoa kale salad

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 10 oz fresh kale
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups cooked quinoa
• 14 oz cooked white beans
• 1 lb butternut squash, cubed, roasted
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup golden raisins

Dressing

• 1 cup tahini
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbs sesame oil
• 1 inch fresh ginger, cubed

 

Directions:

For the dressing, place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Add the butternut squash to a baking tray with 2 tablespoon of oil. Toss to combine with the oil and bake for about 15-20 minutes. I like my butternut squash on the crunchy side but you can bake it more if you like. (You can also microwave the squash for an easier quicker way).

While the butternut squash roast, in a large pan, add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil and kale. Saute for 3-5 minutes just to wilt.

In a large mixing bowl add all the salad ingredients including 1/3 cup of the dressing. Toss to combine and serve.

NOTE: You can use any type of dressing you like.

The post Power quinoa kale salad appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Today was my first time making zucchini noodles. I actually just got the attachment for my kitchen aid and tried it. It was just super awesome and extremely easy to use.

These Asian zucchini noodles turned out great. Next time I am going to be making a salad. Whichever type of vegetable noodles I make I think they will turn out fabulous in any recipe I try.  Will see what other veggies I can turned into noodles.

I served these Asian zucchini noodles along side with some rice. I didn’t want the sauce to go to waist so it was perfect with it.

For me, I just have to make sure that I cook whichever vegetable noodles I make. I have heard of stories in which raw vegetable noodles give a lot of gas. The point being is that uncooked vegetable can sometimes give bloating and gas so I will make sure I will cook mine.

For those that are going to be getting on a clean diet after the holiday these Asian zucchini noodles recipe is the perfect dish for you. Easy, healthy and nutritious.

I hope you get to make these Asian zucchini noodles. If you have not gotten on the vegetable noodles bandwagon you should.

Enjoy!

Asian zucchini noodles

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of zucchini, spiralized
• 1 lb extra firm tofu, cut into small chunks
• 3 tbs olive oil
• Sesame seeds, optional

Sauce

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder or cornstarch
• 2 tsp chinese five spice powder
• 2 tbs honey
• 1/2 cup water

 

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl add the sauce ingredients and combine. Set aside.

Make noodles with your spiralizer. I used the one that goes with the kitchen aid.

Add the olive oil to your wok and and the tofu. Cook stirring occasionally until it is slightly browned. Add the zucchini noodles and cook stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes. Add the sauce and cook further for another 2 minutes or so until the sauce thickens.

Sprinkle sesame over the noodles and serve.

I actually also served it with some rice on the side to make sure I was not wasting any sauce.

The post Asian zucchini noodles appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.