Healthy Grapefruit and Bok Choy Salad Recipe

I felt like making a low-fat salad today because my husband Lulu and I have been diligently working out every day. I bought beautiful pink grapefruits at our local market, so I used the sweet and slightly acidic fruit in the salad. Bok choy and roasted bell peppers rounded out the flavors and textures of the dish. I finished it with a tahini and miso salad dressing that really bound the flavors together.

Even though the meal was low in calories, it was so flavorful. The salad  nicely complemented the grilled cod and soy gluten I prepared for Lulu and me. The best part is that even though he is a vegetarian and I eat meat, we were able to share a meal together.

Parmesan Risotto with Wheatberries and Morel Mushrooms

My husband Lulu was craving risotto lately. Unfortunately, risotto can be pretty rich, which doesn’t exactly mesh well with our exercise routine. I don’t think exercising should be a form of punishment, so I took Lulu’s craving as an opportunity to be creative.

After thinking about it, I decided to make mushroom risotto using fresh morels. I chose morels because they are packed with flavor. Instead of using heavy cream and other calorie-packed ingredients, I let the mushrooms provide most of the flavor in the dish. I also added wheatberries to the Arborio rice for texture. Just make sure to soak the wheatberries overnight, so that they aren't too chewy.

Zucchini Radiatore (Vegetarian Pasta Recipe)

I love the vegetables my husband has been harvesting this season. We've had lovely zucchini so far. I've already used the zucchini flowers and stuffed them with risotto, and today I sautéed the zucchini with radiatore pasta. Lulu also pulled plenty of red Creole onions from the ground, so I used them to flavor the vegetarian pasta dish.

If you're able to plant your own vegetables, you should try zucchini. The young ones are sweet and more tender. They're fairly easy to plant, and if you take good care of them, they can be prolific.

You could pair any other pasta with the veggies in this dish, but I think the lace-shaped pasta looks very fancy. To make the dish a little healthier than my usual pasta dishes, I added very little cheese (I used Asiago for its strong flavor) and instead used enoki mushrooms, which resemble strings of cheese. It’s a great way to trick the kids, both little and big, into eating healthy!

Beet Green and Sugar Snap Pea Salad Recipe

Did you know that beet leaves are edible? This season, my husband Lulu planted chiles, zucchini, squash, tomatoes and beets. The beets came out a lot smaller than I expected but maybe it's just because Lulu wasn't patient enough to wait. The beet roots were so small that I decided against serving them by themselves. However, there were plenty of beet greens. I boiled the beet leaves as I would with spinach and made a salad.  You could probably eat the beet leaves raw if they're crisp and young, but to ensure the girls would enjoy the salad I boiled them a bit. Just make sure to pick young leaves, as they are quite tender, with little bitterness. Interestingly, when boiled they taste almost like rau mồng tơi, which is a Vietnamese green if you're familiar with Asian cuisine.

I finished the beet leaf salad with sugar snap peas for crunch and mandarin segments. It was an educational experience for me, and I can definitely say that beet leaves are quite under-rated. They're packed with vitamins A and C and iron.

I reserved the small beets that Lulu had harvested and made beet risotto for dinner. It’s a tasty way to extend the value of a small quantity of beets.

Spicy Mango Salsa Recipe

Mango salsa is an exotic alternative to the more common tomato salsa. I used the Ataulfo variety, which is cultivated in Mexico. The overall flavor is sweet with hints of spiciness and acidity when fully ripe. Really, you could use almost any kind of mango, but I think the vibrant deep orange color of Ataulfo mangoes  really pops in the salsa. Just as important, the texture of the flesh is smooth with no unpleasant fibers.

To complete the salsa, I added many standard salsa ingredients, such as shallots, tomatoes, bell peppers, corn, and to make it a bit spicy, jalapeños. I paired the finished product with seafood; it was fantastic!