Healthy Twists

Good evening! Have you entered my “blog birthday” giveaway yet? There aren’t that many entries, so your chances are pretty good!

(Don’t call it a “blogiversary.” I don’t know what but I’m not a fan of the term.

I think the two ladies who I share my CSA goodies with are sick of kale, because I got the entire bunch this week (usually we split everything evenly, except I pass up the mushrooms and the eggplant. Yuck). I don’t mind one bit! I have really learned to love greens like kale and Swiss chard over the past year or so, especially sautéed Swiss chard and crunchy kale chips.

Over the weekend, I had an amazing quinoa/sweet potato/raw kale salad from Whole Foods, so I wanted to try to make it myself because…well…I can’t be shopping at Whole Foods that often. You know, what with that pesky rent bill and all.

If you’ve never tried “massaged” kale, you should give it a go! It didn’t taste bitter, like I thought it might.

Asian Raw Kale Salad with Shallots

adapted from Elena’s Pantry

Ingredients:

• 2/3 to 1 large bunch kale, sliced thinly
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 1-2 shallots, sliced thinly
• Sesame seeds to garnish (I don’t have any, but I SO would have used ‘em if I did!)

Directions:

1. Drizzle the kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
2. Massage the kale with your hands to soften it
3. Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes
4. Add the lime juice, vinegar, and shallots
5. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes 
6. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Serve! This would be great along baked tofu or grilled teriyaki chicken/beef

Surprisingly, this tasted best the first night I made it. I had some yesterday for lunch, and then I planned on having the rest of it today, and it just wasn’t as flavorful as it was after I tasted it Tuesday night. I wonder why? I thought the longer it marinated, the stronger the flavor would be, but it was almost the opposite.

(I took that photo at work, to see  how the bright, albeit fluorescent lighting and different plating affected my photos. Looks pretty good…hmm…)

Moving on…1/2 mary talk! I made a training plan for the half marathon I’m doing in August, and promptly got really intimidated. I know I’ll do fine, but…dang. This is much more working out then I’m doing these days. Which is fine, I love exercise, but it’s a little daunting nonetheless. But what did I think it would be, easy?? What’s the fun in that?

Here’s my training plan. What do you think? (I believe if you click on the link, it should open in Google Calendar, but I might have messed that up. Sorry if it’s hard to read!)

So, like I said, I’m excited to start training, but I’m a tad bit freaked as well. I ran 3 miles tonight and I tried to go “fast” which was fun, except that I feel like I’m coming down with a cold. So the run was either smart and healing, or stupid if I get full-blown sick. I’ll let you know.

Stay tuned for the winner of my giveaway, and my first (I think?) restaurant review as part of my 2010 goal of one new restaurant a month!

Good night (or happy Friday, if you read this tomorrow)!

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