Restaurant Re-creation - Roasted Beet & Arugula Salad

Hiya! So how's your week so far? Mine has been pretty great, but for some reason I've come down with a major case of writer's block. We've been super busy and I haven't had the opportunity to get creative in the kitchen and I think that's been part of my problem....or then again, maybe this is my problem hehe....

via Pinterest via Danielle Burning

Yesterday, while I was racking my brain on what I wanted to post about, I came across a post I wrote earlier in the Spring, but never posted because I suffered a technological snafu and lost my pictures. I promise I'll add in some pics next time I make this, but it is soooo good and this weather is perfect salad weather, so I thought it was a great time to share.....

...and while you're getting inspired to make this salad, I'm going to go find some inspiration of my own, so that I can share something awe-inspiring and wonderful later on in the week ;-)

Ciao for now!

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Do you ever go to a restaurant and have something that is sooooo good that you want to run right home and recreate your own version?

That happened to me a while ago when my team at work went out for a co-worker's birthday lunch. Typically I don't like to order salads when we're out. I think it's because I feel jipped if everyone's eating a juicy burger and fries and all I have is a measley bowl of lettuce. However, on the rare occasion when I do order a salad, I am almost always thrilled and satisfied with my meal! This lunch ended up being one of those 'love it' experiences where I ordered a salad in sticking with my healthy eats plan and it was freakin' amazing! It was much, much better than some boring ol' burger and fries combo ;-)

 

Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad

Serves 2 (entree-size salads)

The sweet beets combined with the bitterness of the arugula and the sweet tanginess of the dressing are a combo fit to tickle your tastebuds. Add a few crunchy walnut bits and my tried and true goat cheese and you have a salad for champions!

2 medium sized beets

2 tbsp olive oil

4 c of arugula

2 - 4 tbsp chopped walnuts

4 tbsp goat cheese

4 - 5 tbsp raspberry vinagrette

To roast beets:

Preheat your oven to 350. Cut the tops and bottoms off of your beets. Place the beets on a large sheet of tinfoil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap the beets tightly in the tinfoil. Place the beets on a cookie sheet and put into the oven to roast. It takes approximately 45 minutes for the beets to roast.

Once the beets are roasted, remove from the oven and place them in your sink. Run cold water over the beets to cool them and the skins will literally peel right off! Slice the beets into 1/4 - 1/2" slices and set aside.

To fix your salad, place the arugula onto 2 dinner-size plates. Next spread the beets over the arugula. Sprinkle walnuts, goat cheese and drizzle the dressing over the entire thing.

Serve and enjoy!

I did a quick search on Pinterest, so I could at least tantalize your taste buds with a similar looking picture. This is exactly what the salad will look like!

via Pinterest via Donna Pereira

Healthy, satisfying and delicious!!!!!

Do you ever try to re-create your favourite restaurant dishes?

Where do you draw inspiration and creativity from when you have a "blockage"?

Enjoy your day,

Andrea

xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday!

My love affair with What I Ate Wednesday continues!

I love sharing my eats with you guys and I have gotten so many awesome meal ideas from other bloggers participating. I think I could eat a new and different meal for an entire year without any repeats!!

I'm trying to stay on track and get toned and tightened up as we come into tank top and bikini weather, so we've been having heatlthy eats at home as much as possible. The theme of this WIAW is 'simplicity'. None of these meals took much time to whip together, they are all healthy, satisfying and very easy even for the most novice of cooks.

I'm back on track with the water, so I try to start every morning off with a glass of lemon water. I've been craving cold water after the heat wave we had last week, so I've shelved my warm water habit for the time being.

For breakie, I have been LOVING the Breakfast Cookie!!! And by loving, I mean eating it almost every single morning and when I'm not eating it, I'm wishing I was. Today, I substituted cocoa powder for the vanilla protein powder and used Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter. It was a mix between a choco banana cookie and a macaroon. It was AWESOME!

My fave lunch this week was a mixed green salad with shredded asiago cheese, sunflower seeds and multigrain croutons and dressed with a light herb vinagrette. I paired the salad with a mushroom and rice veggie burger topped with baby spinach and a wee bit of mayo. I also had a glass of orginal V8 Juice. I can't get enough of V8, especially when it's all glammed up in a wine glass :-)  I was in heaven after this meal!

For dinner, I pulled every single vegetable out of my fridge and whipped up a veggie stirfry using a splash of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and some Cajun spice. I added quinoa on the side. Luckily I had enough left over to take to work for lunch ~ I love when that happens!!

So there you have it ~ another Wednesday, another great food recap! Stay tuned next week because I'm home alone for yet another weekend and I'm thinking I should share my "home alone eats" to give some ideas to the single guys and gals out there. It could go one of two ways - either I eat super healthy and try some awesome recipes I've been eyeing up OR I grab an XL veggie pizza and eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I guess you'll just have to check back next week to see what I do :-)

Until then, pop on over to visit Jenn at Peas and Crayons to see what some other great bloggers have been munching on this week!

What's your fave meal when you're cooking for one?

Have a Happy Hump Day - we're on the down swing to yet another weekend my friends!! 

Andrea

Portobella Sandwich with Vegan Caesar Salad

Guess what? It's raining. Still.

I think I'm in a funk.

I wish I was here...

(Mexico - November 2010)

or with my mom & dad here...

(On a cruise ship in Miami - Today)

Now what can I do to feel better? Any suggestions?!?!  Um, book a trip to Mexico maybe!? How 'bout a cruise ~ I WISH!! We're looking into going to Las Vegas for our friends' wedding in October. I'm thinking a deposit might be made in the very near future :-)

Unfortunately there are no trips to the sunny south in my immediate future, so today I'm going to have to soothe my mood through a light and healthy Spring-like dinner. I made something quick, easy and delicious that put me in the mood for barbecues and backyard shenanigans.

For dinner I made a broiled portobella sandwich with a vegan caesar salad on the side.

For the sandwich, I took a portobella mushroom cap and marinated it for 30 minutes in a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Then I broiled it in the oven for 5 - 7 minutes per side. Do you love portobellas?? I do, especially in the summer when we spark up the BBQ and we grill them like a burger --- delish!

I then put the mushroom onto a piece of whole grain bread that was smothered with basil pesto (yet another fave of mine!). I topped my sandwich off with a slice of tomato and baby spinach leaves and we were good to go! Easy and delicious ~ which seems to be my motto these days!

For the caesar salad, I used a recipe that was recently posted by Kris on her blog. She and I both love avocados and we like to use them in all sorts of dishes. The avocado makes a crazy creamy base for this amazing dressing.

Vegan Avocado Caesar Dressing

Recipe by Kris at i heart wellness

Who said vegetarians and vegans can't enjoy Caesar salad. I'm about to show you that you can!! This is yet another super duper amazing salad dressing you just have to try. I only made half of this recipe because I was dining alone this evening and I think it needs to be used up right away because of the avocado.

1 avocado

1 tsp dijon mustard

3 tsp nutritional yeast (plus a little extra for sprinkling on top of your salad)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp water

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

2 tsp garlic powder

salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients into your Magic Bullet or food processor and process until creamy and smooth. 

A full batch would be too much to do at once in your Magic Bullet.

A food processor would probably work best.

This is so creamy and flavourful! It's absolutely heavenly.

Pour onto your greens and toss well. I used a blend of baby arugula, spinach, red and white chard. It was the perfect blend of greens to go with this dressing. I contemplated making up some croutons, but I'm trying to cut back on the amount of carbs I eat in a day, so I decided to go without. These greens were so good on their own, they really didn't need any additions!

So there you have it! Another quick and satisfying dinner idea that's perfect for whipping up during a weeknight when you don't feel like spending hours in the kitchen. The portobella sandwich and light refreshing salad makes me believe that Spring (& the sunshine) really are on their way.

We'll be sitting on our deck eating barbecue and lots of delicious salads in the very near future....right?!

What's your must-have burger topping?

What's your weather like today?

I hope you have a wonderful evening! Stay out of that rain and stay dry!

Andrea