The weather is hotter today than it has been. When the weather turns warm I tend to gravitate toward more raw food. This is a simple dish or spiralized veggies dressed with a nut sauce. It takes longer to clean the equipment (mandoline and blender) than it does to make the dinner. Here is what I did:
Spiralized Zucchini and Radish Topped with Walnut and Spinach Sauce
Serves 2 as a entrée with a salad on the side
Ingredients:
1 zucchini, spiralized
5 radishes, spiralized
½ cup walnuts
2 cups spinach, tightly packed
½ cup water
½ lemon, juiced
½ clove garlic, peeled (not a huge clove less is better in this sauce)
½ cup basil leaves, julienned
1 tablespoon pine nuts for garnish (optional but adds nice texture)
Directions:
Place zucchini and radish threads on a plate.
Combine the walnuts, spinach, water, lemon juice, and garlic in your blender and process until completely smooth. Pour the sauce over the plates of vegetable threads. Sprinkle the dish with basil and top with pine nuts
Nutritional Information:
Amount Per Serving
Calories - 251.69
Calories From Fat (74%) - 187.03
Total Fat - 22.36g
Saturated Fat - 2.06g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 38.38mg
Potassium - 645.74mg
Total Carbohydrates - 11.22g
Fiber - 4.18g
Sugar - 3.32g
Protein - 7.51g
Comments:
This dish is rich and flavorful but is not an entire meal. I combine it with a spinach salad topped with beans and salsa to add more calories and reduce the overall fat percentage to something more manageable. Like many raw dishes you need to be careful to add non fat or low fat foods to it to bring the fat percentage in line.
Each serving of this dish contains 3,300IU of vitamin A, 35mg of vitamin C, 89mg of calcium, 125mcg of folate, 175mcg of vitamin K, 190mg of phosphorus, and 105mg of magnesium. Nice nutrition but higher in fat that is good to make a meal by itself.
For those of you that are wondering other than a tablespoon of ground flaxseed in my oatmeal this was the only fat I have had today. I try to keep my total fat intake on average at 25 grams per day. That is the target that works for me. You may another level works better for you.
Unrelated note:
Things have gotten a little hectic at my house this evening. I will try to get the grain and potato chart up tomorrow. I ran out of time to fiddle with the file this evening.
I hope you are all having a good evening. Talk to you tomorrow.
This looks tasty!
ReplyDeleteTalk to you later, Brandi
Brandi,
ReplyDeleteThanks! This was lightly spicy from the radish, tangy from the lemon, rich from the walnuts and aromatic from the basil. I really enjoyed it. It was my little treat today. ;-)
talk to you later,
Ali
I like the sound of this...also, are you surprised by how nutritious radishes are? I mean relatively speaking...they're no where near the leafy greens, but have a higher ANDI index than cabbage or broccoli...(according to Eat for Health - 2)...I adore radish...esp breakfast radishes...this looks great. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful dish! I don't have a mandoline to make it so pretty, but I'll try the basic idea this morning.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning your max. fat intake (goal). I don't think that I've been eating much fat, but I should calculate it now and then. My first 10 days on the E2L program have been a little inconsistent...I did well at first and lost a few pounds, then the cravings started! I eat a little more grain and fruit than allowed, but have stayed away from fats, sweets and refined products--except for the chocolate tofu pudding I made for my husband! (just a few spoonfuls) and a couple of meals out (mostly salad without much dressing). I feel great physically and mentally, although I'm bummed that my sore knee from spinning class is preventing me from hiking today. I guess it's a good day to start watching those Greger dvd's!
Love the idea of that spinach sauce. Yum. I'm game for anything with spinach LOL!
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing, but how do you spiralize vegetables?
ReplyDeleteRose,
ReplyDeleteYou read my mind. Reading how nutritious radishes are is why I have started buying them more often. I used them here because I thought the color was so pretty in the dish. ;-)
Do you ever eat your radishes cooked? I love them that way too!
talk to you later,
Ali
Laura,
ReplyDeleteMy mandoline has a spiral cutting attachment, which most do not. If you check on line you can find a little gadget that does nothing but spiral cuts. It is reasonably priced, under $30 I think.
The craving at the beginning of E2L are very normal. Dan and I both had them. They will go away, it just takes a while. I am glad you are feeling good on it, that was what sold me.
Overall I try to keep my fat at approx 10% calories from fat. That is based on "Life Over Cancer". Some days I am under and other over, but on average that is where it falls out. I have found that I need to be careful with nuts and nut cheeses. That is where I get into trouble.
The Dr. Greger disks are entertaining. When Dan and I watched them we thought they would be great for children because of the presentation style. That will make sense once you see them.
talk to you later,
Ali
Heather,
ReplyDeleteI was considering making spinach pesto but then though sauce might be prettier. The taste was mild, but had a little zip from the lemon and raw garlic. It was good.
talk to you later,
Ali
Jessie,
ReplyDeleteMy mandoline has a spiral cutting attachment, which is the reason I bought that model. It is more cost effective to buy a spiral cutter. There are a few brands. Most people seem to have the Joyce Chen Saladacco. They sell it on Amazon.
Ali
Basil and pine nuts, yumm!! I just transplanted the basil plants I started in the house outside. Can't wail till they are a little bigger and I can harvest some:)
ReplyDeleteJanet,
ReplyDeleteMy Italian side will put basil and pine nuts on almost anything, LOL.
My little basil plants are about 10 inches tall now. I will be harvesting some this weekend, hopefully.
talk to you later,
Ali
I must make this sauce once I get more spinach. I have walnuts that are dying to get used!
ReplyDeleteKrystina,
ReplyDeleteYou could sub many veggies for the spinach. I have used broccoli and swiss chard like this, but think there are many possibilities.
If your goal is to use up the walnuts there is a walnut cheeze spread on my blog you may want to try. Walnut butter is also good. There are a few posts with variations for that as well. ;-)
Alicia
Thank you for filling me in on the spiralizing!
ReplyDeleteJessie,
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome. Glad I could help.
Ali