Our teen chef, Kayla, from The Nerdy Chef, has some recipes to make it so much easier to eat healthier or maintain resolutions since her salad recipes taste so good and are good for you. Asian Broccoli Salad
You may not have liked broccoli as a kid, but that's because you've never had broccoli like this. You just steam it and toss it with some other vegetables like scallions and bean sprouts as well as some dressing. If you've never made salad dressing before, don't be intimidated. All you have to do is whisk some ingredients together and you're done! Just toss it with the vegetables and you have a delicious, easy, and nutritious salad!
4 Cups Broccoli Florets (About 2 Heads) 2 Cups Bean Sprouts 2 Scallions, White & Light Green Parts Sliced Thinly 1/4 Cup Cilantro Leaves, Optional 1/4 Cups Almonds, Chopped 2 T + 1 tsp Sesame Oil 1/4 Cup + 1 tsp Soy Sauce 2 tsp Rice Vinegar 1 tsp Honey 1 Clove Garlic, Minced 2 tsp Grated Ginger
1. Steam the broccoli until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Place the florets in an ice bath until cooled, then drain. 2. Heat 1 tsp sesame oil. add the almonds, stirring until toasted and fragrant. Stir in 1 tsp soy sauce. Cool. 3. Combine the remaining sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, garlic, and ginger. 4. Toss the broccoli, bean sprouts, scallions, cilantro, and almonds together. Stir in the dressing.
Serves 4-6, Recipe Adapted from Anja's Food 4 Thought
Cucumber Salad
Looking for a simple side dish that won't break your New Year's resolutions? This is it. It's just thinly sliced crisp cucumbers tossed with a yummy dressing and sprinkled with crunchy sesame seeds. It's that easy. The only trick is to keep the slices of cucumber as thin as possible so that they absorb the dressing. I have a mandoline, a really cool little piece of equipment that can slice anything as thin as you want it to be. I like to use it for this since it really speeds things up, but make sure you are very careful if you want to use one. If you don't have one, it's just as easy to use a knife to slice the cucumbers paper-thin. Either way, it will be fantastic!
2 lbs Cucumbers 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 Cup Rice Vinegar 2 T Soy Sauce 2 tsp Sesame Oil 2 T Sugar 1/2 tsp Sesame Seeds
1. Slice the cucumbers thinly; mandolines work well for this. Toss with the salt and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze gently to dry. 2. Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. 3. Toss the cucumbers with the dressing. Let sit for at least 1 hour. 4. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds before serving.
Serves 6-8, Recipe Adapted from Appetite for China
For more delicious recipes by our Teen Chef, Kayla, check out her blog, The Nerdy Chef!