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Our 15 Favorite Summertime Salads
I know we are creeping closer to summer’s end, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have several weeks left of summertime abundance and then, of course, the magical swing season where summer and autumn meet for a brief time and the produce is extra special. For now, I plan to continue to celebrate and indulge in all that the summer’s markets and local farms and gardens have to offer.
Our 15 Favorite Summertime Salads:
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Grilled Romaine Salad with Blueberries, Avocado and Creamy Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette
As I sit to write the posts for this website, 2-3 times a week, often I find myself lacking the words. I am no writer, have never claimed to be. I am sure my sentence structuring is atrocious, I am certain my posts are littered with typos and poor punctuation skills. I generally didn’t start this website to share my personal thoughts on life or my beliefs, as often as they do trickle into the pages by default. I mostly have always had a strong desire to help make a difference for those, like me, that struggle with their health, are challenged by navigating the ever-evolving landscape of eating and food and what it truly means to be well.
As our worlds are all constantly changing and shifting, as life seems to get busier than ever for us all, I find myself more called to want to simply live my life without a filter, to share my experiences in all their realness and hopefully, simultaneously, inspire you to be excited about getting into the kitchen and tapping into your own creativity. I want you to approach food and your health without fear. I want you all to feel empowered to be your own advocates and to never settle for anything other that feeling amazing, every day. My hope is also that through sharing my recipes, how-to’s and other tips here on the website and on social media, that everyone knows eating well doesn’t always have to be about the crazy flavor combos and complicated ingredients that you can only buy online or at a specialty food store. I think we all have to admit that even though weeknight meals deserve a little flair sometimes, a totally boring, basic
bitchmeal of veggies and some baked fish, that isn’t exactly instagram-able – that’s totally OK, too. -
Grain-free French Tomato Tart {Paleo-friendly}
How are we rounding the corner to the second half of August already? Where has this summer gone? This is about the time of the season where I start to feel a bit like a crazed maniac, trying to consume as much of the seasonal produce that I can, before it’s gone again until next year.
The heirloom tomatoes have been particularly beautiful this year. They are like luscious, vibrant gemstones. We’ve mostly been enjoying them in summer salads, often as the solo star of the show, but this tart has got to be my favorite way to enjoy them, right now.
A rustic savory pie meets pizza, meets a sophisticated sandwich. This tart is so simple to put together, you could easily impress guests and whip it up for a weekend brunch, a picnic or tea! (I like how I say tea like I have ever in my actual adult life hosted a tea).
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Turkey Club Chopped Salad with Aioli Vinaigrette {Paleo-friendly}
I have jokingly said this before, but I truly, deep down, really mean it. My husband has become somewhat of a muse for me in the kitchen. Or one of my muses I should say. First and foremost, from a heavily selfish place, my own autoimmune conditions, food intolerances and sensitivities are my biggest creative driving force when it comes to recipe development. I also, of course, find so much joy in creating for all of you and your varying dietary challenges and lifestyles. All that said, my husband happens to be one of those more and more rare specimens whom isn’t afflicted with any food allergies or issues. He’s a tank, he can eat anything and everything, he’s healthy as a horse and he generally doesn’t have to worry too much when it comes to food.
He is, as he says it “on the Beth plan”, at home, as I do all of the cooking and I generally don’t hear a complaint out of him. However, when we eat at restaurants some of his decision-making is so far askew from my own and how we eat at home, that I can (apparently) look at him like he has 3 heads, while he orders. It’s mostly a curiosity of how and why he would still want certain things after eating how we do, I am always curious how eating a bunch of starchy, grainy carbs before a meal can feel good, when he generally eats grain-free at home. I get it though, he didn’t exactly sign up to eat this way, it’s somewhat by default. But, I digress, I don’t give him
too muchshit, however I do take note. I take these opportunities to know that I can come home and recreate certain foods to be more healthful, to remove some unneeded processed foods and to hopefully win him over with an even better, cleaner version. It’s a game of sorts for me and the winner is always him. -
How-to Make Salad Dressing
“The usual proportion of vinegar to oil is one to three, but you should establish your own relationship.”
Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French CookingA well-crafted dressing or vinaigrette is a thing of profound beauty. Delicate, yet prominent, understated while still making a statement. To me, the finesse found in the subtleties of a good dressing says a lot about someone’s skills in the kitchen and on that same note, it is one of THE most simple tasks to master. Ready in under 5 minutes, homemade dressings and vinaigrettes are one of the best ways to start the process of ditching store-bought, processed foods – making it a very budget and health conscious option.
Since they only really require three main ingredients, base (oil), acid and seasonings, you can pretty much make any flavor profile you can think of, with any combination of ingredients available in your kitchen. From here, knowing this simple formula and the any options, you can get creative, adjust to your preferences and you can come up with an unlimited supply of varying staple dressings.
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5 Steps to Design a Healthy Work Day
5 Steps to Design a Healthy Work Day
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Many of you know this but some probably don’t, but my amazing hubby Mark, has a very successful daily podcast show called Adventures in Design. Adventures in Design is a fun and unique look into the lives of many creatives from varying walks of life. Rather than the standard Q&A-style interview, with boring regurgitated bios and stock answers, Mark uses his incredible skill set and love for gabbing to dig deep into what makes people unique and he offers them the platform to share their authentic stories with inspiring nuggets of success and failures that have worked for them along the way.I am so honored to be back again as a guest on the AID podcast, where I am sharing 5 super simple steps to a successful, healthy and vibrant workday! We chat about nutrition, eating mindfully and simple things you to do to fuel your body for maximum success! Mark even surprises me with some ridiculous on-the-spot nutritional quizzes, keeping me on my toes, as always.
The first hour of the show is free on Soundcloud (use the player above) and on iTunes and the second hour, where we talk more about the evolution of my brand, my conscious, but challenging choice to put things on pause to educate myself further, plus I even share some social media tips and more – this is for paid Circle of Trust members. Sign up at www.aidpodcast.com
Note: there’s a little mild swearing, not too much, but it’s how we talk ;), soooo you have been warned!
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Grain-Free Chilaquiles with Salsa Verde {Paleo-friendly}
If you have read Tasty Yummies for some time, you guys have definitely heard me speak of my love of balance. For me the concept of individualized moderation is important, to not feeling trapped by my dietary restrictions (whatever they may be at the current moment), but also to being able to live my life normally, despite my autoimmune conditions and said restrictions. But, the word “moderation” can be a loaded one and I am very keenly aware that for some this word it can be very much overused, it can be a scape goat and an excuse to over indulge. Moderation can be the place where we dwell without self-judgement, 100% yes, without feeling trapped by rules and to just live and enjoy life. But, if the need for restrictions in our diet comes out of necessity (whatever the reason) than this concept of “moderation” just might actually be a detriment to our health, even in all it’s innocent and fleeting goodness. It might be the overlooked moments in your week that are causing that still lingering distress, as much as you don’t want to admit it. Why work so hard 80% of the time to, in the other 20% undo all of your hard work, only to have to work that much harder the other 80% to undo that damage? There has to be a better balance. To enjoying life without doing harm. To me that balance is honoring your individuality and not just following others’ paths.
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Summer Squash Salad with Basil Vinaigrette and Crispy Prosciutto
Summer is definitely all about the fuss-free eating, but to me, it’s also all about enjoying the abundance. With so much beautiful produce in season, there is no shortage of foods to be inspired by and get creative with.
To me, zucchini gets all the love during the summer and admittedly, I likely eat a farm’s worth myself every year. But lest we forget about the yellow summer squash, the beautiful golden sibling to the zucchini. While the flavor is very similar, the only real major difference is their skin color, so I find the yellow squash to be as equally versatile as the zucchini and it too is a mainstay in my summer kitchen.
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Savory Veggie Breakfast Bowls with Herb Olive Oil Drizzle {Paleo-friendly}
So here we are, another recipe on Tasty Yummies where I leave a lot of the decision-making to you guys. I have to say these end of being my favorite recipes, in a lot of ways. It’s not due to a laziness on my part, more, it’s that this has always been my approach to cooking in my own kitchen and to teaching others in their own unique culinary journeys. I always want to give you the tools to make the right decisions for you, your unique desires and/or your dietary needs. My hope is that I can always help to empower you to feel confident in the kitchen, to try new things, to get adventurous and make decisions on the fly and who knows, maybe even jump outside of your comfort zone at times.
Our nutritional needs can vary just as wildly as our fingerprints. This is why I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition and eating, it simply can’t work. I don’t believe in slapping a label on my diet, following an arbitrary set of rules and ignoring my body’s intuitive response to food. That said, the fundamentals and foundations that we know to be true, can absolutely be applied across the board, with many little variations along the way. I think this is what I love about food so much, it can be tweaked, the details shifted to suit your needs, cravings, desires and even location – the sky truly is the limit.
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Chilled Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup
This Chilled Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup is so much more than your average gazpacho. It celebrates the tastes of summer by bringing out their very best flavors and honoring the preparation that makes them truly shine. It’s strange, despite the insane heat waves, I still have the days where I find myself craving comfort foods like soup and stews, yet I still want to soak up much of abundant fresh summer produce that I can. But, a girl can’t live on salads, smoothies and popsicles, alone.
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Grilled Greek-Style Leg of Lamb
This is a recipe that I have wanted to share with you all for many years, but my disdain for photographing meat has kept me from it. I know, I know. I’ve been holding out. Don’t hate me. But I have long struggled with how to make charred, brown meat look appetizing, I dunno if I did it – but who cares? I did the best I could and this is far too delicious to keep from you any longer.
This is another Greek recipe I grew up eating. My Dad has perfected his Greek Marinated Leg of Lamb. He has done it bone-in and boneless on the grill, in the oven and even over an open fire pit. Every summer when the Greek side of my family has their big family reunion out at the lake, my dad is always in charge of the lamb and it’s a spectacle for everyone. In all honesty, I feel like half of it gets eaten right off the grill.
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Greek Potato Salad
This light Greek Potato Salad is full of a bright, fresh tang from the freshly squeezed lemon juice, an incredible fresh crunch from the red onions and cucumber this all comes together with the fresh fill and oregano to create perfect Greek flavors. Step away from the mayo and opt for my family’s favorite summer side dish.
Summertime is the time of quick meals, picnics, BBQs and cookouts. As much as I am a big fan of mayonnaise, I have never been able to get down with the idea of it on my cold salads. I have never enjoyed it on potato salad, coleslaw or pasta salad. Not sure why. Maybe it’s too many picnics in my youth, seeing the salad and the mayo baking away in the sun, no one has a care in the world. I won’t ruin it for those of you that like it, but it’s just not for me.
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Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Coconut Milk Ice Cream {dairy-free}
I broke the seal on this summer’s ice cream maker usage with this incredible Peach Raspberry Sorbet, earlier this month and now I can’t stop. When I get a craving for something, you best watch yourself. Get out of my way and let me do my thing. My current adoration of my ice cream maker plus a craving for a childhood favorite meant it was time to create!
I had the realization that I have sadly been without cookie dough ice cream for longer than should be allowed. The store-bought ones, even when gluten-free or dairy-free, are still loaded with so much junk, tons of refined sugar, creepy lab experiment thickeners and I just can’t.
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Savory Cassava Flour Waffles with Bacon and Scallions {Paleo, Gluten-free}
We’ve all been told from a very young age that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I couldn’t agree more! In my opinion, it can also a really fun meal, if you open your mind to thinking outside of the breakfast box that most of us grew up with. As far as I am concerned, much like the other meals of the day, anything goes at breakfast.
While many people opt for sweet, super fruity-centric breakfasts, cereals, toasts, carb-heavy baked goods, I, however, have always leaned into my love of savory food to start the day. I recall a time when I still lived at home with my parents and I only wanted dinner leftovers for breakfast. The looks I would get, eating leftover pasta with red sauce at 8am, were never that of approval. I have never really been one for a big pile of syrup-soaked waffles or pancakes, the idea of a sugary cereal covered in milk doesn’t interest me in the least, and donuts, OK wait – they are some tasty little dudes, I can’t hate, but again, a proper breakfast they are not! Intuitively, I have never felt like any of this is a smart way to kick off your day and with good reason.
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Peach Raspberry Sorbet
Going out for ice cream in the neighborhood, this is about as summertime as it gets. On the same hand, fresh local, supremely ripe, sweet as candy fruit, this is also key to celebrate all that summer has to offer! This Peach and Raspberry Sorbet is precisely what summer time is all about. A fresh, Read the rest of this entry »
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Grilled Scallop and Veggie Skewers with Green Tahini
I am not sure about all of you, but our grill becomes the center of many meals this time of year. Without any AC at all and many hot summer days of working from home, tossing a light and healthy meal on the grill at the end of a sweaty work day sounds like the perfect idea. But, also a perfect idea? Dinners that can be thrown together start to finish in under 30 minutes.
These Grilled Scallop and Veggie Skewers with Green Tahini are what summer weeknight meal dreams are made of. I love serving these alongside an herby cauli-rice. They’d also be great with regular rice, other grains of your choosing or atop a big green salad.
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Roasted Peach and Vanilla Bean Matcha Popsicles
Summer kicked off this week, we’ve had a killer heat wave in Southern California and wait for it…it’s also #popsicleweek!! ‘What is popsicle week?’, you ask. It’s just an epic celebration with basically ALL the food bloggers of the entire internet participating. OK that may be a bit of an overstatement, but whatevs, it’s over 100 popsicle recipes brought to us by our friend Billy of Wit & Vinegar. That’s right, for the fourth year in a row, the king of popsicles has declared a whole week dedicated to this summer-inspired frosty goodness on a stick.
So, this week is awesome and the popsicle week party is pretty much the be all end all of summertime frozen goodness. For my first popsicle recipe of the season, I bring you these beautiful, tasty Roasted Peach and Vanilla Bean Matcha Popsicles. Loaded with vibrant color and flavor.
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How-to Make Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Yesterday’s summer solstice marked the official start of summer, which means we also kicked off the season of grilling and barbecue. A good traditional barbecue sauce is key to a season of delicious backyard feasts. However, if you are like me, when you turn over most jars and bottles from the store, to investigate the ingredients, you are sorely disappointed. Most contain loads of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, various preservatives, thickeners, artificial flavors, colors and who know’s what else. Let’s be honest, they are also not all that good. We can do better!
Making your own sauce is incredible simple, you don’t need any special ingredients and with this simple tutorial and formula, I also give you the options to customize your sauce and make it just how you like it.
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Cantaloupe Creamsicle Smoothie
Part of the self-initiated responsibility that I have gladly taken on with Tasty Yummies and now as I move towards my Nutritional Therapy Practice, is to not only read about and research how traditional whole foods can play a role in our healthy lifestyles and healing journeys, but to also keep my ear to the ground about new (or new to me) nutrient-dense alternative foods. I especially am drawn to foods that are more under the radar, that may be of benefit to my readers and their health.I know that with this community we have created together here, we have a wide array or food allergies and intolerances and unique health concerns, so whenever I come across a food that may be of benefit to the community, I get really excited. Like little-kid-on-Christmas-morning stoked!
This particular discovery was one that I had heard about, long before I had the opportunity to sample it for myself. Camel milk. Yes, you heard me correctly, milk from a camel. Now, before you shy away I think it’s important to learn what makes this 100% wholesome, raw and natural milk an amazing alternative to cow’s milk.
Nutrition
For centuries, man has subsisted on raw camel milk – and this wisdom must be passed on! Unlike the homogenized, de-fatted and pasteurized cow’s milk you’ll find at the store, that is devoid of almost all of the beneficial vitamins and minerals naturally found, Desert Farms Camel Milk is raw, non-homogenized, it contains no hormones, preservatives or additives and the milk comes from camels that are pasture raised, 100% grass-fed on non-gmo feed and they are grain-free.
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Coconut Chai Fig Smoothie
If you have been reading Tasty Yummies for sometime, you know since moving to California 3 years ago, my
infatuationlove of figs runs very deep. The beautiful, big fig tree that we were blessed with, when we moved into this home, is one of the most magical gifts mother nature has ever given to me. The fig tree is a actually a long-standing symbol of abundance, fertility and sweetness, which is obviously quite fitting. Boy, does this tree produce in abundance! The only bad thing however, is just how short the season is. It’s over in a flash. Middle of the summer and that’s it.While we are still a month or so off from fresh figs, it doesn’t mean that I don’t crave those lusciously sweet fruits. Which is why California dried figs are the very next best thing. Available year round, from Valley Fig Growers, you can stay stocked up on your California dried figs throughout the off-seasons and continue to reap all of the many benefits of this super fruit.
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Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon
With summer nearly upon us, we are already planning a summer of BBQs, cookouts and picnics. While I am not a mayo hater by any means, I have always felt indifferent about traditional mayo-based potato salads. It’s just not my thing, something about it doesn’t sit well with me. I think it’s years of seeing it sitting in the sun at picnics, uncovered looking all gnarly. Yuck.
I have over the years developed several variations instead on vinegar and herby based potato and sweet potato salads that have become staples at all of my summer shindigs. That is until this Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon from Heather Christo’s book Pure Delicious. For the foreseeable future, this may just give all other potato salads the boot! It’s that good.
