Raw Cabbage with Salmon

Ingredients:

Half Regular Cabbage shredded (Raw)
Quarter Purple Cabbage shredded(Raw)
3 Oz. Baked Salmon (break into small pieces)and keep aside.
1 Tablespoon fresh Lime juice
few sprigs Cilantro chopped fine
**(Optional) 1 green chilli chopped fine or Black pepper powder
Mix well and eat the 8 to 10 cups of this salad in one sitting.

Works out great for me as dinner after a good weight training workout. Sometimes instead of the baked Salmon, add in just the white portion of 3 to 4 boiled eggs and throw out the yolks.

Yam/ Sweet Potato Salad

You could either use Yams or use Sweet Potatoes for this salad. It can be had as a snack or a meal by itself.

Ingredients:

1. 6 Yams or 6 Sweet Potatoes, scrubbed, cleaned, peeled and cubed.
2. 2 teaspoon Red chilli powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon Salt or adjust according to your taste.
4. 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper powder.
5. 1/2 teaspoon Olive oil
Toss all the above ingredients (from 1 to 5) together and mix well.
5. Pam Spray

Preheat Oven at 350°F for 10 mins. Grease the baking tray with a coat of lite Pam spray. After 10 mins, place the cubed Yams/ Sweet potatoes for another 30 mins or until tender.

6. 2 Red bell peppers- roast them directly on the burner till the skin turns black & the flesh gets soft & juicy. After they get done, let stand for 10 to 15 mins in a bowl to cool, covered with a Saran wrap. Then chop them into 1 inch pieces and keep them aside.

7. Take a can of "ready-to-eat" baked black beans, rinse them well & drain. Keep aside.

After 30 mins take out the tray from the oven & let the sweet potatoes cool down.

Dressing:

1. 1 teaspoon Curry powder
2. 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
3. 1 teaspoon Red Chilli powder/ Cayanne Powder
4. 2 teaspoon fatfree maple syrup
5. 3/4th a cup of fresh lemon juice
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
8. Fresh grated ginger about 1 teaspoon
9. 1/2 a cup of chopped, fresh scallions
10. 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive (EVOO)oil
11. 1/2 a cup of chopped Cilantro leaves
12. Large lettuce leaves

Whisk the above ingredients from 1 to 8 for a minute. In the end add the EVOO slowly into the mixture while still whisking.

Pour the dressing onto the baked yams/ Sweet potato cubes. Add the roasted red bell peppers, chopped scallions, baked black beans and toss lightly to combine. Arrange lettuce leaves on individual plates or on a large serving platter and mound the salad on top. Garnish with the chopped Cilantro leaves just before serving.

Note: If preparing the salad the night before, reserve about a third of the dressing. Bring the salad to room temperature and stir in the remainder of the dressing.

Vietnamese Spicy Cabbage salad (Raw vegetables)

This colorful, crunchy, tangy and spicy cabbage salad just fills you up. The salad is so refreshing as it cools you in this heat of Summer that I usually like to have 2 huge bowls of salad in the evenings. It is more like a slaw but without the calorie rich salad dressing. I love to pair it with grilled food, particularly one shredded chicken breast or a grilled fish fillet or sometimes with a couple of boiled egg whites for supper. The salad's chili kick and sweet tangy savory side provide wonderful flavor contrasts. I had it at my friend's place who is an expert in Vietnamese-style cooking and decided to include it in my list of recipe collection.

Dressing:

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup of fresh lime juice
2 or 3 short Indian green chilies, chopped or 2 large green horn peppers chopped fine.
1 clove garlic, chopped. (optional---you gotta brush your teeth :-) later ! )

**Watch it on the chilies. The mortar and pestle pounding releases all the oils and the dressing can be fiery -- enough to make you sweat a bit or feel overheated.

Using a mortar and pestle, mash the chili, garlic, ½ teaspoon sugar, and 1 pinch salt together into a fragrant greenish paste. (Use a sweeping motion at first to crush the ingredients and then pound.) This releases and combines the oils from the chili and garlic. Scrape the paste into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients of fresh lime juice. Slowly, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt in the paste and to combine well. Taste and alter the level of heat or if needed add more lime juice to create a spicy, tart, savory, lightly garlicky dressing. Mix well.

Ingredients for the salad:

1. 1/2 head green cabbage, about 1 pound or 4 cups of thinly sliced cabbage-
quartered through the stem end, cored, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide ribbons.

2. 1/2 a cup of shredded red cabbage (or just pick the prepacked, ready-to-eat, shredded ones from the salad section at the supermarket).

3. 1 large carrot, peeled and finely shredded.

4. 2 small radishes shredded

5. 1 English Cucumber, peeled skin & diced.

6. 1/2 a cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, or mint leaves

7. 1/4 cup coarsely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts (optional- for garnish & a little bit of good fat) or you could add a teaspoon of Udo's oil or flax seed oil on top of the salad instead of the peanuts.

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrot, radish, cucumber chopped herbs of your choice- either cilantro or mint leaves. Toss to combine and distribute the ingredients well. Chill it for half hour, if you like.

2. Just before serving, pour the lime dressing over the salad and toss to mix well. The salad will wilt slightly. Taste and adjust the flavors to your liking, balancing the sour, sweet, salty, and spicy.

3. Transfer to a serving plate, leaving any unabsorbed dressing behind. Garnish with the unsalted, roasted chopped peanuts or drizzle a teaspoon of Udo's or Flax seed oil and serve with your choice of protein. Enjoy !

**I skipped these ingredients for the dressing used in the original recipe from my friend, such as:
3 tablespoon of Fish sauce
6 tablespoons of rice Vinegar ( **I replaced it with fresh lime juice)
3 tablesppons of sugar (**just used 1/2 teaspoon of sugar for little bit of sweetness...you could instead use Artificial sweetner, though I do not know the long term effects of using Splenda or other sweetner)