Personal Training

Summer Side Dish Recipes/New Spin Playlist/Chickpeas

Posted on by Naomi
Hey!

This is going to be a post filled with recipes, sounds good right? I am in the process of moving into a new place this weekend so things are a bit hectic but did I mention how excited I am? I cannot wait!! Anyway, moving onto the recipes. My mom found these recipes and decided to serve them up on our Memorial Day BBQ. They were both outstanding. I mean really really good. And healthy! There were plenty of leftovers that got better everyday because like chili, the longer these ‘salads’ sit, the better they get!


Black Rice Salad with Mango and Peanuts. 
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 oranges
  • 1/4 C or more fresh lime juice
  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 1 T fish sauce (we omitted)
  • 2 C black rice
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 just ripe fresh mangoes, peeled, pitted and cute into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 C fresh cilantro (we used parsley instead)
  • 1 C diced red onion (about 1/2 large onion)
  • 6 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
Directions
  • Remove peel and white pith from oranges. Work over a medium bowl to catch the juices and using a sharp knife cut between the membranes to release the orange segments into the bowl
  • Squeeze membranes over the bowl to release any juices. Strain juices through a fine mesh sieve into a Small bowl. Reserve the orange segments
  • Add 1/4 C lime juice and fish sauce to the bowl with the orange juice and whisk to blend. Set aside
  • Bring the rice and 2 3/4 C water to a boil in a large saucepan. Season with salt. Cover and reduce the heat to low and simmer until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender (about 25 min)
  • Remove pan from heat and let stand, covered for 15 min. Spread the rice on a  rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with dressing and season lightly with salt. Let cool
  • Place mangoes and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add rice and toss gently to combine. Season with salt and more lime juice if desired

AND served. It was SO amazingly good. For those who like cilantro…feel free to use it instead of the parsley that my family used. We just seem to have a distaste towards it so left it out! It was such an amazingly light and delicious summer side dish! Perfect for BBQ’s! It is gorgeous as well. I had never used black rice before and was pleasantly surprised. It tasted very similar to brown rice but a little less chewy and almost more crunchy.  (that could have been due to less cooking time and we made it somewhat al dente)
Greek Style Quinoa With Feta Adapted from this recipe
Yields: 8-10

Ingredients
  • 3-4 C water or vegetable broth
  • 1 1/2 C quinoa (uncooked)
  • 1/4 C apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 1/2 C-3/4 C kalamata olives
  • 1/3 C-1/2 C fresh parsley
  • 1 Red onion, diced
  • 1-1 1/2 C cherry tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 C artichoke hearts
  • 2 baby cucumbers, chopped
  • 1 diced red bell pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste (do this after because there is natural saltiness from the olives)
  • 1/2 C crumbled feta or more to taste
Directions
  • In a medium sized pot cook the quinoa in the veggie broth or water according to the directions. Allow to cool completely
  • In a small bowl whisk together, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil
  • Gently toss the quinoa together with the remaining ingredients except the feta. Pour the olive oil mixture over the quinoa
  • Add salt and pepper to taste and the feta cheese.
  • Toss and serve!
Oh my gosh, this was so addicting!! It was again, light and summery and perfect to bring to a large gathering. The leftovers were amazing and I indeed took advantage! The next day, I put about 1/2 C of the mixture on top of a BIG salad with chicken and it was perfect!























Another recipe that tweeted about today and had a lot of questions about is a simple and delicious chickpea recipe! My dad is actually the originator of this recipe so I cannot take credit for it.  The trick is to buy the RAW chickpeas… He gets them at Whole Foods from the bulk bins. When you buy the raw chickpeas it is important to let them soak overnight to help them to cook faster. The method he uses is simply roasting them!

From Scratch Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
  • 2 C raw chickpeas
  • Water (enough to cover the beans)
  • salt + pepper
  • Any seasonings you like! (thyme, rosemary, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, dill, basil, oregano etc) Obviously not all together, but you can play around with different flavors!
  • Olive oil or cooking spray
Directions
  • Place chickpeas in a large bowl and let them soak overnight.
  • The next day, rinse them and pat dry. 
  • Place chickpeas in a large bowl with 1-2 T of olive oil and any spices you like. Toss around with a wooden spoon and Place them on a cookie sheet that is sprayed with olive oil spray or a bit more olive oil
  • Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees (tossing every 10 min or so)
  • They will be crunchy and delicious. Feel free to cook for longer or shorter depending on how crunchy and/or cooked you like them! I like them really well done so they are nice and crunchy!
Ideas:
  • Use in place of croutons in salads
  • Mix with cottage cheese and more spices for a protein packed snack
  • Mix with diced chicken and Greek yogurt for healthy and crunchy chicken salad
  • If you make them ‘sweet’ style with cinnamon, you could make a healthy trail mix with dark chocolate chips, roasted almonds and dried fruit
  • Throw them atop some scrambled eggs…because well, what could be bad about that?
  • Eat them by hand!


What else have I been eating? Eggs eggs and more eggs. A constant obsession After loving the combo of smoked salmon and eggs, I decided to throw in some chicken into the mix that I had left over. 
This was dinner the other night. I paired it with a large salad that had avocado, fresh mozzarella and a dressing made with balsamic vinegar, grainy mustard, orange juice and lemon. The omelet was packed with baby spinach, arugula, red onion, fresh basil, grilled chicken, salt and pepper. 

What else have I been doing?
I taught spin class again! Loved every minute and I think the packed class (24 people!)  loved it as well. Below is the play list I used
45 minute spin class playlist

And on that note
This says it all!

Have a great day!!



Naomi
Naomi

6 thoughts on “Summer Side Dish Recipes/New Spin Playlist/Chickpeas”

  1. goobernutslife says:

    All of those recipes sound so good! Thanks so much for posting– I’ve been in a real food rut with healthy eating lately.. It’s nice to have new ideas to make eating fun again! 🙂

    Recipe I’m most excited about? The roasted chickpeas.. I’ve never thought about making them “sweet-style” before and am now intrigued! Lol, I bet they’d be a delicious treat to add with trail mix, and they’re so protein packed, too! Thanks again! 😀

  3. Lisa says:

    I have been loving chickpeas. They are so good roasted with coconut oil and cinnamon or nutritional yeast. Or made into a ” cookie dough” type texture. I loooove spin class, it is definitely my favourite to complete at the gym. The energy is contagious!

  4. miss omy says:

    Nice playlist! Scissor sisters just bought out a new album, I know they collaborated with Calvin Harris recently . Should get some decent tracks off it 😉

  6. Pingback: Lemon Thyme Chicken, Quinoa + Full Body Burn-BOOM!

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