Garden Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Hard to believe we are already on the tail end of our summer season, but I will relish in the sweetness that is summer produce while I can!
Wearing myself out of a traditional salad with lettuce, I took a different route for lunches this week making more of a veggie salad. BYE lettuce! haha
If you can get to a farmers market or produce stand for the veggies in the recipe, I highly recommend. Fresh produce vs grocery store produce makes all the difference in flavor.


Ingredients:

• 1 large garden tomato, diced/seeded
• 2 small pickling cucumbers OR 1 large cucumber, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small or 1/2 large red onion, sliced
• 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 4oz container crumbled feta cheese
• 3 Tbs EVOO
• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt/pepper to taste

In large mixing bowl combine first 6 ingredients and season with salt/pepper. In a separate small bowl combine EVOO, vinegar, and oregano. Pour over veggies. Store in fridge overnight. 

This makes 3 lunch servings. 

If you want lunch for the week, I'd recommend doubling the recipe. 

Shrimp and Veggie Curry

Blew my own skirt up tonight. I've made curry numerous times now, but I knocked it out of the park tonight! 

This curry came together quite quickly yet tasted like it had been simmering for hours. Get ready to take a trip to Thailand in your very own kitchen! 

Ingredients 

• evoo or coconut oil (your call!)

• 2 Tbs red curry paste 

• 1 14 oz can whole coconut milk 

• 1/2 zucchini, sliced 

• 1/2 onion, sliced 

• 8 oz container of pre sliced baby Bella mushrooms 

• 2 garlic cloves, diced 

• 1 cup chopped cauliflower, roasted 

• 12 fresh shrimp, cleaned and peeled 

• salt to taste 

**Cooks note: I used leftover roasted cauliflower, so be sure to roast ahead of time. 

Preheat evoo in large skillet to medium heat. Add mushrooms and sauté about 5 minutes. (Do NOT salt them until they're cooked, it will make them rubbery)

To mushrooms, add zucchini and sauté another 4-5 minutes. Salt to taste. Remove veggies from pan and set aside. In same pan heat 2-3 more Tbs of evoo and add onion and garlic. Sauté 2-3 minutes then add curry paste and can of coconut milk. 

Bring to a boil then reduce and simmer for 5 minutes. After 5 min, add shrimp. Cook shrimp in sauce for 3 minutes then add all veggies. Simmer another 2-3 minutes. Serve! 

Serving size:2 

* feel free to serve with jasmine rice! I will say though, it doesn't need it. Serve this in a bowl with a spoon and you'll be in foodie heaven. :)

* roasting veggies is easy: toss them with evoo, place on lined baking sheet and bake @425 for about 15 minutes 

* don't like my veggie choices? Pick your own 3! You could use green beans, broccoli, anything you think would be good! You could also just double up on shrimp and leave the mushrooms, zucchini, and cauliflower out!

Peach Sorbet

Hey friends! Long time! I recently started a little cleanse, some say it sounds like the whole 30. No processed foods, no alcohol, no processed sugars. (Meaning fruit is totally allowed!) Needing a sweet tooth fix, I decided to make my own 'sorbet'. While it may not be authentic, it's freaking delicious and the perfect summer treat. Did I mention it takes less than 5 minutes to make? 

Ingredients:

• 1-2 fresh peaches, peeled and diced

• 2-3 Tbs unsweetened coconut milk(not the canned, but the kind found with other milks)

Ahead of time, toss peaches in freezer. They actually freeze in a couple of hours so the wait isn't long. 

Place peaches and milk in food professor and process until smooth. How easy is that? 

Enjoy! 

• makes one serving 

While I haven't tried it, I highly recommend trying other fresh local produce too. I did try frozen store bought berries and it WASN'T good. Fresh is the way to go.