Eat Your Veggies Green Sauce
Christmas week was the greatest. We had so much fun, spent time with so many of our favorite people. Last year I was in a sleepless fog and barely registered what was going on. This year we have a toddler who decorates trees, sings Christmas songs, and loves Santa. I am totally the sappy, cheesy, sentimental parent right now. But this year was just so, so awesome.
With all the excitement, it was hard getting said toddler to eat. She'd rather run around with her cousins than sit down for a meal. I have some trusted stand-bys for this type of situation. So she ate lots of snacky stuff like green smoothies, fruit, almond butter, canned pumpkin, dried fruit, Larabars, and Epic bars. Totally fine, but I was itching to get some substance into her once we got home.
Same for me. Although I really don't go balls to the wall with food like I once did at the holidays, after 3 days of travel, sleepovers and WINE, I was ready to get back to my normal routine.
For me, that means lots of veggies. Most celebratory fare isn't exactly chockfull of vegetables. So my favorite way to do a mini-detox is to eat all the veggies. Especially the green ones. It's a surefire way to reduce that sluggish, puffy post-holiday feeling.
I made a chicken veggie soup, pulled together a big salad, roasted some veggies, and made this simple green sauce to dump over everything. The babe was 'bout it 'bout it, which was a win for me. She had it over chicken, baked sweet potato and roasted carrots and zucchini.
If you're looking to hoover some veggies (or get some into your little one), try this sauce. It's a play on pesto, so you can use it over pasta. Or better yet, try some of these ideas:
Salad dressing for salad or kale salad (see below for one of my favorite salads)
Dip for raw veggies
Sauce for zucchini noodles
Pour over roasted or steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, roasted carrots)
Topping for baked potato/sweet potato
Dump over chicken or fish before baking
For more ways to get yourself back on track after the holidays, and put some very good food, fitness and health habits in place for the new year, try Eat to Achieve, a 21 day online nutrition program..
GREEN SAUCE INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup & 2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup walnuts
3 packed cups arugula
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground sea salt
Place all ingredients in a high powered blender and blend until smooth. If you don't have a high powered blender, you may need to start with the liquid and walnuts first, then add the arugula. Store in an airtight glass container. Will last 3-4 days.
ALL GREEN, ALL GREEN EVERYTHING SALAD
2 large handfuls arugula, or any chopped greens (kale, lettuce, mesclun mix)
1 heaping tablespoon Eat Your Veggies Green Sauce (use more if you prefer a creamier texture to your salad)
1/2 avocado, chopped
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
Optional: hardboiled or fried egg for additional protein
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix sauce into the greens in a large salad bowl. Add avocado and hemp seeds, toss to coat.
