Feature-press Archives - Pamela Salzman

Dinner Planner – Week of June 10th, 2019

My son’s last day of school is this Wednesday and I am looking forward to him having a bit of a break. I am personally looking forward to having a break from making lunches. Have I mentioned that before? (I’m pretty sure I have LOL.) One of my daughters has an internship in Pittsburgh for the summer, so I am going to visit her next weekend. I promised her we’d do a little meal prep in her apartment before I left. Both my girls really like home-cooked meals which means I have at least done one thing right! They both cook for themselves often, but it’s always more enjoyable when your mom does it for you. Nothing could make me happier!

I just finished filming June’s online cooking class which is a brunch menu, although truly the recipes can be eaten any time of day. I taught the recipes all week and they are fabulous! Plus, as always, lots of good info about nutrition, making the recipes your own, and more. The goal of all my classes is to encourage you to cook more, with ease and confidence, and ultimately make you a better cook so that you can cook without recipes! A dinner planner is one strategy to help you cook with less stress, more often and more healthfully + you’ll save money when you only buy wheat you need.

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Dinner Planner – Week of June 3rd, 2019

Please note: this post contains links to ProLon. If you make a purchase from one of these links, I may receive a small commission.

Sorry for the delay in this week’s dinner planner. Wordpress was having some glitches, but all is resolved! I know many schools are out for summer already. Wow! My son still has another week and a half, but I told him I am done with making lunches. Perhaps I am a less than ideal mother in the home stretch, but I am tapped out! I will continue to nourish him with lovely, nutritious breakfasts and dinners, of course.

Starting Sunday, I am actually doing my second round of Prolon’s Fasting Mimicking Diet this year, my fifth time overall. So no homemade dinners for me Sunday through Thursday this week. I have mentioned on the blog and on Instagram many times that I have obsessively researched fasting and its myriad health benefits and I never feel as good as the tail end of the Fasting Mimicking Diet. It is not easy, but it’s not impossible either, and it’s also not a crash diet nor a “cleanse.” This modified fast is beneficial for healthy aging, metabolic health, and weight loss (disclaimer: in a clinical study, ProLon is shown over three cycles to help individuals lose an average of 5.7 lbs and 1.6 inches off their waist circumference), among other benefits. If you’re interested in learning more, here’s a link to Prolon’s site. They have given me a discount code for my followers if you’re interested in trying it out. Use code pamela25 for one 5-day kit or for a subscription if you want multiple kits.

Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Mushroom and Leek Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust Recipe and My Online Cooking Classes

Mushroom and Leek Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust | Pamela Salzman

I had a wonderful few days in NY. It was a perfect balance of fun (spending time with my family) and work, which was also fun! Thank you to The Feed Feed, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Keri Glassman and Nutritious Life, and Real Simple Magazine for the great live collaborations. Hopefully you guys were able to catch some of the segments, but if not, my goal is to jump on Instagram Live from my kitchen today and/or tomorrow while I am cooking for Passover.Continue reading

Asparagus and Spinach Salad with Quinoa Video

A little side note: when we shot this video, we used 1 cup pre-rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water. The recipe link above calls for 1 cup quinoa and 1 3/4 cups of water because that is how I make it at home and I rinse my quinoa in a fine mesh sieve. Hope that makes sense!

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Asparagus and Spinach Salad with Quinoa

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa
Kosher salt for salting water
1 bunch medium asparagus spears, about 1 pound, woody ends trimmed
3 golden medium-large golden beets, tops removed and reserved for another use; roasted, peeled and cubed, about 1 ½ cups
2 cups baby spinach leaves
Mint Vinaigrette:
¼ cup diced red onion
1 clove garlic
½ cup fresh mint leaves
3 Tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon raw honey
¾ teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Rinse the quinoa with cold water in a fine mesh sieve. Transfer to a medium saucepan and add 1 ¾ cups water. Bring to a boil, cover and lower to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes or until all water has been absorbed. Allow to sit off the heat, covered for an additional 10 minutes.
Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and submerge the asparagus for 2 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge the asparagus in the ice water bath until cooled. Remove from the water, pat dry and cut into 1-inch pieces.
Prepare the vinaigrette: in a blender or a food processor, combine the onions, garlic, mint, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Turn the motor on and add the olive oil in a slow steady stream.
Place the spinach leaves in a large salad bowl. Add the quinoa, beets and asparagus to the spinach. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste for seasoning.

Notes

Feta and walnuts are both fantastic in this salad.