Foodie Friday: Salad Bar!

Salad Bar

This is a repost from my blog 365 Days of Clean Eating

My Family & a couple of the kids friends that were over for dinner:)

We have started back with the tradition of family dinners!!!  With our family, that makes for some interesting conversations, interesting AWESOME conversations.

We've discussed all sorts of things from the Cold War, to my husband's somewhat... unusual past (so far I've avoided being questioned, but the kids are merciless on their dad... and the reactions are priceless.  Apparently they thought he'd most been a goody two shoes most of his life.)  Kainan being in Public School now always brings new and interesting topics as well.  He is SUCH a character.  Basically, a table full of really good story tellers makes for EPIC dinner conversations!

We're doing well during the week, but on the weekends, there seems to be too much running this way and that, so I decided that I'd just lay out some fresh veggies and salad fixings.  I've found that my kids rarely think to open up the fridge and grab veggies, but if I have them out and easy to access, we all eat a lot more of them.

Patrick playing chess with the kids, noshing on veggies and hummus between turns.

Family Salad Bar with some of our favorite toppings:

**Except when linked to a website, the rest of this information is from the awesome book Eat Well, Be Well by Pierre Jean Cousin

Sesame Seeds:

"The seeds are also very good source of dietary proteins with fine quality amino acids that are essential for growth, especially in children. Just 100 g of seeds provide about 18 g of protein (32% of daily-recommended values)"

Kale:

Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.

Spinach:  Rich in antioxidants and stimulates pancreas function.  Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Iron, Zinc & Carotene

Sprouted Lentils:  Folic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Protein, Carbohydrates.  "Lentils are nutritious, digestible, regulate colon function and should be eaten frequently as a part of a healthy diet."

Lettuce: 

Vitamins A, C, D, Folic Acid, E, Iron, Manganese, Potassium, Zing, Lactucarium.  "Because it is rich in fiber, it helps food to pass quickly through the intestines and aids digestion.  Lettuce contains lactucarium, a substance that has sedativeand analgesic properties, and is thought to be useful in the treatment of mild insomnia."  (wow.  Maybe I should eat more lettuce, my insomnia is AWFUL!)

Carrots:

"Carrots are rich in antioxidants and protect the body from certain types of cancer.  They boost the immune system and are useful in treating a range of ailments, from poor night vision to stomach ulcers."

Flax Seeds:

Almonds:  

Vitamins A, B, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Oleic Acid.  Almods are an energy providing, nutritious snack.  They have a balancing effect upon the nervous system and are useful for digestive problems.

Dried Cranberries:

A substantial number of recent studies have shown that whole cranberries consumed in dietary form—in comparison with purified cranberry extracts consumed in either liquid or dried supplement form—do a better job of protecting our cardiovascular system and our liver. Several groups of researchers have summarized their health benefit findings by pointing out that it is the synergy among cranberry nutrients (rather than individual cranberry components) that is responsible for cranberry's health benefits. This synergy is only found in the whole berry as consumed in food form. This rule about whole dietary intake appears to apply to the antioxidant benefits, anti-inflammatory benefits, and anti-cancer benefits of cranberry.

Cabbage:  

A long established remedy for a variety of digestive ailments.  It is also rich in antioxidants and can strengthen the immune system and help the body to overcome infection.

Cheese:  

We keep to a minimum.  Some of us avoid most dairy (except yogurt), so we go light on the cheese, but my hubby especially likes cheese on just about anything:)

Salad!!!  With Poppyseed Dressing

Paris created a happy face Grilled Cheese & Apple Sandwich for herself and Patrick:)

This made for a mostly raw day for me (except for the hummus), and I think it was AWESOME.  I woke up feeling so much better the next day.  I don't think I could pull off an all raw diet right now, but I certainly like having it be a part of every day, and then a full day of it on Sundays sounds perfect!  (Other than the hummus I ate with some of my veggies!:)

I've decided that hummus is not a very pretty food, but its SO yummy!

We finished off our day in the front room where some of us worked off and on with a big Hollywood puzzle, talked about the Avengers and why Patrick doesn't "buy" the Iron Man concept, because no one explained how Tony Stark doesn't die when he's thrown through a tree just because he's wrapped in a suit of metal.

I just stood in the middle of the room and snapped a few pics as I turned... This is our front family room/office/art/game room (You can see more photos of our front room here on my Always Family Blog)

And our dog, Kitty laid around being spoiled by Kainan, as usual.