Thinking outside our own boxes is a constant struggle for many of us. Cooking is not something that comes naturally to me. I really fight for every good meal I add to my repretoire. Salads on the other hand, come really easily to me, because no "good Greek kid" is worth her weight if she can't make a good salad. So, I was trained from a young age repeatedly night after night until I had it down. My mother, whom I love very much, as much as dumped a few in the trash and made me start all over again a couple of times! She wasn't one to coddle me because I was little. Funny, but, true!

Anyway, lately I have been exhausted by the words, "mommy, I don't want to eat my salad", and equally tired of responding with the words that never work, "you all are from mediterranean cultures, you HAVE to eat salad and like it!" That sounds really dumb as I write it now, but, I actually have uttered those ridiculous words. So a few weeks ago I had the idea to do them differently. And, weirdly, I thought they would like it less and that Boaz and I would instead be fans. But, they LOVE it! 

So, what I did was put brocolli and green beans in the food processor and process it down to bits about the size of peas then stop.I have also added carrots to the base sometimes as well. That is the base, then I would add my other small cut veggies-for us I would do yellow or orange or red bell peppers cut very small, and cherry tomatoes cut small, leaks, avocado, and radishes. Of course, I mix this up and change it up. And yes, you could do this concept with anything you are eating and like. changing the texture in this way changes the meal completely and it is really wonderful.

My standard seasoning for salads is always-garlic powder, pink salt, dried basil, olive oil and lemon. It tastes so fresh and honestly, everyone loves my salads-which is a relief because not everyone loves my cooking:)

Another cool thing I did because of something a patient suggested is to put cauliflower in the food processor and chop it down to rice size bits and sautee it gently with whatever seasonings you want. I did cumin garlic powder and pink salt and butter and olive oil. I served it as rice. My kids LOVED that too! So, I did it again with the addition of brocolli into the mix. Another hit. 

Anyway, these are some new ideas, at least for me-maybe you have already done them. If you like anything new, post it here and I willa dd to the recipe page, which long awaits new ideas:)

Dr.M