A few wonderful recipes I have tried from my client Sherrie.
Grilled Vegetable Salad
I love this Grilled Vegetable Salad! First, it is healthy, second, you can eat as much of
it as you want without having to worry about gaining weight! However, there is one
item on this platter that you need to watch how much you eat and that is the
fingerling potatoes. A few won’t do you in but if you are trying to watch your
starchy vegetable intake you could eliminate these.
I like to make a lot of this salad to have on hand for a few days. It is great by itself, or
you can add it to mixed greens or use as a side to your favorite meat dishes.
Here is what I like to grill for this salad but you could add other vegetables you like
as well. I am not giving you amounts for each of the items because they are so low in
calories you can cook as many as you think you might eat in three days!
Ingredients:
Bell Peppers ‐ red, green, yellow or orange ones will work
Asparagus ‐ cut bottom inch off and put in a glass with 1 inch of water and store in
the refrigerator
Fingerling or New Potatoes ‐ boiled or baked until fork tender
Eggplant
Zucchini
Mushrooms – white button, cremini, or baby bella’s
Fennel
Directions: Pre heat grill to medium heat. Clean the grill grates with steel brush.
1. Wash the peppers, asparagus, potatoes, zucchini and fennel. Do not wash the
mushrooms! Just wipe the mushroom off with a paper towel if they are dirty.
Pat all the veggies dry with a paper or cloth towel.
2. Cut the peppers in half the long way then take out the seeds and stem. Cut
each half into 4 strips.
3. Do not do anything to the Asparagus spears. Leave them whole.
4. You can cut the eggplant into ¼ inch circles or if you want a different look cut
the bottom and top off the eggplant, then stand the eggplant up on its bottom
and make long ¼ inch slices down the length of the eggplant. You can cut the
zucchini the same way as the eggplant. However, if you want long slices of
zucchini cut the zucchini in half widthwise first so it will be more stable when
you set it on the end to make the slices down the length of the squash.
5. Cut the top off the fennel bulb where the stalks meet the bulb. Cut the bottom
off the fennel then set the bulb up so it stands up on the bottom. Make slices
across the length of the bulb. You can use the fennel fronds to chop up and
put over all the grilled vegetables or use it as a garnish for your vegetable
platter.
6. The next step is to put a little extra virgin olive oil on all of the vegetables and
sprinkle on some salt and pepper or one of your favorite spice blends. Watch
the amount of oil you add. I usually put my EVOO in a squirt bottle so a can
lightly drizzle the oil. You could also use an oil spray like PAM.
Some of my favorite spice blends are Herbs de Provence and Italian blends,
Garlic Salt, Onion Powder, etc. I love the spice shop in Denver called Savory.
They have amazing spices and you can buy them in really small quantities if
you want to try something before deciding you want to purchase a whole
bottle.
I also love to use flavored olive oils from a new store at Market and 15th
street called EVOO. They have amazing Balsamic Vinegars and Infused Olive
Oils like Meyer Lemon, Garlic and Basil, which would be really good for this
recipe. You also can use any oil based vinaigrette salad dressing like Italian,
Balsamic, Raspberry, etc. You can’t go wrong, so play!
7. For the mushroom, just remove the stems and lightly add whatever oil you
decided to use.
8. Slice the pre‐baked or boiled potatoes in half and add a drizzled of oil. Season
with whatever spices you decided to use.
9. Place all the vegetables on the grill at once if you have room, if not, cook in
batches. Cook until they begin to soften but are not mushy. They should
have a little bit of a firm texture and not be “limp” if you want the most
nutrients. Start the mushroom out with the stem side facing up. This allows
the water from the mushrooms to collect the well created by removing the
stems. Once the well is full of water flip them over. This gives the
mushrooms a “meaty” texture without becoming soggy!
10. Arrange the vegetables on a platter and admire how beautiful they look!
Note: I like to serve these vegetables as a side to grilled fish, chicken, and low fat
sausages made from game, buffalo and chicken, which are available at Whole
Foods Market.
Questions? Call Executive Chef Sherrie Robbins at 303‐296‐3966.
On Saturday I took my wife Heidi through our first workout together in almost 6 months. I know I have been slacking, she was long overdue for a workout with me. I was shocked how strong my wife is. What surprised me even more was the fact she was cutting her strength short by 25%. For some reason the last time I trained her she left with the impression every set had to include 20 reps. For example, she easily can do 15 lbs curls for 20, one arm rows with 25 lbs for 20. What she didn't know is she could do 22.5 lbs curls for 12 and 40lb rows for 12 reps. That is an increase of over 30% from what she was normally doing. This little decrease in the amount of reps and the increase in weight will make dramatic differences to her physique. So for everyone looking for a little change up in their routine decrease your reps and increase the weights with your exercises, your body will appreciate the new challenge.
