Sesame Edamame Salad and Does ANYONE Remember Fantasy Island??

Hi everyone and please click on the title of this post to read more. First off, I would like to welcome all my new blog subscribers from the NCC where I did a workshop this week discussing healthy and economical meals for the family. It was a pleasure to hear how so many lovely ladies buy their individually wrapped chicken at Costco like me, but not so great to see that very few got my “fantasy Island” reference-am I that old??? Welcome!

Anyhow, I wanted to talk about one of the issues we discussed in the workshop which was exposing our kids to healthy food. When I went to the City last week, I visited my friend Julie who lives in park Slope (O.K., Manhattan is the REAL City but I am throwing her a bone). So, my daughter and I walked into her house and her daughter, age 7, was eating, by choice, a Greek salad for lunch. If that wasn’t enough to shock the edamame beans out of their shell (see video below), Julie also told me that her daughter’s new favorite food is dried Korean seaweed that she now trades with her friends at school lunch for… get this… Oreos.

Granted, this is not typical behavior, but I feel a need to point out that Julie is a tremendously healthy eater whose favorite foods include marinated vegetables and salads. I find it to be no surprise that her 7 year old has been exposed to healthy behavior and is now emulating that behavior. Yes, she may have some genetic predisposition to preferring vegetables over other foods but if her mother were eating Chips Ahoy all day, I doubt she would be requesting salad.

All to say that a conscious effort to expose our kids to healthy eating can really make a difference in their choice of foods. (I won’t comment on how when my friend Jo was watching my kids the night of my healthy workshop, she turned them all on to her mountain of leftover salty Easter ham-thanks a lot, Jo :-))

Here is a healthy and tasty recipe that I hope you like. Before you read it, however, I hope you will read the following that I found handwritten on a small square of paper on the soggy ground earlier this week. It was on the corner when I was waiting for my daughter’s school bus. I believe that someone or something from above guided me to pick it up to share with you:

“You can accomplish anything you want in this world, provided you want it badly enough and are willing to pay the price.

-I made a commitment in public and I couldn’t back down

-Always put yourself on the spot. Tell everyone what your goals are, leave yourself no room to cop out, lock all escape hatches and then you can move in only one direction-forward”

If this is not about our cooking goals, I don’t know what is….

Sesame Edamame Salad:

1 1b bag shelled and cooked edamame-soy beans (can buy frozen at Whole Foods but ONLY buy it shelled)
2 cups cooked brown rice (optional)
2 cups chopped mushrooms, any kind
1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped with seeds (optional)
1 shredded or diced carrot
2 handfuls chopped walnuts
1/4 cup currants (can buy at Whole Foods-they are like tiny raisins) or golden raisins
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
juice of one large lime
1 TBS canola oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium frying pan on a low-medium flame, heat up oil and cook chopped mushrooms until wilted. Let cool and combine with all the other ingredients in a large bowl. Combine until well mixed and add more of any ingredients you like. Serve with some dips and whole wheat pita chips and enjoy!

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