Sesame Green Bean Salad

At one of my neighborhood Japanese restaurants they serve a green bean salad appetizer that I absolutely love.  It's served cold and tastes savory and a little sweet with toasted sesame seeds.  I was able to recreate the green bean salad at home and I made it to take with us on our camping trip.  It's perfect for picnics as well.  This salad is perfect to eat as an appetizer or along side sushi!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces

2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp brown rice vinegar

3 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Once boiling add green beans and cook until crisp/tender, about 8 minutes.  Drain green beans and place in ice water bath to stop the cooking.  Drain and set aside in bowl.
2. In a separate bowl whisk tamari, toasted sesame oil, tahini, maple syrup and brown rice vinegar until combined.  Pour dressing over green beans and toss to coat.
3. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and cover and refrigerate at least an hour.

My Daily Breakfast - Green Smoothies

If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that I'm really into making green smoothies for breakfast.  I like to post pictures of the different smoothie combinations I make.  Smoothies are a quick breakfast and are perfect for taking with you on your way to work.  My basic smoothie always contains a banana, one or two other fruits, kale and almond milk or water.  Lately I've been adding celery and/or parsley for more nutrients.  If the fruits are not sweet enough, I like adding a pitted medjool date for sweetness.

A high-speed blender is important in breaking down the kale stems and achieving a super smooth smoothie.  If you don't have a high-speed blender you can still make smoothies but I would suggest blending the greens with the liquid first.

Below is my basic smoothie recipe:
Yield 40 oz or 2 servings

• 2 cups filtered water or almond milk
• 1 banana
• 1 cup of one or two different types of fruit (for example mango & pineapple, blueberries & mango, blueberries & strawberries, apple & pear....possibilities are endless!)  In the photo I used just mango.  Frozen fruits are okay too.
• 5 kale stalks (or 2 cups spinach)
• Few ice cubes if not using frozen fruit
• 1/2 celery (optional)
• handful parsley  (optional)
• chia seeds 
• hemp seeds

If using high-speed blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.  If not using high-speed blender, blend greens with liquid first then add rest of ingredients and blend until smooth.  Top with chia seeds and hemp seeds.  Enjoy!