EatingWell to Eat More Vegetables

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We’re teaming up with EatingWell to help you Eat More Vegetables! There’s one simple change anyone can make to eat better and be healthier: Eat more vegetables! And the folks at EatingWell Magazine are challenging themselves and us to eat 30 vegetables in 30 days! The Eat More Vegetables Challenge kicks off today and you can find healthy recipes to try a different vegetable every day as well as helpful tips for buying, storing and prepping your veggies all HERE! 

And to help you at home- EatingWell Vegetables is the ultimate book to help anyone make that change—deliciously. Written by the editors of EatingWell magazine, this book offers step-by-step basic cooking instructions with full-color photos for 101 vegetables, plus 200 easy vegetable-packed (though not necessarily vegetarian) recipes. Get it in stores in June!

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Join the EatingWell Magazine group on VegOut! Race with EatingWell staffers and readers to reach the top of the leaderboard: Who can up their veggie game the most? And join EatingWell online—on Facebook, Instagram and eatingwell.com—where we’ll be featuring recipes for 30 different vegetables in 30 days this June. We’ll also be giving away a copy of EatingWell Vegetables each day on our Facebook page.

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Veg is the New Black at Neiman Marcus

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Last week welcomed a fabulous designer, a talented chef and lovely guests to Neiman Marcus Houston for a very special VegOut! themed Dress for Dinner! As we know, veggies really are the new black!

Carrie Colbert
Dress for Dinner Chair, Carrie Colbert, and Designer Rubin Singer with Models.
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Dress for Dinner is Recipe for Success Foundation’s signature fundraising series, chaired by Carrie Colbert, that celebrates food and fashion! Those who missed the event were certainly “green with envy” as attendees had the chance to mix and mingle with renowned designer Rubin Singer before his gorgeous designs took over the runway. VIPs were treated to an exclusive dinner with Rubin Singer created by Roost Executive Chef Kevin Naderi.

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Recipe for Success Founder, Gracie Cavnar, Bob Cavnar and Neiman Marcus President Bob Devlin.
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Recipe for Success Supporters Kim Padgett and Laura Max Rose.

One lucky VegOut! participant, even won lunch for four at the lovely Mariposa Cafe inside Neiman Marcus Houston! You can VegOut! every day this month at the Mariposa and Neiman Marcus restaurants across the U.S. Look for delicious Veggie of the Day specials or their classic, veggie-filled dishes like the Lobster Cobb Salad!

 

TAble scape 2 Menu Place settingAnd to really prove that veggies are the new black, Neiman Marcus is giving award TWO, $100 gift cards to two FINISHERS of the Challenge! Follow @InstaGlamHouston and @R4SFoundation on Instagram and send us your best “fashionable” veggie pic with the hashtags #VegOut2016 and #VegIsTheNewBlack for a chance to win a $100 NEIMAN MARCUS GIFT CARD!  The more you post, the more chances you have to win, but you must be registered to VegOut!, be a member of the Veg Is The New Black team and finish the Challenge in March to be eligible for the drawing.

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Ashton’s Kale Caesar Salad

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For the 2014 VegOut! Challenge, Amy Anton, Houston mom of three boys, shares a favorite recipe of her eldest, which just happens to be a simple and tasty way to check kale off of your Veggie Log, as well as a way to get the kids in the kitchen.

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When I picked up my twelve-year-old from camp last year, the first thing he asked for was a Kale Caesar Salad. Wow, you might think, what an enlightened child, what a lucky mom. In some ways yes, in others, I just chuckle.

Kale is the super food of the year, on every menu in town, and, really yummy, but that is not why he loves it. He loves kale because it is a hearty leaf that can stand up to a serious Caesar dressing with a flurry of cheese, and still have fortitude. There’s no limp, watery lettuce here. It’s just stiff greens with briny anchovies, tart lemon, and the nutty goodness of parmesan. If that’s what it takes for him to inhale an entire bunch of kale, so be it. There are a couple tricks we have learned along the way that make the salad the success that it is.

First, hold the rib of the kale in one hand and, with a sharp knife, just cut down the rib to remove the leaf. The rib is too bitter and hard to eat most of the time. Then chop chop chop all of the kale into fine pieces.

The recipe for the dressing is below, but we have a couple pointers. For one, mellowing the garlic in the lemon juice is a good thing, as it removes the raw garlic taste you would have otherwise. Also, don’t be shy with the anchovies. Ashton has been known to slip in 6-8 anchovies! He likes strong flavors.

And last, massage the kale. Kids love to get their hands dirty, so this is fun for an idle child begging for dinner now. Massaging the dressing into the leaves with your hands really makes a difference. The kale needs to be persuaded into accepting the dressing, melding the flavors into one.

There are also endless possibilities for add-ins: tart cherries, avocado, pepitas, slivered almonds, thinly sliced radish… you name it.

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Ashton’s Caesar Salad

Ingredients

For dressing: 

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice of 1-2 lemons

Dash Worcestershire sauce

1 T Dijon mustard

2 anchovy filets

Yolk of 1 egg

1/2 C grape seed oil (or other mild flavored oil)

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

For salad:

1 head kale

Add-ins (optional)

Directions

  • Juice the lemon, mince the garlic and combine, letting them sit in a small mixing bowl while you chop the kale.
  • Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, anchovies, and egg yolk.
  • Slowly add the oil while whisking constantly.
  • Whisk in the the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Pour desired amount of dressing over kale and massage it into the leaves.
  • Let dressed salad sit, covered, in the fridge for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors.
  • Top with desired add-ins, if using, and serve!

Try Ashton’s recipe and let us know what you think, or share YOUR favorite ways to eat kale below.

Bon appetit!

30 Days?!

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This March, Recipe for Success Foundation will host its second-annual VegOut! 30 Ways in 30 Days Challenge, motivating folks to eat 30 different vegetables in 30 days during National Nutrition Month. Bustling schedules and picky palettes can make the task of nourishing a family an uphill battle, so how do you get your brood to eat 30 different vegetables period, much less within one month?

Houston mom Amy Anton has a plan.

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30 Ways in 30 what!?! There is no way I can do it again this year. I have three boys who will eat some veggies, but certainly not 30, and we have school, and homework, and lacrosse… and busy lives!

But this is important.

OK, breathe, and make a plan of attack.

March is busy with sports and we have a whole week off at spring break, during which we will be eating out a lot. I think I will frontload to get as many veggies as I can in during the first two weeks. That way, I can relax and we can have fun with the Challenge in the second half of the month. After all, it’s “an easy, delicious food adventure”, it’s supposed to be fun!

So, what to start with? Salads. Remember, salad dressing can be a friend, and if I make a yummy dressing or grate in some parmesan, they will usually eat it all. Possibilities are endless there. If I am really in a pinch, I can run to the salad bar and load up on already chopped goodies.

Then, I can alternate with a huge pan of roasted veggies – squash, zucchini, cauliflower and bell peppers. Just toss with some olive oil and a roast in a 375 degree oven, and there’s four more to add to the Veggie Log.

Add my oldest child’s favorite, Kale Caesar, to the list, maybe even with sliced radishes, and we’re on our way! Stay tuned for Ashton’s recipe for Kale Caesar. It’s a keeper!

How will YOU tackle the 2014 VegOut! Challenge? Tell us in the comments!