August 2022 Newsletter
FEATURED RECIPE: Spinach, Chickpeas & Quinoa “Gut-Health” Salad
Hello everyone and happy grilling from hot sizzling Chicago!! This has been one hot and humid summer with brutal heat followed by intense thunderstorms in Illinois. Even in this heat, Nature calls and we have been going out early in the mornings to enjoy the trails around Chicagoland. After a hike we enjoy this refreshing salad that is delicious and keeps our body & gut in good health!
I and Vishak have been exploring the trails around the Des Plaines River this year. The Des Plaines River Nature Preserve Trail is a wonderful trail system with everything from easy strolls to a nice hike. Lots of shade and beautiful wildflowers. Sometime though we have slacked and settled for walking around the neighborhood catching up with others in our community. Do share with us your favorite summer outdoor activities.
Enjoy the summer season. Eat Healthy. Be Healthy.
Thank you, as always, for staying in touch with us!
Nalini
For Our Customers
Heard from many of you that you enjoyed trying out the recipe from our last newsletter. Once again thanks for sharing your experience and recommending our products to your friends and family. Don’t forgot to remind your friends/loved ones to put your email in “Did a friend refer you?” under “Additional Information”. That will let us reward you with an exclusive one-time use discount code for 10% off your total online order (excluding shipping and taxes). Your exclusive one-time code will be valid for six months and you will receive it from info@nalskitchen.com.
Also, as a subscriber you can now get free shipping on your first website purchase of $49.99 or more. Just type in the code “FREESHIPNEWS”. This code is not to be combined with any other code.
Enjoy Shopping!!
Healthy Musings
Onions are a favorite ingredient of mine for their versatility and depth of flavor. They are rich in flavonoids that have so many health benefits. In my salads, I favor red onions for their rich color and mild flavor. Although they can make you cry while chopping…. peel the onion and soak them in cold water a few minutes before chopping and good chances you are not going to be teary eyed. Speaking of onions, a fun fact is that they can help you re-grow hair and are great for cleaning barbecue grills. My mom always cleaned her pan with onions while making dosa (Indian savory crepes) to absorb the excess oil on the pan and remove the left-over crumbs.
Featured Recipe
This is my favorite gut healthy salad that I can eat 365 days. Especially great when my body is out of balance, and I am feeling not so good or a bit bloated.
Very easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and just add in the dressing before eating. If you are a salad in a jar person, put the dressing first, followed with chickpeas, quinoa, spinach and then the rest. Our Honey Ginger Dressing pulls all these wonderful ingredients together to make it a delicious salad and its ingredients rich antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties help to improve gut health.
The main ingredient is Spinach, a low-calorie food rich in fiber and nutrients like vitamin-E & magnesium that boost your immune system. Chickpeas that is high in plant-based proteins and fiber to promote cardiovascular health and help control blood sugar. Quinoa a great gluten-free grain loaded with fiber, protein, folate, and magnesium. Then mix in cucumber, tomatoes, red onions & sweet pepper. All rich in flavonoids whose anti-inflammatory properties protect your cells form oxidative damage that can lead to diseases. You can make a big bowl or little bowl of this salad by simply cutting into half or doubling or tripling the ingredients and it will turn out YUMMY!!
If you want to learn more on the health benefits of the ingredients check out these sites…
a) Spinach: https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-health-benefits-of-spinach
b) Chickpea: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/health-benefits-of-chickpeas/
c) Quinoa: https://health.clevelandclinic.org & https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-health-benefits-quinoa
d) Cucumber, tomatoes, red onions & sweet pepper: Cucumbers are rich in electrolytes for hydration. Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C that help reduce cell-damaging free-radicals in the body and will give you a youthful skin. Onions contain over 25 different flavonoids and that can reduce oxidative stress and appears to reduce bone loss. Mini / Sweet pepper are low calorie, high-fiber foods. According to the Arthritis Foundation, bell peppers may help to reduce the risk of developing some types of arthritis and other inflammatory health conditions.
Don’t forget to drop us a line, on our Facebook or email: info@nalskitchen.com, as to how you made and enjoyed this dish.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
4 cups of chopped spinach leaves
2 (15.5 oz each) canned chickpeas, drained & rinsed in colander (or about 3 cups of cooked chickpeas drained and rinsed)
1½ cups of cooked quinoa (approximately ½ cup of dry/uncooked quinoa will make 1½ cups of cooked quinoa)
4 small cucumbers diced (cut in half in length and then dice, not too thin)
24 cherry tomatoes halved
½ cup of finely chopped red onions (can be increase to ¾ cup)
2 sweet peppers finely chopped
¾ cup or as desired of the Honey Ginger Dressing
Directions
Cook quinoa per instruction on packet. Set aside to cool and fluff with fork.
In a big bowl add all the remaining ingredients. Preferred layering order:
a) Chickpeas
b) Quinoa
c) Spinach
d) Cucumber
e) Cherry tomatoes
f) Red Onion
g) Sweet peppers
Add the dressing and mix.
Ready to be served
Variations to the Salad
Freshly grated black pepper Or
White sesame seeds Or
Chopped walnuts Or
Feta cheese