Month: August 2012

Contests & Giveaways, Lunch, Recipes, Vegetarian

Dole Salad Circle Party + Giveaway

Happy Monday, I hope that you had a fantastic weekend!
Motivation Monday: “Eat better, feel better”

When DOLE asked me if I would like to host a Salad Circle Party, I was pumped. Wait… beyond pumped… I was overly excited! Before I could even respond, I had my party completely planned out. I had visions of cute little fruit and veggies balloons hanging from the tree and all of my friends joining together to make one giant Friendship Salad. After my reply to DOLE, “When is the soonest I can host my party?” my vision quickly became a reality. DOLE was kind enough to send me the perfect starter kit and basis of my salad party: a plethora of fresh greens of DOLE Extra Veggie mixes with Snap Peas, Grape Tomatoes, and Garden Vegetables, some gorgeous Dole Hand Picked Selections Red Butter, Green Butter, and Green Oak whole lettuce heads, along with a wooden salad bowl, matching tongs and awesome goodies for my guests! Each guest received a DOLE reusable grocery bag, DOLE salad or cut-vegetable item coupons, DOLE fresh vegetable product or berry coupons, and a Salad Circle Recipe Booklets, and Salad Guides!

When I invited my friends to come over for a Salad Circle Party, I think everyone was a bit confused! Seriously, a party for salad? Oh yes, but not your average party or your average salad. This is the Olympics of salad parties.

Instead of preparing a salad for my guests, I wanted them to be a part of it! I wanted to try something new and have each person take part in the making of a Friendship Salad. I requested that each guest bring an ingredient that began with the first letter of their first name. As the host and official “Salad Guide” (thanks for the amazing apron, DOLE!) I started the Friendship Salad with a bed of fresh DOLE greens. We went around the table in a circle tossing each of our ingredients on top of the crisp mix of DOLE lettuces, and I couldn’t help but wonder what this masterpiece would taste like. I actually cringed at one point… We had quite an interesting ingredient list going on! After everyone put their ingredients into the bowl, I completed the Friendship Salad with a drizzle of dressing and gave it a nice toss. The mishmash of ingredients blended into a gorgeous array of colors and incredible flavor. Hesitant to try the salad, I took my first bite and was pleasantly surprised as to how oddly, but perfectly, the flavors came together. You would not believe that this combination of less than ordinary ingredients was seriously DOLEicious! It turned out so well that I and many of my friends ended up going back for seconds! A Salad Circle Party will definitely be a new summer tradition in my kitchen. It’s a fun, affordable, and healthy way to entertain guests and every salad will always be different!



Catherine/Host: Greens & Dressing
Holding Dole Hand Picked Selections Green & Red Butter lettuce heads.

Anthony: Avocado & Brett: Beets

Cathie: Corn & Jessica: Jicama

Linda: Lentils & Lauren: Lemon

Michael: Mozzarella & Mike: Medjool Dates

Patrick: Pineapple & Sarah: Sunflower Seeds

Tammy: Tangerines & Trevor: Tomatoes













Huge thank you to DOLE for all of the Salad Circle goodies!

DOLE is offering one lucky RFFMBT reader a change to host their own salad party for 10!
The lucky winner will receive a Salad Circle Pack consisting of:
1 DOLE salads apron
1 wooden salad bowl and tongs
10 DOLE reusable grocery bags
10 DOLE salad guides
10 DOLE salad circle recipe booklets
20 DOLE coupons (10 DOLE Salad or cut vegetable item coupons & 10 DOLE fresh vegetable product or berries coupons)

For your chance to win:

  • Leave a comment on this post “Dole Salad Circle Party + Giveaway” telling me what your favorite salad ingredient is!
  • You can earn a second entry by tweeting: “I entered for a chance to host a @DOLESaladGuide Salad Circle Party via @EatRabbitFood http://bit.ly/MrMrWG .”
  • Complete your second entry by leaving a second comment on this post with a copy of your tweet.
  • All entries must use a valid email address.
  • Open to U.S. residents only.
  • All comments must be posted by Thursday, August 9th at 11:59pm (PST).
  • 1 winner will be randomly selected and announced on Friday, August 10th.

For more DOLEicious salad ideas and information, visit their Twitter and Facebook!

* The giveaway has ended, and the winner will be announced on Friday, August 10.
** Congratulations to the winner: Vanessa G. from TN.

| 209 Comments
DIY

DIY Recycled Gift Bow

A couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of my famous newspaper gift wrapping and bow on Instagram and a few of you wanted a tutorial, so here is it! Although this isn’t a Fashion Friday DIY, and it has nothing to do with health or fitness… I did use Fitness Magazine as my bow material and the Sports section of the Los Angeles Times for my Wrapping! Plus, I just love DIYs and it’s still something fun and easy to make! I cannot tell you how many times I was wrapping paper-less in college. It seemed like every week was someone’s birthday, and I needed a makeshift gift wrap that didn’t look like it was thrown in a Trader Joe’s grocery bag, although I have done some sweet wrapping with those bags! The possibilities of recycled gift bows and wrapping are endless from magazines, newspaper, maps, photos, and posters. Whatever you decide to use, you can make some gorgeous eco-friendly custom wrapping!


DIY Recycled Gift Bow
Makes 1 cute bow

1 magazine page
1 ruler
1 pen
1 pair of scissors
1 stapler
1 roll of tape
10 minutes


1. Select one magazine page for your bow. It can be random or based on color, pattern, etc.
2. Carefully remove your selected page from the magazine.
3. With a ruler and pen, measure and mark the magazine page into 9 strips that are 3/4 inch each. The last “leftover” strip will be a little wider than 3/4 inch, this is ok.
4. Cut each strip in a straight line.
5. Leave the first 3 strips full size. Remove 1 inch off of the top of the next 3 strips. Remove 2 inches off of the top of the next three strips. Cut the remaining strip so that it is 3 1/2 inches in height.
6. Take one strip (with the color you want to show on the outside) and loop one end to the center, at a diagonal so a “ribbon” shape is formed.
7. Loop the remaining end so that the strip resembles a figure eight and secure it with a staple.
8. Follow steps 6 and 7 with each of the strips and keep them in size order. Take the 3 1/2 inch single strip and form it into a loop and staple or tape the ends together.
9. Take the first set of same sized figure eights and arrange them into a flower shape and secure them together with a  staple.
10.  Follow step 9 with the next 2 sets of figure eights.
11. Place each flower on top of each other and secure with a rolled piece of tape; largest on the bottom and smallest on the top.
12. Finish your bow by filling the center in with the remaining loop. Secure the loop with a rolled piece of tape.

Optional: Wrap your gift in newspaper or matching magazine pages, enjoy!
Custom Cards: I love making cards out of Crossword Puzzles from newspaper and magazines. You can try to fill the spaces with a note to your gift recipient! 

| 15 Comments
Juicing, Recipes, Snacks, Tips, Vegan, Vegetarian

The Secret To Thick Smoothies

I cannot stand watery smoothies, I drink them way too fast and they end up feeling more like a juice! I have found the solution to end all of your watery smoothie problems: Xanthan Gum!

Instead of the usual, “Maybe my smoothie will get thicker if I just add one more banana… no maybe 1/4 cup more oats… and an extra Tbsp of nut butter!” We’ve all been there, and before we know it, our smoothies have doubled in calories, carbs, and fat!
Xanthan Gum a simple way to thicken your smoothie without adding unnecessary calories, fat, carbohydrates, etc.

So what is Xanthan Gum?
It is made from a tiny microorganism called Xanthomonas campestris and is a natural carbohydrate. Xanthan Gum is a thickener and byproduct of fermentation of glucose or sucrose given off by specific bacterium. The xantham byproduct is dried and forms a powder which is added to liquid to form the “gum.”

Show me the stats!
One tablespoon contains only 30 calories, 7g of carbohydrates, 0g of fat, and a whopping 7g of fiber! Xanthan Gum is gluten free and from my research, it’s vegan too.

If there were such thing as fairy dust, this would be it. Who am I kidding, this stuff is magical, it’s the modern day fairy dust in my book!

All you need is 1 teaspoon of Xanthan Gum and your smoothie can go from this…

to this!!! 


PB Kale Smoothie
Serves 1

2 cups chopped kale
1 frozen banana
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 Tbsp unsalted peanut butter
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.


Where to buy Xanthan Gum:
I buy Bob’s Red Mill Xanthan Gum at Whole Foods, but you can also purchase it online on Bob’s Red Mill’s official website. An 8oz bag is about $12 and will last you quite some time!

| 40 Comments
Dinner, Lunch, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Thai Chickpeas Over Steamed Kale

This recipe is my new obsession! I have been really into chickpeas lately, throwing them in my salads and stir-frys for an easy protein portion, but this dish takes chickpeas to a whole new level. I got the idea of Thai chickpeas from one of my favorite blogs For the Love of Kale. The author Heather is always cooking up delicious vegan meals and shares her passion for health and fitness. Thanks for the Thai chickpea inspiration, Heather! xo


Thai Chickpeas Over Steamed Kale
Serves 1

2 cups kale + 1 cup water
1/2 cup chickpeas
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 Tbsp unsalted peanut butter
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari

Cook brown rice to package instructions (frozen brown rice is a great shortcut to dry rice). Heat 1 cup of water in a pan over medium high heat. Place kale in the pan and cover for 5 minutes. Stir kale and cover for 5 more minutes. Strain water once kale has been steamed. In a small bowl combine peanut butter, apple cider vinegar, and soy sauce, and whisk until evenly mixed (if the peanut butter is stubborn, microwave the entire mixture for 20 seconds to help soften). If using canned chickpeas, transfer chickpeas and liquid to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes. Rinse and strain chickpeas and coat with the peanut sauce. Place steamed kale onto a plate, followed by brown rice and thai chickpeas.


The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: kale
Whole Grain: brown rice
Protein: chickpeas
Plant Based Fat: peanut butter

| 43 Comments

1 2 3 4