Orange Glazed Scallops and Zucchini Carrot "Noodles" with Avocado Edamame Pesto

This dish is so fresh, flavorful, AND healthy. The textures and bright flavors of this dish are deliciously satisfying. The sweet nutty taste of edamame and creamy avocado makes this pesto a fabulous topper for almost anything!

Note: If you have a spiralizer for your vegetables then use it, otherwise just use a vegetable peeler like me!

 

Zucchini Carrot "Noodles" with Avocado Edamame Pesto

For the "Noodles":

1 medium zucchini
1medium carrot
Dash of salt

For the Pesto:

1/2 ripe avocado (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup steamed edamame beans
1/4 cup cilantro
Dash of salt
Juice of 1/2 a small lime
2 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off the carrot and zucchini. Peel each vegetable separately, turning as you go, to form ribbon-like noodles.
2. Set you vegetable "noodles" aside and sprinkle with salt. Let sit about 10 minutes.
3. Add all pesto ingredients into a food processor. Blend until combined.
4. Heat a non-stick pan with cooking spray. Saute "noodles" until softened. Top with pesto.

Note: You don't HAVE to heat and soften the noodles. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

Orange Glazed Scallops

Ingredients:

5-6 large sea scallops
2 tablespoons Bragg's liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon chile garlic sauce (optional)


Directions:

1. Rinse scallops and pat dry. Combine the Bragg's (or soy sauce), orange juice, ginger, rice vinegar, honey, and chile garlic sauce in a shallow bowl.
2. Add the scallops to the sauce. Marinate about 4-5 minutes each side.
3. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Coat with cooking spray.
4. Add scallops to the pan, reserving marinade. Cook scallops about 2-3 minutes each side until they are cooked through and start to brown nicely on the outside. Remove from pan.
5. Add remaining marinade to the pan and lower the heat. Allow marinade to reduce slightly and start to thicken (about 2-3 minutes). Pour the sauce over the scallops and serve!

Miso Glazed Scallops with Wasabi Mased Cauliflower and Edamame

This was one of the most AMAZING meals I've ever made. It was one of those meals that after you take the first bite your taste buds do a happy dance . . . and you vow to make the dish again and again for as long as you live. Well, that's what happened to me earlier this evening. This dish will definitely be a staple on my weekly menu. Whether it be scallops, cod, chilean sea bass, or salmon- this miso-glaze is going on something at least once a week!!

Now for the side:  I've made mashed cauliflower before, but I haven't done it in a really long time. For some odd reason, the process of mashed cauliflower-making seems so labor-intensive and I think that's why I never do it. Wash, cut, steam, blend, season....It's weird because I cook and bake much more intensive meals and snacks than this simple side dish. So, I really don't understand my logic. In any case, I took on the challenge tonight because the thought of making it Asian-style by adding wasabi and edamame sounded exciting. Plus, I cheated a bit and bought a steamer bag of cauliflower so I didn't have to chop and steam and make a mess. I had many other meals going on at once so I had to make something easy! After I steamed the bag I added it to my Ninja food processor with about 2/3 cup steamed edamame (I bought frozen shelled edamame and steamed it in the microwave also), 1 T wasabi powder and about 1/4 fat free sour cream and some salt to taste. YUM.

Miso-Glazed Scallops 

Adapted from Eating Well's Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook

Ingredients:

3 T white miso
2 T mirin (I used a cheap bottle of sake from the liquor store)
2 T rice vinegar
2 T canola oil
1 t minced fresh ginger
1 t minced garlic
1 pound sea scallops (I got fresh wild sea scallops at my local fish store)

Directions:

1. Whisk miso, mirin, vinegar, oil, ginger, and garlic in a medium bowel. Add scallops and stir gently to coat. Let marinate 5 minutes (scallops will begin to break down if marinated longer)

2. Heat a non-stick pan with non-stick spray (or use a little olive oil) over medium-high heat. Add the scallops and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes each side.

The cookbook version serves this with soba noodles and says to reserve the marinade to make a sauce for them. I obviously didn't do this, but you can maybe add a little marinade at the end and let it reduce to drizzle over the scallops. However, I wouldn't change anything I did- they were amazing! You may want to double up on the marinade and keep some on hand on the fridge . . . you WILL want to make this again.

On a side note, today was the first day of my clinical rotation as a dietetic intern. It was just an orientation day, but I was still really anxious about going. I'm freaking myself out because I am prone to passing out. It seems as though hospital settings and I have trouble getting along. The good news is, I felt better after I met everyone I'd be working with (they are all super nice!). One of the dietitians was actually in one of my classes last semester. It was a huge relief to talk to her because she said she is just like me with the queasy stomach and blood intolerance. She promised it wasn't as bad as I thought and if she could do it, I could do it. I am determined to get through this and get over my passing out nonsense. Any who, I started my very first day with a deliciously healthy breakfast: 1 slice of Ezekiel Flaxseed bread with avocado slices and a poached egg. I wanted to post this to remind everyone that healthy, satisfying, nutritious meals can be really simple and easy to make!

And image quote of the day?

Interested to hear.... any takers?