Chopped Salad

It's mid-January and the stomache was extended during the holidays. It's salad time for me. After all the rich and saucy foods, I really need to lean out again on veggies. I had a lot of leftover carrots, peppers, beets in the vegetable bin, so I started making retro chopped salads. How can I apply this method to salads on extended river trips or multiple day rafting trips? Use more root vegetables!

CHOPPED SALAD:
leftovers (chicken, broccoli, celery, ham, etc)
potato
carrots
daikon (asian radish) or radish
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, rinsed & drained
green onions, diced
salad dressing (bring your favorite)
romaine or ice-berg lettuce (choose a firm lettuce)
beets, shredded or chopped (shred raw if fresh & sweet)

Rinse and wash all raw vegetables. Drain to dry or pat dry with paper towels. Cook potato and beets in water to a boil. Do not overcook; firm but done. Let cool. Start chopping the other vegetables. Chop to small uniform pieces. In a large bowl, place all ingredients except for green onions, lettuce and beets. Toss with salad dressing. Before serving, add the torn lettuce. Add green onions. Toss. Add beets on top (don't add before or everything will be pink!) and serve. Serves 4. Add bread or crackers and a cup of tomato soup for an awesome meal. Omit meat for a vegan dinner.

Hangover Cure for the New Year

Cures for hangovers are common recipes on January 1st. Here's one sure to help based just on nutrition and hopefully, a body that can recover quickly from alcohol poisoning.

When you wake up, the head aches because you are dehydrated and you've lost nutrients essential for your body. Avoiding caeffine helps, too... and replacing potassium. Eat a banana!

Here's a quick fix for all you party animals that just had to drink themselves to oblivion.

SLEEP: best cure folks; sleep it off
FRUIT JUICE and lots of WATER: you're dehydrated
BLOODY MARY: it has alcohol, but lots of goodies too (the hair that bit you)

1 1/2 oz vodka
3 oz tomato juice
1 dash lemon juice
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 - 3 drops Tabasco® sauce
salt
pepper
1 lime wedge
1 rib of celery

Shake ingredients (except lime wedge) with ice and strain over ice cubes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the wedge of lime, celery and serve.

Ok, now, go back to sleep until Wednesday. Use this cure anytime you're going on a river trip and you did a bit too much the night before.