This shop has been compensated by Inmar Intelligence and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HeartHealthyMazola

This heat doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. September typically is a hot month and in my house it’s a month of salad making. September is also Cholesterol Awareness Month! What better time to make a Fresh Veggie Summer Salad, raise cholesterol awareness and ways to reduce it. Here’s a fun fact (according to a clinical study) Mazola® Corn Oil reduces cholesterol 2x more than extra virgin olive oil! To learn more about this claim, visit Mazola.com.

Meatless Sesame Cabbage Salad is the vegan answer to a Chinese Chicken Salad gone plant based. It’s a simple salad I’ve been throwing together since I became a vegetarian a handful of years ago. Sometimes I add a meatless-chicken patty to the greens or extra crunchy elements just to spice it up. Either way feel free to mix and match. I will give you my recipe to use as a base but use whatever you have to make it your own.

“Chop, chop, chop”…  I’m singing the noise of the knife hitting the cutting board that I use for my chopped salad.  This repetitious chopping sounds like a symphony to my ears knowing a lovely salad will be stacked up high in a bowl as soon as I get it all sliced, diced, and slivered.  I’ve come to crave my salami chopped salad more then I want to admit and thus far have only made it for my immediate family.  I think it’s time to spread the lettuce wealth around and unleash it on my blog.

As you know Labor day is around the corner, and everyone I know is getting their last of the Summer Ya-ya’s out, me included!  When my family potluck sheet stumbled upon me and I was forced to pick a dish to bring way in advance, I signed up for my chopped salad. I know it can be severed as a great side with anything else that is being served, or it works well as a little appetizer, or it has enough star power to steal the whole show. Yes, I’m still talking about the salami chopped salad.  I have even made a vegetarian version for my Mom a few times.

So there you have it folks, I’m taking a chopped salad to my family Labor day potluck. Check out the recipe, you may want to chop some salad yourself.

Here’s the best part:  I can get everything I need for my most spectacular salad at Walmart. They got it all.

Ingredients for salami chopped salad:

• 1 – head iceberg lettuce (sliced thin)
• 1/2 – head purple cabbage (sliced thin)
• 1/2 – cup mozzarella cheese (grated)
• 1 – cup salami (sliced thin)
• 1/2 – cup yellow raisins
• 1/2 – cup pistachios (roughly chopped)
• 1 – peach (sliced and chopped)
• 1/4 – cup pepperoncini (sliced thin)
• 1/2 – cup green olives (chopped)
• 1/2 – cup cucumber (sliced and slivered)
• Italian dressing
• Red bell pepper (sliced into slivers)

Directions: 

1. On a large cutting board slice, chop or grate all ingredients. 
2. Place ingredients into a bowl and toss with salad tongs or with your hands.
3. Drizzle top with a little bit of italian dressing just to taste.
4. Top with red bell pepper slices. 
5. Enjoy!

For more Labor Day recipe ideas click on the links below!

• Lemony Basil Orzo Pasta Salad
• Creamy Chicken Artichoke Casserole
• Key Lime Pie
• Red White And Blueberry Angel Cake
• Mac and Cheese Deep Fried Bites
• Jack Daniel’s Smoked & Grilled Burgers
• Easy Labor Day Picnic
• Mango Chicken Skewers
• Cookie Ice Cream Bowls
• Garlic Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas
• Frozen Berry Lemonade

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and the California Milk Advisory Board.   All opinions are my own. 

Are you ready to rev up that Bar-B-Q pit and shish kabob for grilling? It’s officially grilling season with Memorial Day around the corner and Father’s day a stones throw away. It’s time to start planning your menus and gathering people around the pit. What do you typically like to grill? My family grills carne asada and anaheim chiles stuffed with queso quesadilla. We love to grill veggies and green onions, if my uncle is around he always wants his share of jalapenos thrown a top the fire-y hot grate. I like to make packets of aluminum foil and fill them with chopped zucchini a little bit of olive oil and cotija cheese…… I call them Bar-B-Q calabasitas. Here’s the serious truth, we can’t have an outdoor cooking session without making Grilled Corn And Queso Fresco Salad. I usually prep the corn in the house then throw it on the barbie, while the maize is grilling I chop up the other ingredients and make a dressing of crema, lime juice, and a little cotija cheese. OMG…. My mouth just watered recounting the details of this recipe back to you. Every time I make the salad (which is when we have a Bar-B-Q) my fiance tells me I need to be making this salad at least once a week. My Mom loves it cuz it’s vegetarian, and I heart it because it’s down right GOOD! I usually make it as a side dish but it could be enjoyed as a meal all on it’s own. Don’t get me wrong, it does taste lickable paired with a slice of chicken or sizzling piece of carne asada as well. But what really makes this salad pop is the queso fresco teamed up with the sweet corn and the tangy crema lime cojita cheese dressing. Delish! Make it for your next Bar-B-Q! Plus it’s so easy to get all the hispanic dairy needed for this recipe. With California being the leading producer of hispanic dairy products all you have to do is look for the Real CA Milk / cheese seals on the labels of your hispanic dairy. These cheeses will give your next meal the authentic touch of latin cuisine and make it taste better then you could have imagined. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Grilled Corn and Queso Fresco Salad:

• 1 – tablespoon of butter (room temperature)
• 4 – corn on the cob
• 5 or 6 – stalks of green onion
• 1 – tablespoon of olive oil
• salt to taste
• 2 – ripe avocados (sliced and cubed)
• 1 – cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 – cup sliced red onion
• 1/2 – cup cilantro leaves
• 5 – radishes (thinly sliced)
• 1 – package queso fresco Ranchero (crumbled in large pieces)
• (optional) 2 – grilled green chiles- diced (serrano, or jalapeno, or anaheim)

Ingredients for Crema Lime Cotija Cheese dressing:

• 3 – tablespoons crema
• 1 1/2 – large limes (juiced, about 4 tablespoons)
• 1 – tablespoon cotija cheese

1. Heat up the bar-b-q or grill.
2. Smear butter on the corn on the cob. Set to the side.
3. Trim edges of green onions off and smear with olive oil. Set to the side.
4. Sprinkle both corn and green onions with salt to your liking.
5. Place both corn and green onion on bar-b-q and grill for green onion for about 6 minutes. 
6. Grill the corn for 15 to 20 minutes or until kernels are slightly charred. 
7. Remove from grill and shave the kernels from the cob with a sharp knife. 
8. Add shaved corn to a bowl along with avocado, tomato, red onion, cilantro, radishes, queso fresco, (optional) green chiles, and grilled onion to serve on the side. (pictured above)
9. Give the ingredients a good mix, and set to the side.
10. In a small bowl mix ingredients for dressing with a whisk, then pour over salad and give a final mix.
11. Serve with grilled green onion on the side.
12. Enjoy!

I’ve been known to sing silly songs.  I make up my own lyrics and improvise where my mind draws a blank….  isn’t that part of the creative process?  Either way I think of David Bowie’s song “Changes” everytime I eat or make Chinese Chicken Salad….  I like to say “Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chinese Chicken Salad” in the same way he sings “Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.”  Anything to get my Bowie fix for the day.  Picture me on this hot day in a pair of cut off Levi’s (very 70’s) with the little strings hanging, an old Ziggy Stardust t-shirt eating my Chinese Chicken Salad filled with mandarin oranges, ramen and almonds!

Ingredients for Chinese Chicken Salad:

1 – head of green cabbage (chopped)

1 – bunch of cilantro (just the leaves are needed)

7 – stalks of Dole green onion

1 1/2 – cups sliced almonds

1 – cup of Dole mandarin oranges

3/4 – cup grated carrot

Favorite Chinese Chicken Salad dressing

1 – package of instant ramen noodles (crushed and uncooked)

Left over grilled or rotisserie chicken pieces (2 to 3 cups)

Cut cabbage in half then slice cabbage very thinly, until all is sliced. Add to a big bowl. Wash cilantro and add leaves to the cabbage bowl.

Next cut off the stringy ends of the green onions and a small portion of the green ends. Then thinly slice and add to the cabbage bowl. Pour almonds on top of green onion. Mix well.

Add mandarin oranges, carrots, and salad dressing. Mix well.

Then top with ramen, and chicken and give it a final mix.

All photos taken by: Mando Lopez

There’s something very reassuring about eating kale salad.  Number 1, you know you made the right choice for your body that day.  Number 2, this leafy green is high in fiber and has zero fat.  Number 3, Kale is high in Calcium, Vitamin A, C and K, and has more Iron than beef.  Number 4, Kale is an anti-inflammatory packed with powerful antioxidents!  These are reasons enough for me to want to eat this salad again and again.

I always shake up my Kale salad by making different dressings.  Remember to make your kale salad a few hours in advance and allow it to sit in the dressing just to soften the roughage up a bit.

Kale Salad in Tahini Dressing:

1- bundle Kale

2 – large lemons (juiced) 

1/2 – cup Joyva sesame tahini puree

2 – garlic cloves (minced)

3- tablespoons of lime flavored soy sauce

1/4 – cup water

1/2 – cup pine nuts ( I like to toast mine)

Start by rinsing your Kale well.

Then place on a cutting board and cut into bit size shreds.  Place in a big bowl.

In a mixing bowl add lemon juice, tahini sesame puree, minced garlic, soy sauce and water.  Mix well.  At first the mixture will curdle then as you continue mixing it will go smooth.

Pour over chopped Kale and mix well to combine.

Next add pine nuts and cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a few hours or over night. Enjoy!

 All photos taken by: Nicole Presley