Edamame Salad

By Christina McGairk

When my daughter TiTi and I decide to pack up and go on a picnic, I usually prepare food that she likes. For instance, she LOVES her gluten-free bread. So I may make peanut butter or honey ham sandwiches since those are her two favorites. TiTi also loves broccoli by the handful. She especially enjoys a broccoli salad with bacon, dried cranberries, and a tangy dressing.

This time we’re going to add another salad to our summer picnic plate, an edamame salad created by registered dietician-nutritionist and owner of Blue Tree Nutrition, Valerie Polley.

Here is the second recipe she was gracious enough to share.

Ingredients:

· 1 bag (12 ounces) frozen shelled edamame

· 2 cups corn-fresh or frozen

· 2 red peppers, diced

· 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

· 3 tablespoons orange juice

· 2 cloves garlic, chopped

· 1 teaspoon salt

· pepper

Directions:

· Cook edamame according to package instructions.

· Two minutes before draining, add the corn and cook for two more minutes.

· Blend the remaining ingredients together and then add in edamame and corn.

· Chill until ready to serve.

TiTi and I prepared Polley’s salad, with a little tweak here and there. We omitted the red peppers since I can’t have them. We also skipped the orange juice since my daughter’s tummy is sensitive to it. That meant I had to be creative. I noticed there were a couple of avocados in the fridge that would probably go bad in a few days. I absolutely hate throwing away food. So I got innovative and concocted an avocado cilantro lime dressing, all gluten-free.

The edamame salad is pretty easy to make. TiTi is at the age now where she’s very curious about what I’m cooking. So I thought it was about time for her to learn how to prepare food. I thought a salad would be simple enough without making a huge mess. Honestly, the hardest part was keeping TiTi from eating all the corn. She’s a major corn lover as well.

Now, in my head, I had in mind to buy fresh ears of corn and lovingly shave the corn right off the cob. The same thing with the edamame. I wanted to buy the pods and shell out the green legumes. But as a Mama who’s pressed for time, that didn’t exactly happen. Instead, I nuked the frozen corn and edamame I already had and used a jar of diced garlic.

I tried to give TiTi a little math lesson of sorts by explaining the difference between a cup, teaspoon, and tablespoon. My baby girl loves to learn so that was right up her alley. Then I had her help me mix the corn, edamame, and garlic together. As for the salad dressing, well...it was a bit runny. So I did the honors myself and drizzled it over the salad. Once finished, we put the salad in the fridge for it to chill and that was it.

We really enjoyed the edamame salad. Most of all we loved the mommy and daughter quality time while making it.

I hope this column has inspired you to get creative this summer and try preparing something new for your upcoming picnics. As you can see, picnicking while gluten-free is possible. Happy eating!

Disclaimer: I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor. I’m just a loving Mama supporting her daughter and others through their gluten-free journey. If you have questions about a glutenfree diet or celiac disease, please contact your medical professional. Thank you. If you would like to share gluten-free tips, tricks, info, etc. in an upcoming issue of Special Needs Living, email us at SpecialNeeds LivingIndy@n2pub.com.

If you would like to share gluten-free tips, tricks, info, etc. in an upcoming issue of Special Needs Living, email us at SpecialNeeds LivingIndy@n2pub.com.