Summer Salads

We joined an organic farm produce share association this year and so far I'm quite happy with it. It was more expensive than I thought it would be, but the produce tastes so much better than store bought. My husband commented that the tomatoes especially have a rich, almost buttery taste compared to the bland ones at the grocery store. The fresh herbs are great, too. I rarely buy fresh herbs at the store but I've been getting some in my produce bin each week and they make meals so flavourful and smell great to boot!

I've also been getting some more unusual items so it's helped me broaden my recipes so that I can include the new items. Today's recipe doesn't have too much new in it, but I'm sure you'll find it as light and refreshing as I did- and it's a great twist to take a break from lettuce based salads.


Vegetable Ideas:



Lemon-Dill Summer Salad:

2 large tomatoes, cut into small cubes
1-2 cucumbers, chopped into cubes (peeled or not, your choice)
1 shallot, sliced (or a small onion)
1 garlic clove, minced
4 radishes, sliced (black radishes if you have them)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3 tbsp Garlic Gold Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Place all the vegetables in a Tupperware container and add the herbs and stir. Pour in the dressing and shake until evenly distributed. Serve and enjoy! Makes 6 servings.

The Garlic Gold Lemon Vinaigrette gives this a very nice zesty flavour and made a delicious side dish. If you don't have it, you can mix together 6 tsp lemon juice with 6 tsp olive oil to make a dressing.

Count this as 1 vegetable serving and 1 fat serving and enjoy!

Disclosure: I received this product mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. (And I really, really love Garlic Gold and plan to continue writing about their products!)

Great Summer Recipes!

Now that the summer heat wave is here, I'm sure we're all looking for ways to cool off. Here are a few ideas that I've tried recently!

I usually drink plain water now, but every once in a while I have a craving for something different. In the summer, I love lemonade with BBQ-type meals! I got this recipe off the back of a Realemon lemon juice bottle and changed the sugar to Splenda to make a great lemonade recipe that no one would believe has very few calories!

Summer Sweet Lemonade:

1.6L cold water
1 cup Splenda
1 cup pure lemon juice

Mix everything together and stir well, and enjoy! It doesn't technically count as water since it's been sweetened, but as long as you aren't drinking just lemonade I wouldn't worry about it too much.


Hungry Girl sent out an email with a dip recipe not too long ago and I tried it and thought it was great! Here is my version:

Dairy/Protein Ideas:




Veggielicious Dip:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup FF mayo
3 tbsp dried veggie soup mix
10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes packed in water, drained and chopped

Mix everything together and stir until well blended- it's that simple! And because you're using Greek yogurt as a base instead of sour cream, you can actually use 1/2 cup of this as a dairy/protein serving at 84 calories and 7g of protein. It has tons of flavour and makes a great afternoon snack (substitute 2 veggie servings instead of your fruit).

Review: Brad's Raw Foods

When I first heard abour people eating a raw food diet, I was a little skeptical. How could raw, unprocessed food taste as good as cooked food with spices? My idea of a raw diet was vegetables fresh from the garden, which are delicious, but I couldn't see myself living off them!

Then I was given the opportunity to review Brad's Raw Foods and I was pleasantly surprised! They sent me 3 product samples, two kinds of kale chips and one bag of red bell pepper chips. I was still a little nervous when I saw the products; how could they possibly taste as good as potato chips, especially since these aren't baked or fried?

I took a bite of the "Vampire Killer" Kale Chips (spiced with garlic and vegan cheese) and they were different, but once I ate a few of them, I realized I really liked them. It took some getting used to since the flavour was so different from what I expect in a crunchy snack, but now that I've eaten them, I plan on ordering some more!

My son had no such inhibitions about them:



He thinks the Red Bell Pepper Chips are the best snack ever, and since they are healthy and made from vegetables, I don't mind him eating them!

I was totally shocked when my chip loving husband came up to me and said we had to order more of these. He loathes carrots and guess what the first ingredient on the Red Bell Pepper Chips is? He still loved the chips and thinks they make a great snack.

Brad's Raw Chips are a great product if you are looking for a healthy snack to munch on. They have all the crunch of potato chips but won't go to your hips! I definitely recommend checking out their blog so you can learn more about their product line. Their products are not only healthy but vegan too, so everyone can enjoy them. It's certainly a tasty way to eat your vegetables!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Barramundi

I told myself at the start of my Seafood Theme that I was going to try at least one brand new thing. A lot of the recipes that I share here are ones that I've made before so I know they are good. But sometimes it's fun to try something with completely new ingredients and see how it goes. I found this recipe in Women's Health magazine and thought I'd give it a try. I'd never even heard of barramundi before, but much to my surprise when I asked for it at my grocery store fresh fish counter, they did have some in the back! So I figured I had to make this recipe and see how I liked it.

Also, when I went on vacation in December, I had these awesome fish tacos at the hotel restaurant and wanted to see if I could recreate them. Here's what I made:

Flex Meals (Dinner):



Chili-Lime Barramundi Tacos:

4oz barramundi fillet
1 tsp olive oil
2 small corn tortillas, warmed
shredded cabbage
diced tomatoes
pepper, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, lime juice to taste
Creamy Tarragon Sauce

Sprinkle the pepper, chili powder, and cumin over the fish. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, and add the fish. Cook for 5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 2 minutes. Chop into pieces and squirt with lime juice and a little fresh cilantro. Put the cabbage, tomatoes, and fish into the heated tortillas and enjoy with the Creamy Tarragon Sauce!




Creamy Tarragon Sauce (from Sobeys magazine):

1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp horseradish
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy with the fish tacos. 2 tbsp is a free food.

This didn't have quite the same flavour as the ones I had in Florida, so I'm going to have to keep searching for a great recipe that will work. The tarragon sauce had quite a kick to it in my opinion- if you like horseradish you will love it, but if you aren't used to it (I'm not), you might want to cut the amount to 1 tsp instead. I think I will do that next time.

It was a nice light meal though. Count it as one dinner entree plus a vegetable serving (and a free food if you use the sauce). The oil is part of your flex dinner so you still need to add a fat and some veggies to make a complete dinner.

And that brings our Seafood Theme to a close... I have some other great new recipes to share though, so keep checking back!

Red Lobster

I'm sorry there's been such a long break in the middle of my theme posting. Things have just been a little crazy here and I haven't had a lot of time for blogging. I still do have some Seafood Week recipes for you to enjoy, though!

Flex Meals (Dinner):



Lobster Pizza:

1 Flatout wrap (or othe carb serving)
4 oz lobster meat
2 tsp Garlic Gold
1 oz shredded cheese
chopped tomatoes and onions
dried or chopped fresh basil
Garlic Gold Parmesan Nuggets

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle the Garlic Gold onto the pizza crust and sprinkle with the basil. Add the lobster meat and vegetables and top with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and browning, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle the Parmesan nuggets on top, and enjoy!

This recipe is so quick, easy, and delicious. I used to love Red Lobster's version and this one tastes just as good- plus you get more lobster to enjoy! If you don't have Garlic Gold, I really recommend trying it. You can substitute with olive oil and chopped garlic, but it won't have the same smooth flavour to it. I also haven't found a substitute anywhere for the Garlic Gold Nuggets- they are amazing! So full of flavour- they definitely make a nice touch to a meal.

Count this as a flex dinner + fat serving + dairy serving. Or, if you like, use the Nutrisystem Italian Herb Flatbread Pizza for your crust (discard the sauce) and just scale back the lobster to 2oz and the Garlic Gold to 1 tsp and then you have the same, dinner + fat + dairy/protein. You can choose to use NS cheese or you may substitute any cheese that has 72 calories and 5g of fat, which are the stats for the NS cheese. I rarely use it anymore because I prefer to substitute my own which melts better.

But whatever way you make it, this is a nice twist on pizza and it makes a yummy dinner!

Disclosure: I received this product mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. (And I really, really love Garlic Gold and plan to continue writing about their products!)