Greek ground turkey tacos

 

Greek Ground Turkey Tacos

Step 1:

Cook 1 lb ground turkey in skillet with 2 tsp minced garlic

After the turkey starts to brown a little add the following:

1/2 c chopped green and yellow or red pepper

1/4 c chopped sweet onion

2 tsp kalamata paste

1/4 c chopped kalamata olives

Season with pinch of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and 1 tsp oregano

I used a bag of "Steamfresh" brown rice and added into the mix at this point (totally optional though)

Step 2:

For the toppings chop the following:

Tomatoes

Spinach leaves

Cucumber

Feta cheese

Makes a great salad, wrap or taco!!! The ground turkey/rice mixture also is great on its own for a meal the next day!

Enjoy! A

 

 

Mustard chicken, roasted butternut squash and blue cheese salad

Mustard chicken, butternut squash and blue cheese salad!!!

(Inspired by two fellow blogger’s recipes!)

Chicken-cook ½ lb chicken breast or tenders in skillet with:

2 tsp lime juice and pineapple juice, dash salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and 2 tsp honey or spicy mustard

Roast 2 c cubed butternut squash in pan with dash salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and parsley on 350 for 40 to 45 min

Assemble the following for the “salad”: 2 c chopped Iceberg lettuce, 1 c arugula, 1 chopped tomato, ¼ c crumbled blue cheese and ¼ c chopped red onions

Dressing: I used Chef Tim’s sweet balsamic vinaigrette (it is so good!!)

I also did this on a day that I worked from 6 am to 1 pm then again from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm….so during the afternoon I made the chicken and stored it in the fridge. I prepared the squash and then my boyfriend put it in the oven at 7:15 so when I came home at 8 pm all I had to do was put the lettuce and veggies together then add the squash and chicken. The squash had cooled down a little bit but was still warm (not hot). I microwaved the chicken for 45 sec just so it wasn’t cold but again not hot.

Timing and Teamwork made this happen with little effort and it was so good!!! Even if you get home late you can still eat healthy-just takes a little planning!

Makes 2 adult sized dinner salads!

 

ENJOY!!!

XOXO-A

 

Cucumber tuna salad with Greek yogurt, soy sauce and wasabi mustard

 

Great source of protein!!!! Are you eating enough protein??? Tuna and Greek yogurt are 2 great and affordable sources. I eat Greek yogurt every day at some point whether it is in tuna salad like this, with granola or alone with berries or fruit. Try just adding Greek yogurt to something you are maybe already eating daily and watch what happens!!! It is an awesome and healthy substitute to mayo or even  cheese when called for in recipes.

2 4.5 cans of white albacore tuna (StarKist selects if you are feeling fancy!) Great source of omega 3, low sodium, high protein, low carb)

3/4 c Greek yogurt (my favorite healthy food in the whole world)

2 tsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tsp wasabi mustard

3/4 c chopped cucumber

2 tsp chopped onion

1 stalk chopped celery

salt, pepper and parsley to taste

Options to eat:

Alone with whole wheat pita chips

On a flatout flat bread with more veggies

With hard-boiled eggs, cheese and tomatoes on a platter

Be creative and sneak other veggies, herbs or spices in there-you don't have to do it exactly how I posted it!

Enjoy!!!!
xoxoxo-A

 

 

 

 

Wasabi, soy and lime tuna pasta salad

 





So simple to make, so good for you and so yummy!

2 cups of your choice of noodle-I used tri colored radiatore-cook , run cold water over and set aside in bowl

2 pouches Starkist white albacore tuna in water-add to cooled pasta

1 avocado-chopped-smother in lime juice after you cut it so it can keep its green color-add to dressing then pour into pasta mix

1/4 c chopped red onion-add to pasta mix

Dressing:

2 tsp honey

4 tsp olive oil

1/2 c lime juice

2 tsp hot sauce

2 tsp wasabi mustard

2 tsp soy sauce

whisk together then add chopped avocado to dressing then add to pasta mix

salt and pepper to taste

finish off with lime zest

yields about ( 4) 1 cup servings

Enjoy!

xoxoxo-A

White bean, wheat berries, tomato & mozzarella salad

Ingredients:

Mozzarella pearls

Chicken cubed lightly seasoned-salt, pepper, red pepperflakes and parsley

Chopped tomato

Wheat berries

Chopped celery

Chopped onion

Mixed together with olive oil and red wine vinegar

Tips: chill the wheat berries and chicken in the fridge after they cook before adding them to the mixture.

It's even better hours later after all of the flavors have had a chance to marry together!

 

Enjoy-A

 

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

[caption id="attachment_390" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Santa Fe Chicken Salad-loaded with goodies-loaded with flavor-loaded with protein and veggies![/caption]

The other night I made a delicious Santa Fe Chicken Salad! I want to share it with you!

I marinated the chicken in lemon juice, lime juice and salsa just for an hour. Once I put everything together in the giant salad bowl  I baked it for 25 min at 350 degrees turning it at the halfway point- just like this in this pan.

[caption id="attachment_391" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Marination-makes it more moist and delicious![/caption]

Next I chopped up peppers, red onions, asparagus, tomatoes, green onion, lettuce, basil and cubed some cheese-cheddar and mozzarella blend. I let the chicken marinade for a while as I chopped everything up.....



Last, I made my own dressing using the ingredients pictured below.....

[caption id="attachment_393" align="alignleft" width="1024"] Make your own dressing-it is so easy!!![/caption]

Meals made EASY all week!

In this post I want to try to show you how easy and quick it can be to eat healthy.....

On Tuesday I chopped my veggies-tomatoes, zucchini, red onion and green onion-about 2.5 cups total

I cooked 1 package of chicken and cubed it so I can easily throw it in a pita pocket, salad or mix it with some rice or quinoa.

I boiled 2 eggs so I had them ready for when I wanted to add them too!
I had on hand already brown rice, quinoa, tuna, feta and mozzarella cheeses and lettuce.

If you take a little time 1 or 2 days a week to prepare your meals or part of your meals you will be more inclined to throw together something healthy quickly rather than stopping and grabbing something quick-that rarely ends well!! Try it this week and see if it works for you!! 

This is what I ate all week for lunch and dinner. I spent maybe 5 min at the most putting it together and making a little homemade dressing each time if I wanted to add it. Below are pictures so you can see how I basically ate the same thing over and over again BUT I never got bored with it.....

Colorful!!!

Pizza.....Salad......tons of opportunities to get your color on with food!!! Mix fruits and veggies in salads (tomatoes and strawberries pictured here below).....pile on the veggies when making pizza. Color=Nutrients...which reaps great rewards on your body and mind. Treat your body after a great workout with color, after a long day, a long week with colorful food. You will feel better, you will live longer, you will be more mobile, you will be happier, you will be light and airy maybe even bouncy! I love when I feel bouncy!!! Food is fun and good food is essential to our health....make it fun, make it colorful!!! xoxoxo-A

Quinoa Steak Salad-My way and Max's way

My way-so you can see about how big of a portion each takes up on my plate, mine was dressed with a homemade wasabi, rosemary, lemon, red wine vinegar and olive oil dressing. Max's way-chopped up into bite sizes and mixed all around so the quinoa sticks to each bite. His was dressed with just a little olive oil and red wine vinegar. We were both feeling very happy and balanced after this meal!!! Give it a try!

Cole slaw with a healthy-spicy kick!

Wasabi mustard inspired healthy cole slaw for today's 4th of July picnic! Inspired by a show on the Food Network, a recipe I found online and the wasabi mustard I discovered in the store yesterday. This is what my imagination came up with:

Packaged cole slaw mix (Dole) approx 1 and 3/4 packages

Chopped 1 yellow pepper,1  orange pepper, 1/4 c red onion, 2 banana peppers

Salt, pepper and red pepperflakes to taste

Crushed peanuts 1/4 c

Dressing: (mix all together then fold into the cole slaw mixture)

Plain non fat all natural yogurt-about 1 and 1/4 cup

Wasabi mustard 1/4 c

Grey Poupon Dijon mustard 1/4 c

Tbsp honey

Red wine vinegar 1/4 c

I plan on topping a bun less burger with this and hope all of my family enjoys it today! Yummy and healthy is always the best way to go!

Happy 4th of July!

xoxoxo-A

Watermelon-Goat Cheese-Beefsteak Tomato Salad

I really could not love these 3 things more. So why not put them all on the same plate!

No recipe needed. I just added red onion with balsamic/EVOO and a touch of honey and fresh basil. Look how pretty this is! If you have not tried this combo I promise you are missing out on a little slice of heaven!

Some facts about Watermelon:

• Packed full of important antioxidants.


• It is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin A.


• Perhaps the greatest reason of all because its summer and all I do is sweat.... Watermelon is a fruit that is rich in electrolytes sodium and potassium that we lose through our perspiration.

I rest my case.

Enjoy!

A

Let's talk about salad.

Shocker....I love salad...I know.....When I make a salad it's like a little game for me to see how interesting I can make it...how delicious and nutritious I can make it or how I can imitate  a version of some of my favorite and more indulgent meals into a beautiful salad.

Pictured above are organic baby greens, tomatoes, chicken I cooked in a skillet with katamala olive spread-just a little, red onion, crumbled blue cheese-just a little, pine nuts (high in protein) and lastly flax and chia seeds because I didn't have a smoothie this am so I just threw them in my salad instead.

Let's talk about dressing. I would not want to make this oh so pretty and good for me salad and then dress it in pure fat-and NOT the good kind. So I always only use either balsamic and EVOO or Red wine and EVOO (2 tbsp).

Have fun with salad. The possibilities are endless and delicious!

Tomorrow's salad....watermelon, goat cheese, tomato and red onion with honey basil vinaigrette dressing-home made!

Salads are an awesome choice once a day, everyday! Use your imagination to create something beautiful on your plate. Appreciate the color that a healthy meal brings to the table. The more colorful the better! There was a time in my life when I sat down to a table of food that was all the same color...that color was beige...that color was gross and haunts me to this day. Don't be beige...be beautiful!!! xoxoxo-A