California Sushi Roll Salad

I've got to thank my Uncle Kirk for his latest salad of the week creation. I love salad. I love sushi. I want to try this recipe!

He started with a bed of baby kale and spinach then topped it with chunks of avocado crab and cucumber. Then the genius took it up a notch with the crunch factor using crumbles of sea salt-and-pepper rice cakes. He also made a wasabi-ginger dressing that sounds absolutely killer-good!  How do you make it???  

I inquired for you. You're welcome. His reply is as follows: 

"Super easy.  I bought some wasabi sauce, heavy cream, milk and fresh ginger and just mixed it to taste in my magic bullet blender.  I only made a personal portion for my lunch today so in total I made around a 1/4 to a 1/3 cup of dressing.  Sorry that I don't have specific measurements b/c it all comes down to taste. I personally love wasabi sauce so adding some cream makes it smooth and the ginger adds the perfect sushi touch."  

Are you salivating yet?  

If you are not into making your own salad dressing, I bet a splash of rice wine vinegar would be another tasty dressing option, or perhaps a soy ginger dressing.

Completos and Fresh Sliced Pineapple

Completos are popular street food in Chile. Essentially, they're hotdogs with guacamole and sliced tomato.  There are many variations of the completo, just like the American hotdog.  My healthy version featured a grilled whole wheat bun, grilled turkey hot dogs, organic guacamole, and sliced tomatoes. Simple, but oh so good! If you have a hankering for hot dogs, or need something new to serve at your next BBQ, try these!  Turkey hotdogs are much lower in fat than other hotdogs, and guacamole gives you a good dose of the healthy fat we all need.  

A really refreshing side dish to go along with these is sliced fresh pineapple. If you've never tried it with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, you haven't lived. It also makes a light, yet sweet dessert.

Lemon-Thyme Salmon with Roasted Red Potatoes, and Fresh Apple-WalnutSalad

Need a healthy dinner idea? Let this one that my sister made inspire you.

Easy Smothered Burritos

Tonight's dinner used ready made pantry items to make my life simpler. Each smothered burrito is less van 15 grams of fat , which means you can serve it with a full fat sour cream if you choose.

This is how I made them. For the filling, I sauteed peppers, a tomato, and an onion. When that was soft, I added the black beans and one cup of cheese sauce (Ragu ready-made double cheddar sauce). When the filling was warmed through, it was ready to go into the tortillas. To assemble the smothered burritos, I layered about two thirds of a cup of salsa in the bottom of a square baking dish, then filled the tortillas, rolled them up, and added a third cup of salsa on top. Then I put them under the broiler for a minute or so. See? Easy.  Then you can throw some chopped cilantro on top to be fancy. I served these with corn and sliced English cucumbers.

Savory Turkey Dinner With Steamed Artichokes

A savory turkey dinner is hard to resist. I am so glad that I saved some delicious turkey from Thanksgiving in the freezer and stocked up on boxes of stuffing when they were on sale during the holiday season (my husband loves StoveTop).  It was perfect for dinners like tonight's.  In addition to the turkey and stuffing, I made a warm gravy using the broth that I reheated the turkey in, also steamed yams, and steamed artichokes dipped in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.   Mmmm...  Truly mmmm!

Another Easy Winner-Winner-Chicken Dinner

Chicken breast seasoned with salt, garlic salt, onion powder, and oregano, topped off with sautéed spinach and tomatoes. Served with a side of lightly-buttered carrots coins and baked potato.

That's what we had for dinner tonight. I was able to cook it in 15 to 20 minutes, using very little energy, which is just what I needed for tonight.  My six-year-old really loved the chicken. My eight-year-old plugged her nose when I told her she had to eat the spinach too, but hey, at least she ate it. I count that as a win still.  One day she'll thank me, right?

What did you have for dinner tonight?

Whole-Grain Spaghetti Salad

If you've got any leftover spaghetti noodles, you can make this satisfying spaghetti salad for lunch the next day, like I did today.  It's hardly a recipe, like many of the things I make, but it is tasty and could be used as great inspiration for your own healthy spaghetti salad. For this, I used leftover whole grain spaghetti noodles, some diced tomatoes, diced green bell pepper, sliced oven roasted turkey, a bit of shredded cheese, fresh spinach leaves sliced into ribbons, and an olive oil vinaigrette salad dressing drizzled all over it.  It's quite good and has a healthy balance of whole grains, veggies, protein, and good-for-you fat. 

Mmmmm.... Wouldn't this be good with some avocado, or red onion, or broccoli bits, or...