Salads Get No Respect

This weekend was pretty full of good food, but I feel like my body needs to go into detox. I didn’t splurge much at all with the dinner events I hosted over the weekend but I was craving some fresh veggies. So today for lunch, I made a salad.

Don’t you hate the rep salads get? Some folks think salads are lame, boring and too healthy to taste good. I’ll admit, I had that same thinking until I started being creative with salads. They are a blank canvas to capture flavors, textures, colors… only healthier!

Today my salad consisted of a baked boneless, skinless chicken breast that was marinated in southwest seasoning. I also made a quick mango salsa (fresh mangoes, chopped bell pepper, garlic, red onion, salt & pepper, green onion) to offset the spicy chicken with some sweetness. For texture, I added some slivered almonds. Lastly, all my salads involve a little bit of cheese so I added a pinch of gorgonzola for a bit of tang.

Love and embrace salads… they’re good for you!

Tasty Gorgonzola Spinach Alfredo & Tilapia Dinner

It’s been awhile since we had fish for a meal so that’s what we had tonight. Although I didn’t prepare it from scratch, our parmesan crusted tilapia went well with the gorgonzola spinach alfredo I did make.

Tilapia has been around for thousands of years. Originally found in the Nile River, Tilapia is one of the first fish to be farmed. Tilapia is a versatile fish; like flounder, you can bake, broil, steam, sauté and grill. The flesh is low-fat, with a mild and slightly sweet flavor. This fish is very low in fat, free of saturated fat and high in protein.

Here is my recipe for the gorgonzola spinach alfredo I made that accompanied the parmesan crusted tilapia I bought:
2 oz dried farfalle pasta, cooked
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup half & half
1 cup gorgonzola or crumbled blue cheese
1 cup frozen spinach
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 cup chopped or halved walnuts (optional)

In pan, melt butter and add cooked pasta.
Add half & half and cheese; stir.
Add spinach and garlic powder.
Toss and heat through.
Serve with or without walnuts.

To end our dinner on a sweet note, I made individual cups of “No Pudge Turtle Brownies” with a No Pudge Brownie Mix that I purchased from Trader Joes.
To make individual servings in a cup:
– Combine 4 tablespoons of the brownie mix with 2 tablespoons non fat vanilla yogurt.
– Stir until thoroughly combined.
– Heat in the microwave for 1 min and 35 secs.
– Top with a small dollop of fat free caramel & a few chopped walnuts.