Dinner Salad for 2

When people hear the word salad they think "healthy, and not enough to fill me up". I am here to squash that stereotypical idea of the delicious dinner salad and show you ways to make it filling, yet healthful.

• Adding lean proteins is key. A piece of grilled chicken, seared tofu, beans, edamame, or other lean meats can make your simple salad a meal in itself.
• Salad toppings are as important as ice cream toppings when you are trying to entice your guests into your dinner salad selection. Toppings can be anything from toasted nuts, to fresh or dried fruits, small amount of crumbled blue cheese or feta, or even pieces of grilled or marinated vegetables. Think of the salad mix as a blank canvas and the toppings are what paint the whole picture. 
• Take into account portion control when adding toppings such as cheese, bacon, and meats. Although these foods are fine and even in some cases healthy for you, an excessive amount of any food is not a good idea.
• There’s more to life than just iceberg - while perfect for you classic cob, iceberg lacks vitamin content and flavor when it comes to a dinner salad.
• ü      Radicchio – a bitter and peppery taste, great when mixed with other greens

  ü      Spinach – a very green and earthy flavor, great with sweet vinaigrettes and fruits.

  ü      Romaine – crispy, and hearty leaf, great with creamy dressings like Caesar, and you can even grill it on the barbecue.

  ü      Boston Lettuce or Butter Lettuce – a cross between iceberg and romaine, great for lettuce wraps.

  ü      Meuslin – a French word for “mixed”, usually a mixture of a few different types of lettuce, varies with brand selection.
• Try mixing different types of lettuce together for a crunchy variety or mix in some fresh herbs with the salad mix.
• Making your own dressing is easier than it sounds! Mixing together simple ingredients like oil, vinegar and fresh herbs is so much better than that bottle. 

Ahi Tuna Asian Salad for 2

2 Ahi Tuna steaks

1 cup green cabbage, shredded

5 leaves of romaine, chopped thin

1 cup baby spinach

1 carrot, shaved (using the peeler)

½ cup edamame

½ of a mango, diced

2 tbsp cilantro leaves

1 tbsp sesame seeds

½ cup sesame oil

¼ cup soy sauce

½ tbsp chili paste

Asian bean noodles, optional

Heat a large skilled over high heat. When hot, place tuna steaks and sear each side for 1 minute. Remove from heat and chill.

In a large platter place cabbage, romaine, and spinach. Mix until well combined. Top with carrot, edamame, mango, and cilantro. Slice tuna steak thin and lay over the top of the salad.

In a small bowl mix sesame oil, soy sauce, sesame seeds and chili paste. Mix well and then pour dressing over tuna and greens.

Sunday Morning..

A relaxing Sunday breakfast..homemade Cinnamon Chip Scone with a Cinnamon Latte

Cinnamon Chip Scones

           dough:
2 cups flour
3 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp chilled butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup half and half
1 tbsp cinnamon
          chips:
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp butter
          icing:
1/4 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400*F. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter. In a smaller bowl, combine beaten egg and half and half. Add to dry mixer and stir until moistened. Add cinnamon chips and stir until distributed. Turn the dough onto a clean surface  and knead until dough is smooth enough to mold into a 12 in circle (dough will be sort of crumbly). Cut circle 4 times making 6 large scones (triangles) or if you would like smaller scones cut as you desire. Place the scones 1 inch apart on a baking sheet (ungreased) and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
To make icing add milk to powdered sugar and wisk until smooth. Drizzle over warm scones and serve.

Summer CSA...

CSA or community supported agriculture is something that I personally am learning a lot about this year. We have all shopped at farmers markets and some of us might have even "picked our own" produce at some time in our lives, but when we are shopping at the supermarket what we forget about is the amazing produce that our farmers grow right her in Boston’s backyard.

Community Supported Agriculture or CSA is kind of like a produce subscription to a farm of your choice. Basically how it works is you pay an upfront cost and every week through your chosen season, you receive a supply of veggies, fruits, fresh herbs, and sometimes even eggs and meats. The perks of a CSA are that you know the foods are fresh, you can go visit the farmers and see where your food is coming from and of course, you are supporting our local farmer friends!

Writing the check was a little bit painful, only because it was an upfront cost for the whole season, but when you do the math it came out to be around $30 dollars per week, which I know I spend well over at just the regular supermarket for produce. I thought about the amount of fresh things that we eat, especially throughout the summer with home cooking, barbecues with friends, beach visits, and more. My CSA begins in June and goes all the way until mid September (20 weeks). I cant wait to see the variety of things I am going to get!

Believe it or not, right here in Massachusetts we grow an enormous variety of produce. We grow tomatoes, onions, garlic, shallots, brussel sprouts, all types of squash, pumpkins, eggplant, parsnips, potatoes, all types of lettuce, a variety of herbs, beets, carrots, apples, peaches, all berries, and the list goes on and on….

Check out www.farmfresh.org to research farms. Each farm will have pick up locations throughout the greater Boston area. I chose Red Fire Farm, located in Granby, MA. I liked their philosophy and convenient pick up location in Brighton!  www.redfirefarm.com/CSA/index.

After your research if you plan to sign up for one, do it soon! Shares go fast...

I stole this photos from my new friends, Laura and Theresa, they have a blog all about eating local, its awesome. Doesn't this picture just make you want to eat healthy and sign up for a CSA now?! Check out their blog - http://lovelylocavoreladies.wordpress.com/. They are also great references for more information or questions regarding signing up for a CSA.

Homemade Takeout

Over my long and relaxing weekend, my sister and I visited my Grandmother. She lives in Somerville, home of the best Italian bakeries. On our way home, after our visit, we stopped at our favorite 'Winter Hill Bakery'. This tiny little spot creates the best loafs of Italian Scali bread in the world. So anyways, we both bought our loaf of bread, I bought a package of homemade garlic bread and I also bought 2 bags of fresh homemade pizza dough. On Monday night, we decided to make out own take out food....

 

Homemade Caesar Salad

1 heart of romaine lettuce

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp grated cheese (I used Romano)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2-cup olive oil

Croutons, if desired

In a large bowl, chop lettuce and set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolk and lemon juice. Then add all other ingredients ending with the olive oil. Whisk together and pour over salad. Toss with extra grated cheese and croutons. Serves 2-4 people 

 Broccoli and Cheese Calzone

1 raw pizza dough ball

Flour

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic power

1 cup steamed broccoli

½ cup shredded, part skim mozzarella cheese

1 tsp dried rosemary

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425^oF. Open the package of dough and before handling sprinkle all over with flour to make it easier to handle. Using hands, gentle stretch the dough ball to the shape of pizza crust and place on a baking sheet. (Don’t worry about what it looks like, it’s homemade!) Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil and spread all over, sprinkle garlic powder, add broccoli and cheese. Fold dough over itself to cover filling and seal pressing the edges together. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over top, sprinkle salt, and rosemary. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Spring Cleaning and Lots of takeout...

Happy President's Day! This weekend was a much-needed long and relaxing weekend. Lots of errands, laundry and house cleaning! But the weekend was a little bit out of the ordinary seeing that my oven hasn’t been turned on in 3 days! We have a lot of gift cards from Christmas and because we have been so busy, we have been taking advantage of local restaurants and take out joints. Come on, even I get lazy sometimes…

Making better choices when you go to restaurants and local take out place is a motto to follow at all times. You can really fall into traps sometimes when eating out, due to the fact that everything looks and smells so good and even sometimes the foods you think may be good, may be the worst ones of all. Here are some tips to think about when eating out....

Beware of Salads – When we go to the salad section on our favorite restaurant menus, we always assume we are making a better choice. The truth is, just because its green doesn’t always mean its good. Most salads at restaurants will be loaded with toppings like bacon, hard boiled egg, blue cheese, croutons, fried chicken strips, creamy dressing, etc. These ingredients are the ones to watch out for. These simple topping can cause your healthy green salad to be as bad as that Cheeseburger that you were really craving. *Look for the salads that offer grilled chicken or grilled seafood for toppings, always ask for dressing on the side (so if you do go for the creamy kind, you can control the amount you are using), ask for oil and vinegar or the house vinaigrette.

A lot of places will allow you to get the “lunch size” portion at dinnertime.

Sharing is caring – if you are with friends, family or your hubby, share an appetizer and an entrée. This way you are controlling your portion sizes and your calorie intake.

Taking sides – beware restaurant style mashed veggies (potato, sweet potato, or squash), it is almost guaranteed to have more butter than actual vegetable. Ask for steamed veggies or a side salad instead of French fries or mashed.  

Cocktails - next time you go to order that fruity sweet drink at the bar, ask the Bartender to cut the juice with some seltzer or soda water. It reduces the amount of calories per drink and I promise, you wont even taste the difference. *Skinny Margaritas - fresh lime juice, 1 packet of zero calorie sweetener, seltzer water, and tequila.

I'm on my way out now to do some food shopping...regular recipes will resume starting tomorrow :)


 

Just one of those days...

Tuesday was one of those days....and Wednesdays are my days at work that I go in late. I usually will do errands, or clean the house but yesterday I treated myself to some "me time". I did some shopping, we needed some things for the house, and then I made my way to one of my favorite new clothing stores. You wouldn’t believe how much better my day got when I saw a sale wrack of winter jackets! Not that I needed one but their prices ranged from $3.99-9.99. NO your not reading that wrong, WINTER coats for that cheap! As I inspected a beautiful Navy Blue jacket, I thought life is good :).

Another thing that always makes me feel great after a long stressful day is a nice warm plate of pasta. Whether it’s with red sauce or a simple oil and veggie dish, pasta is the ultimate comfort meal.

Although Spaghetti and Meatballs is a comfort food, that doesn’t mean it has to be unhealthy or greasy! Spaghetti and Meatballs at a restaurant can have anywhere between 700-1000 calories, depending on how its prepared and the portion size that they give you. By simple broiling the meatballs instead of frying them, by using uncomplicated ingredients, your Food Fashionita Spaghetti and Meatballs will more than fulfill your craving for comfort and will be close to guilt free.

Traditional Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 lb ground beef, pork and veal mix
1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/4 cups grated Romano cheese
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg

Preheat broiler. In a large bowl add all ingredients and use hands to mix together thoroughly. Roll mixture into balls, about the size of golf balls. Place meatballs about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Broil until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes per side.

Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes (unflavored, no salt added)
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves fresh garlic, diced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp onion powder

In a large pot add 2 tbsp olive oil, heat and then add onions, sauté for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder and tomatoes. Add cooked meatballs and simmer sauce for 10 minutes. To finish add fresh basil or thyme leaves (optional).
Serve with pasta and grated cheese. Serves 4-5 people.

*As requested*

Some people have been asking me to post the Vanilla Mold with Toasted Coconut and Caramel Sauce recipe. Before posting this I must disclaim that first this dessert is probably the WORST thing (health wise) that you could eat, yet the BEST thing (taste wise) you will ever have!!! I also have to give a shout out to my Aunt Melanie, she is actually the creator of this amazzzzzing dessert. 

Vanilla Mold with Toasted Coconut and Caramel Sauce

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin (knox)

2 ½ cups sugar

pinch of salt

4 cups whole milk

2 tbsp vanilla extract

4 cups heavy cream

½ cup butter

¼ cup flour

3 cups half and half

1 ½ cup brown sugar

1 8oz pkg of coconut

In a large saucepan stir gelatin and 1 cup of sugar and salt. Gradually add milk and turn heat to medium and cook until gelatin and sugar are completely dissolved, stirring constantly. Transfer mixture into a large bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1-1 ½ hrs or until mixture is the consistency of egg whites. (**if you wait too long the gel will get harder and then it could cause lumps)

While gel is firming, heat oven to 350^oF and toast coconut until golden, constantly checking to make sure it doesn’t burn. Set aside to cool

In another large bowl beat cream using an electric mixture until it forms soft peaks. Remove gelatin mixture from the fridge beat with the electric mixture until smooth and then gently add to the cream. Mix together until will combined. Pour mixture into desired molds. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

For sauce: in a saucepan melt butter and whisk in flour. Gradually stir in half and half, brown sugar and the remainder of the white sugar. Stir until thickened.

To serve: fill a large bowl with hot water. Submerge the bottom of your mold in water to soften it from the sides (allows for a smoother unmolding). Flip mold onto desired serving plate. Sprinkle each serving with coconut and a drizzle of caramel.

Makes a lot, I actually cut the recipe in half and was able to serve 6 people. Sounds like a lot of work but I promise the steps are not hard. It's worth it!