food.

Hello there!
If you follow me on Facebook, then you are probably already aware that my husband, Jay, and I have committed to going wheat-free for the month of June.  It seemed like a good time to do something somewhat drastic, since there are so many great fruits and veggies in season now anyway! Personally, I needed a good challenge to commit to.  I always find myself saying "we should eat healthier," but what does that really mean? For me, it usually means starting out the day with sensible meals and ending with a pizza and beers at midnight! Wellllll NOT this time.  We've gone cold-turkey on wheat products and I'm very pleased to report, so far, so good!  I have had no uncomfortable tummy feelings over the past week and I have found myself eating until just full, not stuffed.  I also gave up artificial sweeteners, mainly diet sodas.  I am certain this change is very positive for us and I am excited about going on with it!!
Here is a recipe for a pretty amazing wheat-free dinner I put together the other night.  (Jay grilled.  I guess I can't take all the credit.)

Cilantro Grilled Chicken

• Season two chicken breasts with salt and pepper in a baking dish (will need to be covered to marinate)
• Top each piece with a teaspoon of crushed garlic 
• Add a handful of torn cilantro leaves to each piece
• Squeeze a few lime wedges over the dish
• Top each with about 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt
• Use a fork to poke some holes in the chicken so it soaks up all the flavors
• Marinate in the fridge at least 2 hours
• Grill to perfection!
• I added a drizzle of delicious organic honey on top before serving ....mmmmmmm!!!

Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• We had the worlds largest sweet potato, so I just used one and it was more than enough for two servings...
• Cut the sweet potato into small fry-size pieces
• Soak in a bowl of salted water for about 20 minutes (not a necessary step, but I find it helps them to crisp up a little more in the oven)
• Spray a baking tray with Pam (or drizzle a little olive oil to prevent sticking)
• Spread out the "fries" in an even layer
• Sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper and yellow curry powder to taste
• Spray (or drizzle) a little more oil over the top
• Bake 15-20 minutes, or until crisp to your liking (my electric oven has a mind of it's own and sometimes bakes extremely fast)

We enjoyed this dinner with a fresh cilantro garnish, a drizzle of honey, and some Woodchuck Hard Cider.  Freakin amazing meal.  Who even needs wheat??
Let me know what you think!!!

--meghan :)








Summer Strawberry Spinach Salad

If you're like me, you're always looking for some ways to make a healthy, but not boring meal.  With good intentions, I always buy basic salad ingredients like romaine, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc, but I have a hard time making it exciting enough to actually want to eat it all as a meal.  This week, I bought a bunch of strawberries and some baby spinach at Trader Joe's , not necessarily planning to combine them... Until now!  Don't we all want to at least start out the week eating well?  With my husband, Jay, coming home from work for lunch today, I decided to throw this sweet salad together.

Ingredients:
Approximately 4 cups of baby spinach and chopped romaine
8 sliced strawberries
1 small green apple, cored and cut into thin slices
About 1/4 cup sliced cinnamon and spice almonds (see below)

I layered the lettuce, spinach,  fruit, and almonds in a bowl and waited to add dressing or other toppings   until we had it on our separate plates (I wanted to add vinaigrette and bleu cheese to mine--Jay gags at the thought of those).

 Cinnamon and Spice Almonds:
Pre-heat the oven (I used my toaster oven) to 300 degrees
Spread out approximately 1/4 - 1/2 cup sliced almonds on a baking sheet
Sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (I used a grinder mixture I got at Trader Joe's)
Add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper, to taste.
Spray with a light coat of cooking spray (optional)
Bake for about 10 minutes until the almonds start to brown just a bit
Toss a few on your salad, and ENJOY!!

As you can see, I added some bleu cheese crumbles, a drizzle of low-fat balsamic dressing, and a few blackberries to my salad.  It was delicious!!  I can't wait to make this again!  It would make a great dinner salad with grilled salmon or chicken...yum.   Let me know what you think!!!

--Meghan :)