Tossed Green Salad with Sweet Onion Vinaigrette

My friend Debbie made this a week ago and I loved it. I am always looking for more ways to eat vegetables. This is a great way to eat them and enjoy it. I have made the salad 3 times since she gave me the recipe. It is so good. Yum! 

The salad was:

5-6 C mixed greens - spinach and romaine (or red lettuce instead of romaine)

1/2 C sliced almonds

1/2 C craisins or dried cherries etc..

1/2 C sunflower seeds
sometimes I also add a thinly sliced red onion

Optional items

1/3 C bacon bits

1/2 C shredded parmesan

Layer the ingredients so you get all the ingredients in each serving. 

I put the dressing on right before serving.  It will get soggy if you do it too far ahead. Add a little bit of dressing at a time to get just the right mix. 

dressing:

2/3 cup olive oil

1/4 honey or sugar 

2 TBSP. diced purple onion

1/2tsp. salt

3TBSP. apple cider vinegar
1/4 C chia *optional

Blend together with a wire whisk. 

*If you use bacon. An easy way to do the almonds is to take the bacon bits and the almonds and saute' them together.  This gives the almonds some of the bacon flavor and roasts them a bit.  

Asian Turkey Wraps in Romaine Lettuce (Info. about Romaine Lettuce)

Asian turkey wraps

I made this meal for my daughter Britney's birthday a couple weeks ago. It had a wonderful new flavor combination that we really enjoyed. It was fun to roll it up in the romaine lettuce as well. I have been reading about health benefits of romaine lettuce.  It made a nice light meal. My family loved having the leftovers the next day. It was fun to change things up a little bit. It was a great way to eat more vegetables too.It is easy to get in a rut eating the same fruits and vegetables. It is great when we mix up the fruits and vegetables that we eat and get a variety of nutrients.

Romaine Lettuce

Some of the health benefits of Romaine lettuce are:

1. Vitamin C and beta carotene that can aid in healthy heart, helping to prevent oxidation of cholesterol, which can help in reducing strokes and heart attacks. There is also folic acid which aids in keeping blood vessels healthy.

2. Potassium can help lower blood pressure. Potassium can also help improve your muscle strength if you combine it with strength training.  There is also fiber which is always helpful to improve the functioning of our bodies. It also has phosphorus, calcium and magnesium.

3. It can help in burning fat because of the fiber that is in it. It makes your body work as it digests the lettuce. It also fills you up faster. It is a low calorie food with no fat.

4. So find some fun ways to add it to your families diet. It was fun to learn some more information about romaine. I had no idea it had so many great health benefits. :)

Ingredients:  Asian Turkey wraps
2 C cooked brown rice
1 1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1 T oil (I used grape seed oil)
1 jalapeno pepper seeded chopped fine pieces
3 to 4 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp lime zest
3 T fresh lime juice
5 T fish sauce
2 T honey or brown  sugar
1 can of diced green chili *optional 
1 tsp cornstarch or  1 T ultra gel
1/4 C fresh basil chopped up
4 green onions chopped
head of Romaine lettuce washed and seperated

Directions:

1. In a frying pan pour in the oil brown turkey and break into small pieces.

2. Stir in the chili's, garlic, and the zest. Cook stirring together a couple minutes.

3. In a small a whisk lime juice, fish sauce, honey, rice, and cornstarch or ultra gel. Cook until the it thickens.

4. Then take the skillet off the stove and toss in the basil and green onions. Scoop on to the lettuce and roll the lettuce as desired. Enjoy!


     

Teriyaki Chicken Salad with Berries

I got this idea from a picture in a magazine I saw, it has been going through my head ever since. It is a wonderful summer meal. It had a lot of wonderful color in it. It also had a great flavor combination.

I also made some brown rice to go with it. I like to mix my foods. I ended up mixing my rice into my salad and loved the combination. I liked not having the lettuce over power the salad, It just complemented the other ingredients. I made extra chicken. It is handy to have it all ready to got for lunch or another dinner. The grilled chicken flavor can't be beat. I love teriyaki chicken. :)


Ingredients: Serves 6
Sauce
1/3 C reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 C water
2 T honey
1/4 C orange juice
2 garlic cloves minced
1 T grated peeled fresh ginger
2 lb chicken tenders chopped there will be extra (You could use 3 chicken breasts if you don't want leftovers)
1 1/2 -2 C fresh blueberries
1 C fresh or frozen strawberries sliced up
2 C romaine lettuce washed and torn into small pieces or spinach
3 C cooked Brown rice


Directions:

1. In a bottle or small bowl mix the first 6 ingredients together set aside. Pour chicken into Pyrex. (My chicken was frozen. I let it sit for about 20 min) Turn to make sure it is all covered. You could make it in the morning and let it sit covered in the fridge.

2. Heat up the barbecue. Grill the chicken making sure not to over cook. Save the extra sauce.

3. Then pour sauce into a sauce pan on the stove. Cook on medium-low heat. You could add 1/2 tsp cornstarch to thicken up. (I did not either way works.) Let cool.

4. Pour the berries into a bowl with the chicken and pour the sauce in. Toss until all covered.

5. Then lightly toss in the lettuce. Serve with brown rice.