Healthy Chicken Salad

 This chicken salad is a healthier version of the classic. It is inspired from a Barefoot Contessa recipe my mother-in-law gave  me (she makes the BEST chicken salad). But I also was influenced by a chicken salad sandwich I used to get at Dos Gringos back in DC. I lightened the recipe up and it is so great without any mayo! You can just serve it as is, with some greens on the side (arugula is a nice contrast), or put it in a roll-up. Eat it guilt free.

Makes 10 - 1/2 cup servings
WW = 3 points

Corn, Cucumber, Feta, Mint Salad

This is a Mediterranean style salad. I served it for dinner with grilled chicken on the side. It was a super light but filling dinner.

Serves 6 (1 cup servings)
ww = 3 points per serving.

Basil, Tomato, Mozzarella Salad

I bought some beautiful tomatoes and purple basil from the farmer's market today.

I was really craving cheese so when I stumbled upon some grass fed mozzarella I bought that too. Keeping up with ww has made my relationship with cheese go through a rough patch...so it was time. But I decided to make a healthy salad for dinner. To make it more hearty I served it over some cooked spelt. This salad was delicious. The only thing I will change next time is that I will not mix all ingredients together at once, instead I will gently toss in the beans and cheese at the end. Because the beans were canned and the cheese was so fresh they started to fall apart with the mixing. I had wanted all the ingredients to marinate together while the spelt took its lovely time cooking (1 hour+!!). But I learned my lesson about this.

This spelt was leftover from my winter csa. Let me tell you, letting it do its' thing is worth it. This was a lesson I learned back in December. You don't want to eat crunchy spelt-- you will end up with a headache.

Serves 6 (1 cup servings)
ww points = salad alone (5 points); salad with arugula and 1/2 cup cooked spelt (7 points)

Salmon Caper Salad

I made this salad for dinner last night to change things up. We have been eating a lot of fish these days so I needed an easy summer dish to feel refreshed. The recipe is inspired by Martha Stewart and I changed it ever so slightly to make it a filling dinner. It could definitely be made for a light dinner or a lunch. I just ate the salad but some millet on the side was necessary to fill my husband up.

Serves 2.
WW = 8 points per serving.

Anchovy-Caper Chicory Catalogna Puntarelle Salad

Well that is a long name! I got this Chicory Catalogna Puntarelle from our CSA this week. This veggie is a bitter, leafy green. You can see it in the picture below. Its' end starts right above the cherries. It is sandwiched between the sage (left) and swiss chard (right).

Needless to say, I had never heard of this veggie. Apparently it is pretty hard to come by in the US. Many people in Rome cook with this. Well, people in Rome and Mario Battali on occasion when he can get his hands on some. I had no idea what to do with this veggie but I was intrigued. There are not many recipes online for it either. But of the few that I could find, I saw a trend: caper, anchovy, garlic...you see where I am going here? So I decided to make up my own recipe.

Beet Corn Summer Salad

This salad is very high in fiber, filling and super quick to make. I served it as an appetizer but it would make a nice side served with plain fish or meat. Then I ate the leftovers with a hard boiled egg.

Serves 6.

Summer Vegetable Pilaf

This is a great summer dish. It could be a main course, a side for a potluck or a good picnic food.

 

Roasted Beet and Tatsoi Salad

This is a very light and healthy salad bursting with flavor and color. It can be served at room temperature or prepared in advance and served slightly chilled. It is very easy to make but the beets take some time to cook.

Curried Egg Salad

This recipe is adapted from Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks. I wanted to eat something different for breakfast that wouldn't weigh me down. That and I knew I wanted to make homemade pasta for dinner so I wanted to budget the calories. This egg salad is delicious. It does require some chopping but it doesn't take forever to make. Next time I will double it and save the salad for lunch for the week!

Baked Garlic Chicken served with Bacon Mashed Potatoes and Beet-Arugula Salad

This chicken recipe I got from Marc's mom. She made it one night with baked potatoes and I nearly died. It was amazing. So after raving about it, she gave marc and I the spices so I could make it. So sweet! Like most recipes, this was told to me verbally so I'm sure that I don't make it exactly the same way...which is probably why it never turns out as good as when she makes it.

Tonight I decided that I wanted to use up some of the random things in my fridge like basil, heavy cream and bacon, soooo.....I made rather unhealthy mashed potatoes to go with the meal. I also made a beet-arugula salad. But other than the potatoes, the meal is really healthy. Serious food for fall!

This dish serves about 4.

Fennel Crusted Bluefish and Faux Panzanella

Veggie-Orzo Summer Salad

This summer salad is quick, healthy, and super yummy. It is loaded with vegetables but it has such a simple taste. I think that it will be the next picnic food for me. It would also be a great dish to serve on the side of some cooked fish.

It was inspired by this blog and that cook, Cate, was inspired by another blog! So as you can see, it is was a typical cooking experiment for me.

Fennel Salad

Simple, healthy, & fast...this salad serves as the perfect picnic accompaniment or side for a summer fish or pasta. Tonight I am made it to complement homemade pasta with pesto sauce (recipe to follow).

Roasted Beet Salad

This is an excellent summery salad. It is a very light and can be served as a side or appetizer salad. The cooking time in your oven may vary from mine as my oven doesn't seem to cook things very quickly.