Quinoa, corn and edamame salad

 I added about 1 cup of grape tomatoes

2 cups frozen, shelled, edamame

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup cooked, cooled quinoa

1 green onion, sliced

1/2 red sweet bell pepper, diced

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dash cayenne

Briefly boil the edamame and the corn until tender. Drain very well and cool completely.

In a large bowl combine the edamame, corn, quinoa, green onion, red pepper and cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, salt, chili powder, cumin, thyme, black pepper and cayenne until emulsified. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat.

Servings » About 8 (1/2 cup) servings

Layered salad

This is from fatgirlstrappedinaskinnybody.com

Balsamic Vinaigrette
Recipe from Creative Kitchen Adventures
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp water (more or less depending on the consistency you want)
2 tbsp honey (can be replaced with agave or brown sugar)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions
Place all ingredients into a small jar (canning jar). Anything with a lid works well.
Shake to mix thoroughly. Stores in fridge for 1-2 weeks.

*Or use my blending method: throw everything in the blender, blend for about 30 seconds, then store in a jar for 1-2 weeks.
Salad
Makes 2 salads (Salads pictured were made in 32 oz mason jars)
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 big handfuls spinach
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion, diced
4 tbsp balsamic vinagrette
Layer the ingredients in the jar as follows:
dressing
onion
mushrooms
tomatoes
quinoa
spinach
The most important part of the layering is making sure the dressing and the spinach (or whatever ‘leaf’ you choose) don’t touch. As long as they stay separate, these salads can be made up to 4 days in advance and will stay fresh in the fridge with a lid on. This is one of my tricks to eating salad everyday for lunch at work. I make a few jars on Sunday night and just grab one to bring to work everyday. When you’re ready to eat, just shake it up.

 

Egg, Tomato, Spinach, and Avacado Stack

This is so good for breakfast or lunch!

• Steam a bowl full of spinach in the microwave and drizzle with 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
• Spray pan with pam and cook egg on medium low until it is cooked how you like it (salt and pepper for seasoning)
• Add a slice of lowfat swiss cheese on top of egg
• Top spinach with tomato and a few slices of avacado then top with the egg.

Quinoa Patties

These are great on a bun as a veggie burger or just as a patty topped with tomatoes, maybe some avacado, whatever you want! These are so flavorful and I loved them as leftovers.

This came from Eating Well Living Thinner

2 rounded cups cooked quinoa (I used red quinoa)

3/4 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese (or other variety, if you prefer)

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 medium carrot, finely grated (OR 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed dry)

3 eggs

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

4 green onions, including white parts chopped

1 /2 teaspoon Stevia or sugar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all ingredients and spray your grill or pan with cooking spray and cook until browned and set up.

Best Ever Healthier Banana Bread

This is a recipes that I altered so much to make it healthier and to my taste that I will claim it for my own. It is the best I have ever had!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. melted coconut oil
• 1/4 c apple sauce
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c Stevia
• 1/4 c honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 c wheat flour
• 3/4 c. white flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c light sour cream
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c chia seeds
• 1/4 c. unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350
Mix melted butter, applesauce and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Next add flours, baking soda, and salt. Mix well then add sour cream, bananas, nuts, and coconut.
Prepare pan/pans (I used mini loaf pans) with pam. Pour into prepared pans, sprinkle with sugar in the raw if desired (gives a nice crunch) and bake for 40- 60 minutes (depending on size of pan), or until toothpick comes out with only a slight amount of the bread on the toothpick.

Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes



Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

12 oz. orzo 1 bunch fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved 1 lemon, zested and juiced 4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 2 Tbs. fresh parsley, minced Kosher salt Fresh ground pepper Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions

Bring 2 large pots of water to boil. Add a big pinch of salt in each.

To one pot, add asparagus and blanch, about 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus.

Place blanched asparagus in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep them green.

To the second pot, add the orzo. Cook per package instructions. When tender, drain and place in a large bowl.

Add blanched asparagus and tomato halves.

Mix olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir into orzo and vegetables. Stir in parsley and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

This can be served warm, room temperature or cold.

From http://www.abigmouthful.com/lemon-orzo-salad-with-asparagus-and-tomatoes/

Serving Size: 8

Number of Servings: 8

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 8
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 222.1

• Total Fat: 7.9 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 3.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 34.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.8 g
• Protein: 6.1 g

Baked Chicken Nuggets

• 16 oz (2 large) skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into even bit sized pieces
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 6 tbsp whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I could only find white not wheat)
• 2 tbsp panko
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• olive oil spray or Pam 

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray or Pam.

Put the olive oil, salt and pepper in a ziploc bag and the breadcrumbs, panko and parmesan cheese in another

Put chicken in olive oil then lift into bread crumb mixture and shake. Lift these out and place on baking sheet, spray top with olive oil or Pam and bake for about 8 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.
Sooo good and you wont miss all the fat and oil from frying!