Chipoltle salad

I love salads but my main complaint is the fact that I never find a dressing that is low fat and tastes good. I want it to taste like restaurants but healthy. Anyway, I finally found a salad and dressing that I can make at home that tastes like restaurant quality. This picture is not my salad but pretty close to what it looks like when finished minus the chips and cheese. You can adjust all of the ingredients according to taste, sometimes I just start mixing.
Dressing:
3 limes juiced
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 TBSP sugar or honey (this can be variated depending on how sweet you want it)
1/4 cup veg oil
whole bunch of cilantro
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 chipolte pepper in ADOBE sauce (I'm sure you're wondering what this is, you find it in most grocery stores in the mexican food aisle, comes in a can like green chile peppers, must have adobe sauce) you then pick one of the peppers out of the can and dice it, realize that if you do not like spicy then omit the pepper and just use adobe sauce
1 TBSP adobe sauce
COmbine all in a blender, and enjoy for a week or so.
Salad:
romaine lettuce
corn
tomatoes diced
cooked onions, green peppers, and red peppers
black beans
chicken (optional)
cilantro
avocado( makes the salad in my opinion)
cheese and crushed chips (optional, cut it out if watching calories, the salad is just great without)

Like I said before I LOVE this salad and feel like it is pretty healthy.I will be continuing on my qwest for great salad dressings.

Two more LOVES

I have found a few new loves...... First I love the Sunflower Farmers Market store. It is located in Orem and Salt Lake. Why do I lovei it? The produce is always fresh, the store is small, promotes being healthy, and CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! It is basically like going to a farmers market indoors and getting organic natural food for cheap. I only buy produce, cheese and meat there. Mostly load up on produce.

The second thing I love is gardens. Last year while I was about ready to have Carter I got the nesting hair to dig up some grass and make a garden. Shane was not overly excited but found that we together love gardening. We have been picking peas everyday and eating them. At night I walk out and grab my peppers and beans to cook for dinner, it is great to have a store in your back yard, not to mention how healthy it is for you. I strongly recommend having a garden if you have the room you will love it and it is not hard to maintain.

So there you have it my NEW TWO things I LOVE....more to come I'm sure.

Antioxidants

You hear that blueberries are so good for you, but I wanted to know what foods have the most antioxidants in them. Here is a chart I found online to answer my question. Not a huge BEAN fan but confirmed that my blueberry obsession is a healthy one.

Rank Food Serving Size Antioxidant Capacity per Serving
1 Small red beans, dried 1/2 cup 13727
2 Wild blueberries 1 cup 13427
3 Red kidney beans, dried 1/2 cup 13259
4 Pinto beans 1/2 cup 11864
5 Blueberries, cultivated 1 cup 9019
6 Cranberries 1 cup 8983
7 Artichoke hearts, cooked 1 cup 7904
8 Blackberries 1 cup 7701
9 Dried prunes 1/2 cup 7291
10 Raspberries 1 cup 6058
11 Strawberries 1 cup 5938
12 Red delicious apple One 5900
13 Granny Smith apple One 5381
14 Pecans 1 ounce 5095
15 Sweet cherries 1 cup 4873
16 Black plum One 4844
17 Russet potato, cooked One 4649
18 Black beans 1/2 cup 4181
19 Plum One 4118
20 Gala apple One 3903

The highest ranked foods in four major categories are as follows:

Fruits: blueberries, cranberries, and blackberries.

Vegetables: beans, artichoke hearts, and surprisingly, russet potatoes.

Nuts: pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts.

Spices: cinnamon, oregano, and ground cloves.


Raw chocolate and goji berries are two foods that are extremely rich in antioxidants but were not evaluated for the study cited above.

Love this bread!

In Utah we have this bread company, Great Harvest, I use to buy their bread in collage but forgot how much I lOOOOOOVVVVEEE IT! Yes, it is a bit spendy but seriously it has about 3 ingredients to it and so healthy for you! It is worth every penny. Their 100% Honey Whole Wheat Bread is my favorite, so dense, moist and flavorful. It will make your sandwich so much better and healthier.
(Not to mention when you go buy a loaf you get a free slice of warm bread right then)

One thing I love about summer is all my "summer" foods that I eat. I love to eat tuna fish on whole wheat bread (without mayo, don't like mayo) smothered in honey mustard topped with the crunchy lettuce and pickles. I was eating one yesterday and wondered if canned fish was as good for you as fresh fish and this is what I came up with.

Q: I know that eating fish is good for the heart. But fresh fish costs a lot and I can’t get to the grocery store very often. Does eating canned fish help?

A: Canned salmon, tuna, sardines, kippered herring, and other types of fish are pretty much on a par with fresh fish. They give you as much heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids as fresh fish, and sometimes more. These essential oils help prevent potentially deadly heart rhythms. They also work against inflammation and the formation of blood clots inside arteries. An Italian study published in 2001 found that people who ate fresh or canned fish at least twice a week were 30% less likely to have had heart attacks as those who ate fish less than once a week.

Whenever possible, choose fish packed in water. Since water and oil don’t mix, omega-3 fats remain locked in the fish. When fish is packed in oil, some of the omega-3 fats intermingle with the packing oil and are lost when the oil is drained.

About the only downside of eating canned fish is the extra sodium it contains. You can get more than 300 milligrams of sodium — one-seventh of a healthy daily ration — from three ounces of canned salmon or tuna. Rinsing the fish can help a bit.


Enjoy a tuna fish sandwich once in awhile, its good for you!

Slacker

I have been slacking on this blog, I know. Our life has been crazy between vacations, trying to sell our house, looking for houses, training for the race and many more little tasks each day I have neglected this blog. I have recommited myself to doing a better job of living the healthy lifestyle again and helping all of us that struggle, so here's to trying harder.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

I made these delicious lasagna rolls lastnight, they were super! It was a lot easier then doing the traditional lasagna. Paisley thought it was fun to eat a "Lasagna burrito.

Mariana Sauce:
3 cans petite diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
2 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP Oregano and Basil
1/2 TBSP Thyme
1 tsp Terragon
dice and saute 1 onion
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
You can add sausage if you want a meat sauce make sure you cook it before adding it
Combine all the ingredients in your crockpot and simmer all day on Low

Ricotta mixture:
Ricotta cheese (You can use fat free if you are wanting a lower calorie meal)
2 eggs
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozarella cheese
1 tbsp parsley
1 cup of shredded spinach (you can add more if you want more spinach)

Cook your lasagna noodles. Begin by smearing the ricotta mixture all over the noodle and then begin to roll from one end to the next. Place in a 9x13 dish for baking. Top with sauce and cheese. Cook 350 for 25-30 min. Let cool and set up for about 20 min. Enjoy!