A Practical Guide To Healthy Living

This tangy, protein-packed salad is so good, so easy, so healthy.  There is nothing to hate about this dish – your taste-buds, body and family will thank you for putting this on the table! [Read more →]

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Oh. My. Goodness.  This was so tasty, and wait, guess what?  You make it in the CROCKPOT!  Yes!  All you’ve gotta do is open a few containers and chop an onion.  Super delicious and a dump-n-go preparation?  Too good to be true?  No, folks, trust me, it’s not.  Read on for the deets!

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Put the raw chicken breast, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, chiles and garlic into the slow cooker.  Pour in chicken broth and season with cumin, chili powder, salt and bay leaf.  Stir in the corn.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.  Shortly before serving, shred the chicken and return it to the cooker to mix with the soup.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.  Remove the bay leaf and serve topped with your fixings – crushed corn tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, etc.!

Serves 4.

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When I first saw this recipe, I didn’t believe the total time could be 30 minutes, and I was right – it’s more like 45 by the time you do a bit of chopping.  But once this hits the oven (after about 15 min. of prep), you’re pretty much free to do as you please.  And when it comes out, you’ve got a complete meal that just screams “fall!”

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66 days. About 2 months – that’s how long it takes for a new behavior to become a habit . . . that is, something that’s automatic.  So says a University college of London study. Make it easier on yourself by picking a set time each day to practice your habit – whatever time you think it’ll be the easiest for you to stick with and tolerate.

So what’s it going to be? A big salad for lunch? Making a shopping list/meal plan every weekend? A new exercise plan? The last time I did this in earnest was when I was 20 and learning how to exercise for the first time.  I capitalized on my trait as a morning person by getting up at 6:00 every morning and going for a walk/run . . . which turned into a run . . . which turned into a years-long jogging habit and a 40-pound weight loss.

If you start now, you’ll have a new habit firmly in place by the time the weather turns! What’re you gonna do?

Image: zirconicusso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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I don’t know what I’d do without Google.  I use it all.the.flippin’.time. for cooking.  I often research ingredients I’ve never cooked with (garlic scapes, for example) and find inspiration for things I have on hand and want to use . . . last night was one of those nights.  I had some beautiful spinach and fresh dill from my Picadilly haul on Wednesday and a nice piece of cod I’d gotten at the market earlier . . . plugged those into Google and voila!  Up popped this recipe, which D. has dubbed “restaurant-worthy.”  Be still, my heart.

Even if you don’t have the ingredients on hand, this one’s worth a trip to procure them.  It’s so fast, and there is so little cleanup.  I didn’t alter it a bit – too tired to tinker.  So I’m providing you with the link and the commendation.  It’s a keeper.  Although we enjoyed it side-dish-less, I think it’d be great with some steamed new potatoes topped with a little butter, salt & pepper.

Bon appetit!

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Today’s recipe is a simple, hearty  and healthy dinner salad that boasts high protein and high fiber.  If you skip the added chicken, you could serve this as a pretty and creative side dish.  Or sub tofu for chicken, and create a vegan one-dish meal.  In any case, this’ll cost you only 30 minutes of your time, counter to table.

Orange Chicken Quinoa

Boil 1 1/4 c. water in a small saucepan.  Add rinsed quinoa, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for approximately 12 minutes, or until the water is absorbed by the quinoa.  Remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes and then fluff.

While the quinoa is cooking, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.  Trim the scallions and cut into 1-inch pieces.  Saute the chicken and scallions in a skillet with 1 t. of olive oil, until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Meanwhile, make the dressing.  Cut 1 inch off each end of the orange.  Squeeze the orange ends into a small bowl, to get about 2 T. of juice.  Whisk together the orange juice, the lemon juice, 3 T. olive oil, salt and pepper.  Peel the remainder of the orange and slice it very thinly.

Add the chicken mixture, the dressing, sliced orange and the pistachios to the quinoa and toss.  Taste for seasoning – add more lemon juice, salt and/or pepper if desired.  Arrange 1 c. of salad greens on each of four plates, garnish each with 1/4 of the chicken mixture.

Serves 4.

Adapted from the Nutrition Action Healthletter, April 2009

Tip: Are you using non-stick cookware?  It’s more than suspect from a health-standpoint, it could be downright dangerous.  Did you know that a properly seasoned cast iron frying pan is virtually non-stick?  The secret is to heat it up before you begin cooking your food.  The 1 teaspoon of oil in this recipe more than coated my cast iron frying pan and created a non-stick surface for my chicken – all for only 10 extra calories per serving.  And bonus!  If you use cast iron cookware, you’ll get a little extra iron in your diet.

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Those of you who know me “off the blog” know that I eat a lot of baby spinach.  I buy a huge 16 oz. tub once a week, and I use it every day - in smoothies, steamed lightly, chopped up in frittatas and egg dishes, raw in salads with lots of additions . . . I can’t get enough.  Spinach is packed with nutritive benefits.  I love other greens too, but I think that pre-washed baby spinach is the unsung hero of the prepared-food world.  Move over, Chef Boyardee!

Yesterday I talked about moving on to spring and summer.  A slow process here in New England, full of ups and downs and teases.  But I’m starting to think salads, and right now while there are no local, tender and tasty salad greens, I love the more substantial bite of a salad made with baby spinach.  Healthy, fast and easy, too.  What more could a girl wish for?

Here are some ideas for additions to your spinach salad – tweak them to your liking, and make your salads smaller for use as side dishes, or huge for use as main courses.  Maybe you try taking a salad for lunch this week?  Just pack components separately to avoid soggy wiltingness . . . small glass jars leftover from jams are great to reuse this way.

1. Spinach salad with sweetened dried cherries, chopped walnuts, crumbled feta and fig vinegar/EVOO vinaigrette.  Note, goat cheese is great here too.
2. Classic spinach salad with chopped hard-cooked eggs, halved grape tomatoes, crumbled bacon (please use the real stuff!) and dijon vinaigrette.  Add sliced button mushrooms if you like them, or try Marjorie Drucker’s (NE Soup Factory) updated take which boasts a warm pancetta dressing.
3. This spinach salad with toasted chickpeas and pomegranate vinaigrette is on my list to try – POM sent me a case of pomegranate juice that I’m looking to use!
4. Spinach salad with strawberries and pecans – my sister-in-law got me on the strawberries and spinach salad thing and I am still in love with this combo.  This is a good recipe.
5. Easiest ever – baby spinach topped with sweetened dried cranberries, crumbled bleu cheese, chopped walnuts and Newman’s own light raspberry walnut vinaigrette.
6. Indulge a little and top your baby spinach with grilled chicken (or pull your chicken from a supermarket rotisserie bird), pieces of brie cheese, halved grape tomatoes and a honey-mustard vinaigrette.
7. This recipe from Bon Appetit is on my to-try list – who can resist this zany combo of spinach, pear and avocado? Or this one with warm feta dressing?

What’s your favorite spinach salad?

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I’m pasty. And grouchy. Uninspired in the kitchen and in desperate need of some sun and sand . . . so while I take a break to recalibrate and find my mojo, I thought it’d be fun to revisit some of Semi-Sweet’s top posts. Look for them starting tomorrow – I hope you get reacquainted with an old favorite or two, or perhaps find a new one . . . . Bon appétit!

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