Spinach Power Salad

Lunch is one of my favorite meals of the day. It's probably because it's smack dab in the middle of your work day so you get to eat something that tastes great while conveniently kicking your feet up on your desk for a few minutes (at least, that's what I did...). Sounds pretty good, right?

Because I was pretty lazy about making my own lunch or heck, even bringing leftovers the majority of the time, I would end up ordering takeout with my colleagues. And I really thought I was making good, conscious decisions about the meals I would order. Basically, if I ordered a salad from anywhere I would think to myself, "Win!" But as I started to workout more frequently I downloaded the application, MyFitnessPal, so I could log my daily caloric intake. Have you heard of this application? I thought so. Everyone and their mom has heard of this application and if you haven't, you're probably my mom reading this. (The woman has an iPhone5 and an iPad mini - her Christmas gifts - before this she was using her decade old flip phone. Anyhow, she doesn't really know how to use either, which my whole family thinks is totally adorable.)

Anyway, I digress. When I downloaded MyFitnessPal I was mortified when I realized just how many calories these "healthy" salads actually contained. I was lucky to find a salad under 800 calories. 800 calories!! According to the application I should've only been eating 1400 calories a day, which means that breakfast and dinner have to be practically nothing if I wanted to remain within my budgeted caloric intake for the day. (And I wondered why I was so tired after eating one of these so called healthy salads for lunch...It contained way too many calories for one meal.) So I started thinking about healthier alternatives to the already supposed to be healthy salads. And this is what I came up with:

This spinach power salad is a healthier alternative than even that of Panera Bread's spinach power salad, which weighs in at 460 calories. Not too shabby for a commercial salad, but for one you can easily duplicate at home, I still think you can do better. So I'm very happy to announce that my Spinach Power Salad I made at home was 1/3 of the cost and it has less calories sitting in at 229 calories. Do yourself a favor and try this one because that's a difference of 231 calories, which could easily be two glasses of red wine after work. Now I think Panera has started a "Power Menu" (and maybe other restaurants have started a similar version) where your meals don't exceed 400 calories. I applaud them because they're probably making a lot more money reducing the calories in their salad bowls making all of us lunch buyers happy as well. Oh, and if I didn't mention it before, this salad tastes great and it is packed with protein that will get you through the rest of your afternoon without yawning. Enjoy!

Cooking Ingredients:

• 2 cups Raw Spinach (14 calories)
• 1 Boiled Egg (78 calories)
• 1/2 On the Vine Tomato, sliced (7 calories)
• 1 Tbsp. Good Olive Oil (119 calories)
• 1 Tbsp. Red Vine Vinegar (3 calories)
• 1 tsp. Dijon Mustard (4 calories)
• 1 tsp. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice (2 Calories)
• Dash of Salt (0 calories)
• Dash of Freshly Ground Pepper (0 calories)
• 1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes (0 calories)
• 1 Green Onion (2 calories)

Cooking Directions for a Medium Rare Egg:

• Place the egg in a small pot and add water until it reaches just about a quarter of an inch over the egg so it is completely submerged
• Place the pot on the stove and heat over high heat until the water comes to a rolling boil
• Once it reaches a rolling boil turn the heat all the way down to low and allow the egg to simmer for exactly 4 minutes
• Immediately place the egg in ice cold water (by "shocking" the egg it will prevent the inside of the egg to continue cooking) 
• Peel the shell off of the egg after allowing it to cool
• Slice the egg in half and place with the sliced tomatoes and chopped green onion on the bed of spinach

** If you do not like the inside of the egg to be at all runny follow the step by step directions above and leave the egg to simmer for 12 minutes instead of the 4 minutes listed**

Cooking Directions for the Salad Dressing:

• In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
• Drizzle over the salad and serve immediately

Smoked Sausage Over Spaghetti Squash

There are so many wonderful things about the fall: beautiful leaves, incredible sunsets, sweater weather, scarves, boots, holidays, campfires, spiced candles...the list goes on and on. But even though this is my favorite time of the year I tend to block out another aspect the chillier weather brings: cold season. I tend to forget about this one every year because I'm too busy being excited that coffee and breads like danishes, muffins, donuts, and pies all become pumpkin flavored. But sadly, pumpkin flavored foods don't prevent you from getting sick...at least not me anyway.

I started noticing cold like symptoms early last week so I tried to do everything you're supposed to do when you're feeling under the weather: eat chicken noodle soup, pop some Tylenol, and get a good night sleep. I even tried drinking Kombucha (a strong probiotic in the form of fermented tea) but alas, I have seceded to the sickness. It's a full blown head cold with congestion that makes my head feel like it weighs twice as much as what it does and a relentless cough that makes me cry when I talk to people. All in all, I feel pretty gross right now and it has left me with a "blah" attitude about everything. Well, almost everything.

Though I feel like I'm stuck in a constant state of indifference because of the cold medicine (I feel like I'm walking in a cloud all of the time) it would take a lot more than a head cold to make me feel "blah" about comfort food - probably my favorite thing about the fall season. Spaghetti squash is a staple this time of year and it was also my first time preparing it at home. Despite the challenge of cutting the squash in half it was super easy to prepare and even easier to eat. And on a cold night (no pun intended) this dish was full of flavor and it paired very well with my pajamas and winter throw blankets.

Cooking Ingredients:

• 1 Large Spaghetti Squash
• Olive Oil
• 1 lb. Smoked Sausage
• Organic Tomato Sauce (I used Muir Glen's Crushed Tomatoes with Basil)
• Fresh Mozzarella
• Salt 
• Freshly Ground Pepper
• Fresh Basil Leaves
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 4 Large Cloves of Garlic

Cooking Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 450 Degrees Fahrenheit
• Cut the squash in half (I encourage you to use a Cleaver Knife but you can also use a large butcher knife. Just be careful cutting the squash in half - let the knife do the work, not your wrist or arm because it is easy to accidentally cut yourself.)
• Remove the seeds from both halves of the squash
• Place the squash on a cookie sheet and sprinkle generously with olive oil
• Add salt and pepper to the inside of the squash
• Place the flat side of each squash half face down leaving the round side facing upward
• Place the squash in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until the skin of the squash is tender and is able to be squeezed with your hand (check after letting it cool 10 minutes because it will be very hot to touch)
• Add a Tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium heat
• After mincing the garlic add to the oil in the frying pan and let cook for only a minute
• Chop up the sausage and add to the garlic and saute together until the skin on the smoked sausage is slightly browned
• Pour the tomato sauce over the sausage and garlic and heat
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Red Pepper Flakes (more or less based on your preference) into the sauce
• Scoop the squash out of its skin and into the frying pan (you'll see why this squash gets the name "spaghetti squash" since it will scrape out of the skin looking like short, small strands of spaghetti noodles)
• Heat the squash with the marinara and then scoop a serving into a bowl
• On a cutting board slice the fresh mozzarella and then julienne the basil leaves
• Serve the mozzarella on the side and then sprinkle the basil leaves over the top of the sausage and squash medley for an accent and a garnish

Asian Glazed Swai Fish Over Jasmine Rice

When we moved here we were warned about the competitiveness within the Philadelphia community, a.k.a. Eagles Fans. Though my husband is a huge NBA and MLB Fan, football has just never been under his radar. Yet we have found that if you're not an Eagles fan (even if you are indifferent to them) and you admit this to an Eagles fanatic they will spend as much time as they feel necessary trying to convince you why you should be an Eagles fan (that is, when the Eagles are performing satisfactorily - otherwise, they'll be cursing the coach and reconsidering their loyalty altogether).

This type of competitiveness about football is also translated into their view on weather, oddly enough. Specifically, they're competitive about their winters in Pennsylvania being the absolute coldest winters than any place (other than maybe Russia and Antarctica). Of course being from Indiana I figured I could chime in on the conversation since I've experienced a brutal winter a time or two. But I've found that each time I've tried to chime in on the conversation, no matter who I'm speaking to, if they're from Pennsylvania, I am very quickly and loudly kicked out of the conversation.

Apparently, only if you live in a warm climate year round can you have a conversation about bad winters with a person from Pennsylvania. And I've determined the reason for this is because they don't want a fellow survivor of comparably harsh winters to compete with them. Even though this past Friday it was 50 degrees Fahrenheit in Philadelphia and it was snowing in Indianapolis the weather, according to them, was still worse in Philadelphia because the wind was chilly...So I've deducted that people in and around Philadelphia are so competitive that it affects their scope of reality about everything. In their minds, they have to be number one for everything, even when it comes to being the worst at something.

So while everyone I knew in Indianapolis was eating meals fit for a cold day like soup and stew I decided to relish in the nice fall weather we had this entire weekend. Since I wasn't consumed this weekend by the "awful" weather from a little wind (like most of the folks I worked with) I decided to save my soup and stew recipes for the actual winter and prepare Ian and I a meal still fit for the fall. I had leftover ingredients from when my sister was here so I modified a glaze she had made for us. And I also just discovered Jasmine Rice, which I was very pleased to find the texture is a perfect cross between standard white rice and Japanese sticky rice. Jasmine Rice has great health benefits and it worked beautifully with the fish. I hope you decide to try this recipe because it's been my favorite one so far this fall. Bon Appetit!

Cooking Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Swai Fish
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil, divided
• 2 cups Water
• 1 cup Jasmine Rice
• 3 Tbsp. Honey
• 2 tsp. Soy Sauce
• 2 tsp. Sesame Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Sriracha (I used a lot, please modify based on your preference to spice)
• 2 tsp. Rice Vinegar
• 3 Green Onions, Chopped
• Pepper

Cooking Directions for the Jasmine Rice:

• In a small pot add one Tablespoon of Olive Oil and 2 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil
• Add the Jasmine Rice, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed by the rice

 Cooking Directions for the Glaze:

• In a small bowl mix the honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, rice vinegar, and pepper together

Cooking Directions for the Fish:

• Heat 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil in a large frying pan over medium heat 
• Slice your Filets in half (if needed) and place in the oil
• Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side and then remove from heat
• Add freshly ground pepper to the fish
• On a place, place the fish filets over a bed of Jasmine Rice
• Pour a few spoonfuls of glaze over the top of the fish
• On a cutting board, chop the green onions and then sprinkle a few pieces over the top of the fish for a garnish