Recipes: Strawberry Spinach Salad, Red Beans & Rice, Healthy Chk Nuggets, +More!!

Well, I realized I've gotten behind with posting some of my dinner & lunch recipes, so I am dedicating this whole blog to all my recent recipes. 

The other night, I made red beans & rice with organic greek yogurt & chopped avocado.  It was pretty easy and VERY delicious.  The kids really liked it, Chris had 2 servings!  Here are some pics and the recipe:

Red Beans & Rice (adapted from Skinnytaste)

• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 cup onion, minced
• 1/2 t thyme
• 15.5 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I had a can of organic pinto beans so that's what I used)
• 2 cups uncooked long grain rice (make sure it's brown rice)
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 13.5 oz can (1 3/4 cups) light coconut milk 

In a medium heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; add garlic, scallion, onion and thyme. Sauté a few minutes, then add rice, beans and stir.


Add the coconut milk, water, salt and fresh pepper, stir to combine and bring to a boil.

Continue to cook the rice until almost all the liquid is absorbed and just skims the top.

Cover; reduce heat to low; simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and keep covered for 10 additional minutes to allow the steam to finish cooking the rice (do not be tempted to lift the lid before that). Serve hot.

I also served this with 1/2 chopped avocado and a dollop of organic plain greek yogurt.

 Oh and roasted brussel sprouts

Find my brussel sprouts recipe here on my fb page.  Just click on "photos" then "food: meals & snacks". 

Yummo!

Last night, we were invited to a friend's house for a cook out and I decided to make a strawberry spinach salad with strawberry vinaigrette, which I found in Dr Joel Fuhrman's book, Super Immunity.  This is my husband's FAVORITE salad and it was SO GOOD!!!  The dressing is amazing and sweet, yet there is no added sugar!  Hard to believe...  Here is the recipe:

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

For the Salad:

• 1/2 c raw whole pecans

• 12 oz baby spinach

• 1 pint fresh organic strawberries

For the Dressing:

• 2 c fresh organic strawberries

• 4 pitted dates

• 1 T unhulled sesame seeds

• 3 T balsamic vinegar

Lightly toast pecans in a 250 degree oven for 3 minutes & add to other salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Blend all salad dressing ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender until smooth.  Pour over salad.

This is seriously one of my favorite side salads now!  I bet (when we're back on meat) it will be great with a little grilled chicken on top as a meal.  And the dressing is so good drizzled over pineapples or other fruit (yes, I tried that tonight).  This is super low-calorie!!

Today, I realized I was running low on food for lunch for the kiddos.  So, I took one of the whole chickens I bought at Whole Foods a month ago or so and stuck it in the crock pot for 4 & 1/2 hours on low.  I did rub a little sea salt and fresh cracked pepper on it just for some added flavor.  After it was done cooking, I shredded the breast meat.

Here is the recipe:
Toddler Friendly Chicken Nuggets (adapted from Super Healthy Kids)
1 lb chicken breast, cooked (you can boil it for 20 min or cook a whole chk in the crock pot)
3 whole eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put cooked chicken in the food processor with the eggs and blend until smooth. 

Roll up chicken mixture into little balls

Roll these out and coat in breadcrumbs, place on baking sheet. 

Bake in oven for 10 minutes, flip over and cook 10 more minutes.  Done deal!

I put mine in a freezer bag for easy lunches this week!  My kids love chicken nuggets, so this is my healthy compromise.  The kids all tried one of these and they approve, 2 thumbs up!!

Tonight for dinner was amazing!!  I found this recipe on cleaneatingmag.com and I knew I had to try it.  I love a ton of roasted veggies and this recipe calls for a wide variety of them! 

Roasted Veggie & Feta Pasta

• 2 cups uncooked Kamut elbow macaroni or rotini pasta
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 yellow squash, halved lengthwise & sliced into half-moons
• 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, sliced into wedges
• 1 red onion, thickly sliced into semi-circles
• 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
• 1 eggplant, quartered lengthwise and sliced
• 1 cup whole cherry tomatoes, halved
• 5 oz soft goat cheese (I used feta because that's what I had on hand), crumbled

VINAIGRETTE

• 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 tsp each sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf or Italian parsley
• 1/2 packed cup whole fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup verjus (I did not have verjus and couldn't find it, so I subbed 1/2 c white vinegar + 1 t honey)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water to remove sticky starches; drain well and set aside.
2. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray and add peppers and onion in a single layer. Roast in oven until just browned but not soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer peppers and onion to a large bowl. Repeat with zucchini, squash and eggplant in a single layer, then tomatoes; once roasted, add to bowl with peppers and onion.
3. Meanwhile, prepare vinaigrette: In a blender or food processor, blend all vinaigrette ingredients into a smooth liquid.  
4. Add pasta and vinaigrette to bowl with vegetables and toss well to coat evenly. Top with cheese and serve.

Let me tell you, this was SO GOOD. The only downside was there was quite a bit of prep involved here.  My back hurts so bad since I've been standing in the kitchen all day prepping veggies and the vinaigrette.  Maybe chop the veggies a day or so earlier so that you don't have to do so much work all at once.

 I served it with my homemade whole wheat artisan bread and some pineapples.  Looking forward to having it for lunch tomorrow too!!  

I will have all these recipes up on my FB page ASAP.  Thanks for reading!!!