Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Spring Time!

Its that time of year again, when there is still a looming chance of down pour, but it's so exciting to see the sun that we pretend it's summer. 


Go ahead, take out the 6-pack of Schlitz, put on your shorts (even though you're shivering), weed the garden and invite a few friends over for some bbq steaks. 


Unless you're some sort of barbarian (or maybe just a bachelor) you'll want something other than just steak for dinner. Here's a recipe for a side dish that's sure to make any bbq healthier and more balanced. It's 4 ingredients, classy, delicious, and satisfying. BAM! Trust me, there hasn't been an easier, more crowd pleasing dish since Thanksgiving's green bean casserole. 

Caprese Salad: Serves about 4-5 people as a side dish
1 - 8 oz. tub of FRESH Ciliegine Mozzarella (the small cherry sized balls in water)
16 oz Cherry Tomatoes 
2-3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
a large handful of FRESH basil (the dry stuff won't cut it in this recipe)
Salt and pepper to taste


1. Coarsely chop your basil. 
2. Drain mozzarella (you don't want any of the water).
3. Mix mozzarella, tomatoes and basil in large bowl, drizzle on the olive oil.
4. Salt and Pepper to taste. You can also add about a 3/4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar here and/or garlic powder, if you are so inclined. 
5. Done. Now, go impress your friends. 

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Salad Bar Drama

The 2 salads below are from the same salad bar and look very similar but they are not. The ingredients are almost the same except one has chicken while the other has avocado but there is 394-calorie difference between the two. The difference is mostly in the amount of ingredients added, so when you’re at the salad bar, be mindful of portions and take a look at some of the calories that you may be adding to your salad.

713 Calories

319 Calories

Just keep in mind that a normal person trying to maintain their current weight (someone NOT on a diet) should probably be eating roughly 2,000 calories per day. About 500 should come from Lunch. (Note: if you’re trying to lose weight, a 350-calorie lunch is a much happier choice). A normal salad bar salad will come out to about 500-1200 calories depending on what you put on it.

I won’t bore you with a list of calories for every item at the bar. You can do that on your own, if you’re so inclined. This is merely a snapshot of what you might find at the bar and something to keep in mind next time you’re filing up your plate.

(hint: mushrooms, cucumbers, baby corn, beets, olives, tomatoes, radish, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, onions, and bell peppers are all under 30 calories per salad bar serving and great salad bar choices.)

Greens:

If you have the option, Mixed greens is a better choice than Romaine or Iceberg. There are far more nutrients (and flavor) in Mixed greens. If you need the crunch that Romain lettuce provides, mix the two.

The Ad-Ons that you ACTUALLY want:

(I’ve calculated the calories in to servings that you would probably really use)

Sunflower Seeds = 110 calories for 2 scoops

Hardboiled Egg = 70 calories

Avocado ½  = 125 calories

Chickpeas = 143 calories for 3 scoops

Kidney Beans = 80 calories for 3 scoops

Raisins = 80 calories for1 scoop

Cheese (any variety) = 110 calories for 1 scoop

Bacon Bits = 30 calories in 1 scoop

Croutons = 80 in ½ cup

Pre-Cooked Chicken Breast = 110 calories for ½ breast (about 4 sliced pieces)

Dressing:

These are calculated from 2 tbsp., which is the general serving size and is about the size of a ping pong ball

Ranch = 148 calories

Creamy Balsamic Vinagarette = 90 calories

Light Balsamic Vinagarette = 45 calories

Blue Cheese = 145 calories

Thousand Island = 118 calories

Italian = 56 calories

Caesar = 140

For the record, not all calories are bad. Avocados will keep you full for hours, same with chickpeas and hardboiled eggs—just use in moderation and if you have to have cheese on your salad (as I do), just know that you’re adding 110 calories with a pretty small amount of cheese…so enjoy the hell out of it. As for dressings, if you can’t eat a salad without a creamy dressing (again, like me), then maybe see how little you can put on your salad and still enjoy it.

Don’t freak out and never go to the salad bar again, just be aware of what you’re doing once you’re there.

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Saying "No" to McDonalds

I don’t know about you, but one of my biggest challenges in with this whole “eating right” thing is having to work while doing it. Of course, I should be able to brown bag lunch everyday and assume that the problem is solved. Not at my job.

I’ll paint you a picture of a typical day. 

I come in at 8am and grab my coffee with Spelnda (I’m not a fan of the fake stuff, but we don’t have any real sugar here). At about 9 or 10 my boss—size 2, blonde bombshell—asks if anyone is hungry. This roughly translates to, “I want a Sausage McMuffin and hashbrown, but I can’t be the only one eating Mcdonalds, so I’ll buy you all breakfast to alleviate my guilt.”  Then, the rest of the day no one eats again.

OR, I come in at 8am, have my coffee. No one eats anything, then, at about noon, the boss asks “How about Chinese Food?!” or “How about pizza?!” or “How about burritos?!”

Now, don’t get me wrong, these free lunches are awesome! Who doesn’t want their boss to offer to buy lunch or breakfast daily? My problem is the health factor and self control in this scenario. I WANT to say yes, but recently I have had to force myself to say no and find something else to eat. 

Brown bagging has been working so far, but this morning the inevitable “Do you want anything from McDonalds?” happened. I immediately said “no.” but then, just to make sure that was my final answer, I went to the McDonalds website and looked at all the deliciousness they have to offer. I held strong and stuck with my original “no,” but realized that this is going to be an ongoing struggle. Eating healthy isn’t just about eating the right things, its about WANTING to eat the right things. It’s all very physiological and requires a lot of self-control (which I've never been very good at--ask the 13 Del Taco chicken soft tacos I had one day in college). 

I think the best way for me to keep this whole thing up is to continue to brown bag my lunch and snacks and keep things interesting. I can’t bring the same thing everyday, because it will only get boring and I’ll be even more tempted to get a Grande Burrito with extra sour cream. (Mmm…)  

Anyway, I have to be happy with my bananas, blueberries, cheerios, whole-wheat wraps and green tea. I have to make things that actually taste good, not just are good. So that’s the plan. Come up some tasty treats that are low-cal, high-protein and, most importantly, delicious. If I come up with anything super-crazy-awesome, I’ll be sure to let you know. 

Ok, now back to my tomato soup and fruit salad. Happy Friday, ya’ll.

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