Salad Season is Here!

It is no surprise to anyone that I enjoy food, but I wasn't always a huge fan of salads as meals. I've always loved a nice salad as a side, but the idea of only eating a salad as my entire meal always seemed like a horrible idea. I thought I would be hungry an hour later. What about the meat? The carbs? The protein? It turns out, those are what make a delicious salad delicious. The avocado, the cheese, the nuts, the dressing, the fruit, and of course the vegetables. :-)

I've gotten more into salads over the last year, and I came across the following recipe online. I've made it two nights in a row now, each time doing it a little different. I doctored it up a bit, and it turned out to be a very filling, satisfying, delectable meal. As the weather warms up, summer produce begins to sprout, and I crave more light, heart-healthy foods, I plan to make a version of this salad weekly.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Harvest-Salad/Detail.aspx

Changes I made:

I left out the red onion and tomato, because I didn't have any on hand.

I added cucumbers, strawberries (hooray for delicious organic strawberries!), and slivered almonds (toasted for about 3 minutes in the toaster oven).

I added about a cup of shredded rotisserie chicken (picked up the cooked chicken at Whole Foods, and this is the second meal in which I've used it)

I also used a blend of organic mixed greens instead of just spinach.

Last night I made the dressing using raspberry preserves, as it calls for, and tonight I used strawberry preserves. I slightly preferred the raspberry, though both were pretty yummy.

Who doesn't love a super healthy meal you can make in 10 minutes?!? And the best part (for me, anyway), was that I could just chop up some avocado and chicken super fine for my 9 month old, and she gobbled it up. :-)

Chewy Oat Bars

My friend JoAnna sent me this delicious recipe:

http://tammysrecipes.com/oatmeal_chocolate_chip_cookie_bars

I made the following changes:

I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour, and 1/2 cup white flour

Took out 1/2 of a stick of butter (so I used 3/4 of the butter it called for)

Took out half of the chocolate chips

Added 1/4 cup of ground flax seed

Added 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Added 3/4 cup sliced almonds

Instead of a 9x13 inch pan, I scooped the dough into two greased 8x8 glass dishes. I was holding my 9 month old while I made them, and she refused to let me put her down. My 9x13 inch pan was too high for me to reach while holding her, so I used the ones that were more accessible. If you don't have kids, you now think I'm ridiculous. If you have kids, you probably understand. :)

These came out so so so good, and were pretty simple to make. They were delicious straight out of the oven, all warm and gooey, but they will make a great snack later when they firm up a bit as well. And the best part, they are fairly healthy! :)