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. :-)

Cinnamon Banana Nut Muffins

Audrey loves muffins (hence the title of my blog), and I've made these for her quite a few times. If you are feeding them to a baby, be careful with the walnuts, and make sure they are finely chopped (or just feed the baby parts of the muffin without walnuts).



1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce (I used organic TJ's applesauce)
1/2 cup plain lowfat organic yogurt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1 tspn vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
3-4 bananas (I used 3.5 this time because I only had 4, and Audrey wanted to eat some) :-)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan or muffin tin (I used a muffin tin this time) with 100% canola oil spray.

Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl. In a mixing bowl (or stand mixer), combine the butter and sugar. Blend until light and fluffy, about one minute. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat to incorporate. Then, mix in the applesauce, flaxseed meal, and yogurt and blend until pretty smooth. Pour the flour mixture slowly into the mixing bowl while the mixer is still running, or add it a little at a time and mix by hand while you make the additions.

Lastly, add the walnuts and bananas, mix well, and use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes (45-60 if you use a loaf pan). Start checking the muffins around 30 minutes with the toothpick test. If you want a little extra treat, add a pinch of brown sugar to the top of each muffin after the first 30 minutes of baking. It will come out with a crispy, melted sugary topping. YUM!

Set the entire pan on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes, then carefully remove the muffins and enjoy. :)



This recipe yields about 12 muffins.