Summer Corn Salad

This simple salad has very few ingredients but is absolutely delicious! Throw extra corn and peppers on the grill and use the leftovers the next day to make this wonderful side dish.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked corn (fresh, frozen thawed or canned)
½ cup diced roasted bell pepper- red, green or a mixture
(you can buy them in the jar and rinse off the oil, or make your own by grilling them)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lime juice
1-2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add the corn and the peppers to a small bowl. Pour in the olive oil, lemon and lime juice, then sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Mix well, add salt and pepper to taste if desired and serve. Refrigerate if not serving immediately

Makes 2.5 cups, 5 servings

Serving size: ½ cup Calories 80 Protein 1g Carb 12 g Fiber 2 g Sugars 3 g Fat 3 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 10 mg

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Grilled Vegetable & Chicken Kabobs

These work great as an appetizer or served as a main dish with rice and salad.

Ingredients:

2 bell peppers (any color) cut into 1 ½ inch squares
1 small white onion or ½ large, cut into 1 ½ inch squares
1 pound of chicken breasts, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
1 tablespoon diced kalamata olives, plus 2 tablespoons olive juice
¼ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon paprika
6 long bamboo skewers
salt and pepper

Directions:

Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 15 minutes to prevent them from burning on the grill. In a small bowl combine the olives, olive juice, olive oil, basil, oregano and paprika and whish together. Add it to a Tupperware or ziplock with the chicken chunks and marinate in the fridge for 20 minute to an hour. Cut up the peppers and onions and set aside. Once the chicken has marinated, turn on the barbeque grill on high heat Discard the marinade and assemble the skewers- divide the chicken to make 6 skewers (this will be about 3 chunks per skewer). Alternate the vegetables and chicken along the bamboo skewers. Grill over a medium-high flame for 15 – 20 minutes while turning every few minutes. The chicken should be fully cooked (no longer pink in the center) and vegetables should be slightly crisp but tender.

Makes 6 kabobs. 6 servings:

Serving size: 1 kabob Calories 120 Protein 17 g Carb 3 g Fiber 1 g Sugars 2 g Fat 4.5 g saturated fat 1 g Sodium 70 mg

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Another Shout-Out!

As my second post in my Shout-Out series, I'd like to highlight Joy Bauer. It’s likely you may have seen her on TV before, because she is the nutrition and health expert for the TODAY Show. She appears in a lot of fun and informative segments on the show. One of them is the“Joy Fit Club,” which highlights people who have lost and kept off 100 pounds or more through diet and exercise alone. Joy’s other ongoing series include Joy’s Diet S.O.S., Joy’s Kitchen Rescue and Joy’s Healthy Food Finds.

In addition to being an accomplished TV personality, Joy is also the author of multiple New York Time bestsellers, such as her latest cookbook titled Slim & Scrumptious and Joy Bauer's Food Cures which is an “ultimate guide to using food as medicine.” Recently I was contacted by a member of Joy’s team and was sent these two great books for review. I would definitely recommend them both. The cookbook focuses on whole, natural foods used to create a variety of unique and flavorful recipes. Her Food Cures book is easy to read, and provides tons of great information on healthy eating, not only as it relates to weight loss, but to many other health conditions/issues that are also prevalent today ranging from diabetes to osteoporosis. Also, because she is a qualified health professional, the information and tips in the book are based on sound research.

So a big Shout-Out to Joy and I invite you to check out her site http://www.joybauer.com/ for more info!

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Strawberry Banana Snack Smoothie

A fruity, refreshing and easy to make mini-smoothie!

½ medium banana
2 large strawberries
½ cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk which works great)

Cut the banana and strawberries into chunks and freeze. Once frozen, put in blender with milk and blend on high for 30 sec-1 minutes until a smooth mixture is formed. Pour and serve.

Makes 1 smoothie, one serving

Serving size: 1 smoothie Calories 80 Protein 1 g Carb 17 g Fiber 3 g Sugars 9 g Fat 2g saturated fat 0 g Sodium 90 mg

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Grilled Brussels Sprouts

Throw your Brussels out on the grill instead of cooking them in the pan and you will love the results!

Ingredients:

1 pound brussels sprouts (small to medium size work best)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the brussels sprouts al dente they can be cooked by either boiling them in a pot of water, steaming in a pyrex dish in an half inch of water, or even quicker, put them in a Glad® Simply Cooking™ Microwave Steaming Bag and heat on high for about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat a barbecue grill or large pan and soak 5-6 wooden skewers. Cool the brussels sprouts rapidly by putting them in a strainer under running cold water or throw them in a pot of cold water. Dry them and add them to 6 skewers (about 6-8 brussels sprouts per skewer.) Mix the olive oil lemon juice and garlic powder in a small dish and add it to the brussels sprouts- using a brush to coat them works the best. Heat them for 3-5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Add salt and pepper if desired.

Makes 6 servings

Serving size: 1 skewer Calories 50 Protein 3 g Carb 7 g Fiber 3 g Sugars 2 g Fat 2.5 g saturated fat 0 g Sodium 20 mg

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Rainbow Ratatouille

This ratatouille features a rainbow of colors from summer veggies and all the vitamins, minerals and fiber that comes along with them. Try it over brown rice, whole wheat pasta… it can even liven up an omelet or add flair to a baked potato!

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon olive oil
2 finely chopped fresh garlic cloves (2 teaspoons)
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 large eggplant, cut into small ¼ inch cubes (4 cups)
1 red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups canned diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped zucchini,
1 cup chopped yellow squash
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon herbs de provence
fresh chopped basil, for garnish/topping

Directions:

Add ½ teaspoon of olive oil to a large pot with the onions and garlic and sauté them on medium-high heat until lightly browned/tender, about 3-5 minutes. Put in the cubed eggplant, the chopped pepper and the broth and continue to heat, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. Then throw in the canned tomatoes, the squash, zucchini and the herbs and heat for another 7-10 minutes until all the vegetables are very tender. Garnish with fresh chopped basil.

Makes 6 cups, 6 servings

Serving size: 1 cup Calories 70 Protein 2 g Carb 14 g Fiber 3 g Sugars 7 g Fat 1 g saturated fat 0 g Sodium 530 mg

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Simple Grilled Garlic Chicken

My husband is the grill master of the household, especially when it comes to barbeque chicken. One night he decided to try something different (rather than just adding bbq sauce) and the result was this recipe. We have been enjoying it ever since!

Ingredients:

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4, half inch thick breasts work well)
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Directions

Place the chicken breasts on a large plate. Put the olive oil in a small dish and use a brush to lightly coat both sides (or use your hands to rub it in). In a separate dish mix the salt, garlic and pepper together. Coat the chicken breast on one side with half the mixture, flip and coat the other side with the rest. Preheat a large nonstick pan or barbeque grill and cook on high heat for 10-15 minutes each side until no longer pink in the center.

Makes 4 servings:

Serving size: 1 chicken breast Calories 160 Protein 24 g Carb 0g Fiber 0 g Sugars 0 g Fat 6 g saturated fat 0 g Sodium 200 mg

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