FEATURED LUNCH RECIPE

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Miso Marinaded Shrimp Salad

Salads and summer go hand-in-hand.  Try this yummy marinade for shrimp or chicken along with an Asian-inspired dressing for a beautiful summer salad.

Miso-Marinaded Shrimp Salad

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
6 cups mixed greens

• 1 cup snow peas, trimmed
• 1 Persian cucumber, sliced
• 20 asparagus spears, cooked and chopped (optional)
• 4 radishes, sliced
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

MARINADE:

• 1 pound peeled, deveined shrimp or 1 pound cubed chicken
• 1/4 cup low-cal coconut milk (from the carton, not can)
• 1 tablespoon white or brown miso
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter or almond butter
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 scallion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons Z Sweet or Truvia
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger

DRESSING:

• 2 tablespoons peanut or almond butter
• 2 tablespoons PB2
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (carton)
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon stevia or 1 tablespoon Z Sweet
• 1/2 green onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots

Ingredients

Dig In!

 Add salad ingredients to a bowl.  Place into fridge.  Combine all the marinade items in a ziplock bag and marinate for 4 hours.  Toss all the dressing ingredients into a mini blender.  Refrigerate.

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray.  Heat to medium-high.  Toss in shrimp/chicken and stir until cooked through, about 4-6 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Toss salad with dressing.  Top with shrimp/chicken.

Serves 4.  This meal is nicely balanced with protein, fat and carbs.

Superfood Harvest Salad

I’m a sucker for fall colors and flavors, so when I began adding things to this delicious recipe a friend gave me, I simply chose the most vibrant shades of fall and tossed them in until it looked beautiful.  To get this salad to match your ratios perfectly, you’ll just need to log as you go.  But I can tell you, starting with 3 ounces of cooked chicken is best, knowing you’ll add one slice of crumbled turkey bacon onto each salad to bring the protein up to 26 grams.  Be cautious on the fruits you add so that you don’t go over on carbs.  Dried fruits will add a lot of carbs, so be liberal with the kale and cabbage (if using) and conservative with any dried fruit.  Top each one with 1/8 cup pistachios for a total of 9 grams or so per salad.  The only oil in the entire thing is 1 tablespoon that is used to massage the kale leaves.  Since the salad serves 4 people, it’s hardly any added fat.  The great news about this nutritious and hearty salad is that you can swap out all kinds of fall ingredients to change it up.  You could try pumpkin seeds, toasted walnuts, pecans or almonds, or omit the pomegranates and try dried gogi berries or figs.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups organic kale (I used bagged Trader Joe’s brand)
• 1 cup butternut squash, roasted an diced (roast cubes at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until soft- remove and cool)
• 1 cup quinoa, cooked (so approx. 2 cups when made)
• 1/2 cup red cabbage, diced (optional)
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1 fuji apple, diced
• 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 8 tablespoons raspberry vinegar (or another fine, aged vinegar)
• 4 slices peppered turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 12 ounces grilled chicken
• 1/2 cup roasted pistachios, chopped
• 1/8 cup Zsweet (or Granulated Stevia)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions.  Cool.  Set aside.
2. Prepare the kale by removing stems.  In a large bowl, combine the kale, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.  Massage kale leaves as though you’re kneading bread dough for 3-4 minutes to tear leaves apart and soften them.  They’ll also turn a vibrant shade of green. Set aside.
3. Heat ZSweet in a small skillet over medium flame.  As it begins to liquefy, add pistachios.  Coat well.  Reserve.
4. Toss cabbage through cranberries in with kale.  Stir.  Add quinoa and cooked squash.  Toss with 4 tablespoons of vinegar.
5. Plate salad on 4 plates.  Top evenly with chicken, bacon and nuts.  Drizzle each salad with 1 tablespoon vinegar.

Topped with Grilled Chicken

That’s a Turkey Wrap

When I get obsessed about an ingredient, I pretty much use it every day, in every way, until my family begs me to stop.  So far, no one has said anything about my favorite new find: mini lettuce heads from Costco.  These cute little heads come six to a box and the leaves are crunchy, yet soft…the perfect vehicle for other foods, and as a substitute for tortillas.  I’ve been putting just about everything into these adorable little leaves, from hummus and veggies to this super fun PF Changs-worthy lettuce wrap.  You’re not even going to need a measuring cup for this one gang; it’s truly no-fail, provided you use garlic, some spice and a good Asian liquid, like sesame oil or soy.  There are countless Asian-style condiments on the market, and each will have very different ratios.  Many are high in either sugar or sodium, so choose wisely.  I chose to keep my sugars down and opted for reduced-sodium Tamari (which is gluten-free soy sauce).  This dish is high in protein (about 25 grams), medium carbs, depending on the sauce you use, and right on the money with fat (around 6-7)  from the nuts and sesame oil.

Asian Turkey Wraps

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

16-32 baby lettuce leaves (32 if you want to double layer them)

1 tsp sesame oil

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 package 99% fat-free ground turkey

1/2 -1 tsp fresh ginger

3 T low-sodium Tamari or other Asian sauce/marinade

3 green onions, sliced through the green stems

1 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1 T Siracha

1 tsp Agave

Mrs. Dash garlic & onion flavor, to taste

2 sliced baby cumbers

8 grated baby carrots

1/3 c peanuts, chopped

DIRECTIONS:  Heat a pan slightly and swirl sesame oil.  Toss in garlic for 1 minute.  Add turkey and brown for 2 minutes.  Add ginger through mushrooms and continue cooking.  When turkey isn’t pink any longer, stir in Siracha, agave, and seasoning.  Remove from heat.  Lay out lettuce leaves and spoon turkey mixture into each leaf.  Top with a few peanuts and grated carrots and cucumber on the side.  Dot Siracha around the plate if you like more spice.