Stuffed Baby Romaine

My latest creation from last week!

It was soooooo good!

 

 

 

 

Stuffed Baby Romaine (when cooking for one)

Serves 2 (with a little left over)

4 Baby Romaine Lettuce Leaves

2.5oz Pkg of Tuna (packed in water)

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup diced tomato

1/2 Avocado Diced

3/4 cup 3-bean mix (light red, black and pinto) cooked/seasoned to taste

Cilantro to taste

Thaw corn in advance - DO NOT COOK.  Drain most all the cooking liquid from the beans to keep your mix from getting soggy. However do not drain the tuna unless there is excess water.

Gently mix ingredients together and fill romaine leaves. I say gently because you do not want to mash the beans and avocado unless you are spreading it on the leaves before adding chopped chicken. Now that's an idea! Do not fill romaine leaves until you are ready to eat. Top with remaining cilantro. Consume while chilled and within 1-2 days. The fresher the better. Remember you should be able to taste every ingredient.

TIPS

You may also want to try the following:

1. Add lightly steamed/chopped asparagus or broccoli

2. If you can afford the calories give this dish some zing by adding dried cranberries and feta cheese

3. If tuna isn't your thing try this dish with sauteed salmon brushed with a raspberry chipotle glaze, grilled chicken or shrimp

4. If you are not adding chicken or seafood and find that you are hungry after eating this dish try spreading some non-fat yogurt over the leaves before you fill them. I tried it with Greek yogurt. Nice touch but a bit heavy and that's why non-fat yogurt may work best.

5. For a citrus flavor dress this dish with fresh lemon juice

Bon Appetit!

Drink up!

Tonight's meal: a blend of spinach, blueberries, mango, pecans, egg whites and cucumber. It looks muddy but just think "it's good for you".  I drank this in a Waterford Omega crystal glass to deflect attention away from how gross this looks.  In the end though, it was really good!

I gave up blending bananas because they are high in sugar. Farewell bananas. Le sigh.

The Glory of Pasta

I'm a pasta freak!  No doubt about it but I don't eat it nearly as often as I used to.  The picture seen here is of the pasta that I made prior to my kickboxing training session.  When I meet with the trainer I really need the energy to last through it so this time I made some pasta.  Sadly the workout was not meant to be for reasons described in my fitness blog fitnesslyfe.blogspot.com

I had fun making it but the truth is the ingredients came together because I am trying to eat all the food I have in the fridge before I make another dash to the grocery store to buy food that I probably won't get a chance to eat.

Black Bean Pasta

 

 

I should note that this pasta hit the spot and now has me rethinking my love of alfredo sauce.  Alfredo Sauce is not the representation of eating clean.  Had this been a totally clean pasta dish the beans would not have come from a can.  I am against eating foods out of cans but this time I did.  I needed something quick  and easy.

 

 

Pasta is the Yin to my Yang!

It's Better With Protein

Today's Salad Ingredients

A good salad should always have fresh ingredients.  That is exactly why, when crafting my salads, I tend to shy away from using canned toppings such as canned beans and canned corn.  Today is no different.  I should note though that usually my salads include, at the most, five ingredients.  Today there were eight!

 

My meal tonight was a salad.  Toppings included grilled chicken breast, fresh edamame, vine ripened tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, carrot matchsticks, 3-bean mix (black, red and pinto) and lastly, feta cheese with tomato and basil.  My salad base was fresh romaine and organic spinach.  The salad dressing consisted of light balsamic vinaigrette.  A protein rich salad after a hard workout is the only way to go.

 

This salad had really good mouth feel.  There were several textures going on.  To further explain, I experienced the creamy avocado, tender beans, spinach and edemame and crunchiness from the romaine lettuce, cucumbers and carrots.  The diced tomatoes were very refreshing as they usually are when I include them as a topping to my salads.  I never scoop the center of the tomato out before cutting and/or including them in my salads.

I thoroughly enjoyed prepping and eating my salad.  It helps that it also looks good.  Right?

 

This salad shall be called "It's Better With Protein"