How to enjoy a salad.

In our household we take salad seriously.

We don't make a salad with just some meager iceberg lettuce and boring shredded cheddar cheese in our household, but instead a decadent and loaded meal with veggies, fruits, nuts, delicious cheeses, flavor packed dressings and succulent meats. 

There are so many people that shudder when they think about salad and have this totally bland, boring impression of them. Salad's don't have to be boring...the more colors the yummier and more nutritious. If you're not already salad lover take the following steps to break that. 

Steps for how to enjoy a salad:

• Skip the iceberg lettuce. Instead try a spring mix, endive, arugula, spinach, kale, and/or romaine. Not only will you enhance and experience different flavors, you'll get additional nutrients and health benefits.
• Add more veggies. Love tomatoes - add them! How about peppers? Add them! The more the better, and it'll help keep you full longer too and create a more substantial meal. Any easy way to add more is to use coleslaw & broccoli mix and add a handful each time.
• Try new protein sources. Everyone's go to is chicken to add to salads, but there are so many different protein sources you can try. Some examples, how about hard boiled, or even fried eggs. Tofu is great and can take on most any flavor it is cooked and/or seasoned in. What about beef? Try slicing steak to use on your salad or even taco seasoned ground beef to make your own taco salad. A handful of beans are a great way to add some more protein as well. Nuts are another great source and can add some great healthy fats (that lower LDL cholesterol). Some great ones to add: walnuts, pecans and almonds. Another favorite is spicy shrimp (saute with Cajun seasoning). In a pinch for time? Add deli meat or rotisserie chicken or even tuna.
• Throw in some fruit. I love cutting up grapes, strawberries, raspberries and apple and adding it my salad. The sweet contrast against the dressing is amazing (especially with grilled chicken and a vinaigrette or blue cheese dressing). Another option is dried fruit (cranberries are my favorite).
• Add in's: Sunflower seeds, tortilla chips, homemade croutons, corn, chickpeas (roasted are tasty), pasta, avocado, roasted veggies, the list goes on...
• Serve along something you love. One of my favorite things is rosemary bread. I could eat it by the loaf. Pairing it with a salad is even better. I love taking a piece at the end and wiping up all the leftover dressing. A classic pairing with a savory soup is another instance of a filling meal.
• Find a dressing you love. This is huge. I went years eating lack luster dressing. Splurge for a dressing you really love, it's worth the extra few cents or venture out and make your own. My favorite right now, Bolthouse Farms Chunky Blue Cheese, seriously amazing and healthier than most others because it's made with yogurt.
• Interesting cheeses. Feta, blue cheese, gorgonzola, grunyere, goat, Vermont white cheddar, are a few great ones to try.
• Heat it up. Did you know you can grill salad too. Drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings of your choice on romaine and throw it in the oven or on the grill. It can add so much extra flavor. Saute some additional veggies and add them to the mix too (my fav's: zucchini, squash and caramelized onions).
•  Be careful for some add-ins because they can pack a calorie punch. Stick with fresh, non-processed and non-fried items. 

Below are a few of the creations that we feast on a regular basis:

Kale and spinach salad with grilled chicken, strawberries, red onion, walnuts, cranberries, cucumber,
orange pepper with yogurt blue cheese dressing served along with toasted rosemary bread.

Spring mix with walnuts, berries (blueberry, strawberry, raspberry) with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

Spinach with chicken tomatoes, carrots, coleslaw mix, onions and  blue cheese dressing.

Tomato, zucchini, squash, red onion with balsamic dressing and dash of pepper.

Spinach, Cajun shrimp, strawberries, egg whites, assorted veggies with Italian dressing.

Spring mix, onion, tomato, and Caesar dressing.

Spinach, romaine, pea pods, black beans, diced turkey deli meat, tomato, peppers, egg whites and  Greek dressing.

Spring mix, roasted chickpeas, broccoli, egg whites, orange pepper and Italian dressing with cheese quesadillas.

What are your favorite add-ins to salads or the best salad you've had?

Very Berry Oatmeal Breakfast Bake

It looks like winter has finally reared it's ugly head here in mid-Michigan.  I can't really complain since there has been many years where we've had snow on the ground before Thanksgiving. This year we were given a little reprieve and made it until nearly mid-January before the white stuff hit.

Weather like this makes me crave warm and savory comfort foods. The other morning I woke up freezing and couldn't warm up so I decided to start my morning with a boost with this amazing Berry Oatmeal Bake.

I highly recommend giving this a try, especially for those of you who might not be big oatmeal fans because this may change your mind.. This breakfast kept me full for hours and was the perfect boost to get me moving on a day when I didn't want to do much but cuddle in blankets on the couch.

Berry Oatmeal Bake:

Ingredients:

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/8 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of salt 
1/4 cup walnut pieces, chopped
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/8 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cups milk
1 egg (I used egg whites)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 and spray a medium pan (I use glass/corning ware about 8 inch round) with cooking spray.

Mix all dry ingredients together (strawberries and blueberries included, but save a handful of each out to use later in the process) in one bowl.  Whisk the rest of the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. 

Pour the dry ingredients into the sprayed pan.  Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and slightly shake to mix the wet ingredients with the dry.  Place the rest of the berries on the top of the mixed ingredients. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the top is a golden brown. Serve! 

Super Easy! If you're short on time I'm thinking that this could be thrown together the night before and put in the oven in the morning to bake as you're getting ready (if anyone tries, let me know how it works out). 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies = Best Thing Ever!

Today was finally my day off.  Let me tell you one thing, they are far and few of them lately. I had planned on being productive today, but decided I needed a 'me' day instead. I'm sure mid afternoon I'll get a motivation kick and get moving but for now....I bake!

I've been eyeing a large can of pumpkin puree that has been chilling in my cabinet the last few weeks. Today I decided to get a little Google happy and search for some amazing recipes and came across this fabulous one. I can tell you one thing...I'll be making this again...and again...and again. They are definitely a new favorite and highly recommend that is you're a pumpkin and chocolate fan you give them a try. Super easy, and delicious!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies (discovered at Pennies on a Platter) 

Yields: 18 small brownies

Ingredients:


1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I added extra because I figure the more chocolate, the better)

Preheat over to 350 degrees (F). Line an 11" x 7" pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs and oil until smooth. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt and brown sugar.
Add to the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until passes toothpick test. Cool completely before cutting.

So chocolaty, so moist!

I did have to bake mine about 5 minutes longer than what the recipe stated, but I think that my oven needs to be calibrated so just keep an eye on yours. I guarantee that these won't last long and may show up at some holiday parties very soon!

Do you have a favorite pumpkin inspired recipe?

Why I Love Fall

There is something about fall that I just love. Maybe it's because I live in the beautiful state of Michigan and this may be the most gorgeous season in this state.  I'm in the minority most of the time with this feeling, but I feel as though fall is a time to start anew. Maybe it's because I've always associated it with a new semester after a long, hot summer and a time to get back on track.

Here are a few of my favorite fall things:

• Colorful, vibrant leaves (the warm hues are so beautiful)
• Apple cider (with or without rum ;) and definitely with cinnamon added in )
• Hay rides
• Haunted houses
• Spices (ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove)
• Halloween!
• Pumpkin bread
• Spiced lattes
• Fall fashion (cozy sweaters, boots, scarves & hats)
• The smell of fall (earthy smell)
• Huge pumpkins
• Fireplaces
• Crunchy leaves
• Fresh apples
• Harvest time
• Candles (especially ginger & sugar cookie ones)
• Season of transition (fresh start)
• Orchards
• Warm, feel good meals
• Hot tea (chai and milk is a favorite)
• Less sweat (cooler weather is so much more better to run in)
• Football (I love a good game)
• Roasted pumpkin seeds
• Costumes 
• Changing hairstyles
• Fall inspired decorations
• Hot chocolate
• Less skin
• Extra blankets
• Open windows in the house
• Soups & Stew
• Wine tasting & hard cider

What's your favorite fall thing? Any activities or traditions?

The more one sows, the greater the harvest. Our garden adventure!

This past year we finally hunkered down and took the time and effort to build a raised garden.  We had talked about it years before but never really had the time to do it. One Saturday we woke up and set out to begin building our garden before it got too late in the season (it was already the first weekend in June). We ran to Home Depot, bought more posts (8 foot) than we needed and somehow managed to squeeze them into the G6 and ventured home. We decided on the raised garden because our area is super low and is always wet (you can dig 6 inches down and hit water). We figured that the garden would like do much better if it was able to drain excess water away.

Several hours later, a few screws, curse words and 30 bags of soil...and we had a garden. Another trip to Meijer completed it with the purchase of a flat of plants.

Our "little", 8x8 foot garden that was about to grow into a beast.

Roma's like crazy. This plant had over 30 alone.

Love the little pickles. Too cute.

1st harvest!

Continuation of 1st harvest

Our final harvest. Lots of green tomatoes, but a frost was looming and we were heading out of town.

My attempts to storing extras and hoping that they ripen.  The rest are in paper bags with apples in hopes that they'll ripen sometime soon.

View from above.

Needless to say we got more than our money's worth and it was worth the time and effort. To be honest, it was much less work than expected and there is a certain pride and feeling of accomplishment at the end of the season seeing all that you produced. 

Few words of advice:

• You're going to need a lot more soil than planned (we started with 20 bags...ended with upwards of 35).
• Don't be hard on yourself. It's a learning experience and you'll catch on along the way.
• Enjoy the little things. There's nothing like walking into your own backyard and snagging a snack that YOU grew.
• Be ready for new "visitors". We had some animals (chipmunks maybe?) that loved our tomatoes and would take eat them daily. 
• Have a easily accessible water source (we had to walk out there with a watering can for the 1st month or so...that's a workout in itself).
• Water regularly. Our inconsistent watering led to our tomatoes cracking after heavy rains.
• A flat of vegetables go a LONG way. We used only half of them and gave the rest to neighbors.
• Be ready to be inundated with crazy amounts of veggies! 
• Share with neighbors/co-workers.
• ENJOY! I don't know if I'm biased, but I swear everything tasted 10 times better than any we buy in the stores (especially tomatoes). 

Do you garden? Any words of advice? What's your favorite thing to grow? 

While we're at it..any great green tomato recipes? Or how to ripen the? I've heard of placing them in a paper bag with apples (release of ethanol triggers ripening supposedly), but does it really work? 

Sweet, Precious Sister

Several weeks ago I got a voicemail that certainly put a spin on my world.

Mom: Audrey (my sister) fell in a box & is now in the hospital and undergoing surgery. Call me.


My first thought was, "What?!" and confusion and wondering what in the world was going on. Box? Surgery? Fall? I could tell from my mom's tone that something was seriously amiss and that I needed to hightail it out of work and make the 2 hour drive home.

Husband and I rush downstate to the hospital and finally catch up on what's happening. At some point during the night my sister, Audrey, stumbled and fell into a cardboard box, yes a cardboard box. Most would think that this is no big deal, but because of the way that she fell it caused compartment syndrome which ultimately led to rhabdomyolysis. When she fell she became stuck and wasn't able to get out.  She wasn't found in that position until the next morning. She may have been in that position for 10 hours or so. Compartment syndrome is similar to what many earthquake victims suffer due to buildings collapsing and trapping them. Essentially, it's a crush type injury where the blood supply is cut off from a limb. The tissue and nerves are cut off from the blood supply which then can cause complete nerve damage and the injured tissue releases toxins that can cause kidney failure that can be acute or long-term.

To complicate things, my sister is not your average 27 year old. She's special needs with physical and mental disabilities. To make things more relatable, she's like a 18 month old. Non-verbal for the most part, incontinent, epileptic, and not always able to understand the why and how of things. We believe that she fell in the night and was simply unable to get out. I don't know if I would have myself, then you add in her massive amounts of medications to combat her seizures (which make her quite loopy) and she was so out of it that who knows what went on after the initial fall. We have monitors throughout our house to listen for her in the night (we're very in tune sleepers after comping with her seizures for years) and never heard a peep to make us believe that things were awry.

It's baffling how something as simple as this can change so many things. Freak accident. Who would ever think that a cardboard box would be capable of this? Not I. It's amazing how much this has changed our lives and surely more things to come.

As for now, she's been in the hospital for 3 weeks. In and out of the ICU because of complications, her fasciotomy surgery (to relieve the pressure that was in her leg) and on dialysis several times a week. Our biggest battle right now is her failing kidneys. We just want those to get working and we'll move on from there.  There has been some improvement of their function and I'm keeping my fingers crossed this week for even more.  As for her leg/calf/foot, we don't know the functionality of it yet. We've seen little movement, but it's hard to gauge what's really going on since she can't verbalize it and her pain tolerance is so high to begin with. We've been evaluating on winces, sighs and moans. There's blood flow so that's great. I'm hoping more than words can describe that she's able to keep function of it.

She has two cuts like this, but both of her's are quite a bit larger.
They are starting to close, but will likely needs skin grafts.

It's been a trying few weeks for everyone in my family. This accident has really made me take measure of how much we take for granted. It can be any moment where your life can be changed by something simple. I'm so grateful for the amazing family, my strong and tough parents, friends, and my amazingly supportive husband that have been there through all this. It's a roller coaster dealing with all the emotions, highs, lows and ups and downs that have accompanied this journey.  It's bound to be a long road to recovery, but we'll push through together, no matter what.

I'll tell you one thing my sister's one hell of a trooper. She's pushes through this and has been through so much already. My sweet, precious sister is certainly soft and sweet on the outside but has willpower as tough as nails. I hope she uses every bit of that to push through and get as healthy as she can be.

Love ya Audrey Lee! Get better soon!

Wordless Wednesday: When Things Were Less Complicated

My beautiful, strong trooper of a sister.