Salad Day

Good Evening! My day got busier than I had expected but in a good way! I taught class this morning and then headed to the grocery store. I had no lettuce or spinach in the house and it was making me a bit nervous! I have been trying to be better about my consumption and not make as many trips to the grocery store but love going grocery shopping. It makes me happy to be around wholesome and healthy food even though there is a plethora of junk food at stores as well, it is still fun to investigate what is on the market and what the new hype is.

I then made it a bit famished and craving crunchy salad! It has been a few days since my last salad and my body was definitely telling me I needed some greens!

My first salad of the day was a Crunchy Pear Salad. They had the most delicious looking Red Silk Pears at the store and I was determined to make a salad with the Pear being the star.

Crunchy Pear Salad

2 cups Red and Green Romaine Lettuce Mix
1/2 cup Mann's Broccoli Slaw
1/2 cup Shredded Red Cabbage
1/3 cup of Matchstick Carrots
1 small Red Silk Pear chopped
1/2 a yellow bell pepper, sliced
Snap Peas
5 grape tomatoes sliced
1 tablespoon Feta Cheese
1 tablespoon Slivered Almonds

Dressed with 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar, 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard and a splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Yum! This was crunchy and sweet and I loved every little bite of it!

I was still in the mood for salad for dinner and everyone was fending for themselves tonight due to Lacrosse Practice so no family dinner. I made a wonderful more traditional Greek Salad.



Greek Salad

2 cups Red and Green Romaine Lettuce
1/2 cup of Garbanzo Beans
1/4 cup of Red Onion
1/2 cup of Cucumber
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill from our garden!
1 tablespoon Feta Cheese
1/2 Whole Wheat Pita, toasted and sliced into triangles

Dressed with 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar, 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard and a splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

This was simple and delicious. I loved the toasted pita chips and the garbanzo beans were outstanding! I love garbanzo beans they are super satisfying and they add a punch of protein.

So I have to admit that I am a little scared about all this Swine Flu stuff. We have not had any reported cases yet in our school district, but my sister's children's school was closed today and tomorrow due to a possible case. This is hitting a little too close for comfort. I feel like it is a just a matter of time before it hits our area as well. One of my client's is also a school teacher in the Lake Travis School District and she said they had an emergency meeting to go over what the procedure is going to be and that the whole school district will close down for 10 days if 2 schools in the district report a case of swine flu. If it is only one school then they will isolate the closing to just that school.

Anyways, I am not living in the moment, there is nothing I can do about the spread of the swine flu except insist on handwashing andto try and keep my family as healthy as possible.

With that being said..... I think my fear-based thinking had me running to the freezer for a Holey Donut Jumbo Cinnamon Bun! I finished off the the day with a warm and comforting JUMBO Cinnamon Bun and it was sooo... good! I don't know when the last time I had a Cinnamon Roll was but this was pure indulgence and it was awesome. The Cinnamon Bun had 340 calories, 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein. Yum! I had planned out a healthy dessert of 2 % Fage Greek Yogurt with a Banana and Puffins on top... but opted for a few more calories and a little more decandance. FYI- Holey Donut's is offering free shipping for Mother's Day and I think I might just have to take advantage of it because I really love these Holey Donuts. I am a little amazed at it myself! They make a really fun dessert and again, I would not recommend these for breakfast on a daily basis, but dessert is a whole other ball game because it is just that, a treat! Check out www.holeydonuts.net and be sure to put in the promotional code of luvmom to get free shipping!



The kitchen is officially closed.... have a great night!