Broccoli Salad - Lightened Up

My mom makes the best salads ever. Well, she makes the best everything, really, but when it comes to family functions, I'm always scooping up 3 helpings of whatever immaculate side dish she decides to make. One of my all-time favorites is her Broccoli Salad. I'm pretty sure a lot of moms make this as a side dish, but I assure you, my mom makes it better. Just sayin'.


As much as I yearn for this salad, I know it's not the healthiest in the world. I was really craving it earlier this week, so I set forth on a mission to make it as a lighter version. Don't get me wrong, I will be eating my 3 helpings the next time Mom makes it the classic way.


Broccoli Salad - Lightened Up
Adapted from Mom

4 cups Cleaned/Chopped Broccoli

2 tbsp Light Mayo

1 tbsp Aged Balsamic (I used Lucero's classic balsamic - anything thick/sweet will do)

2 tbsp Bacon Bits

1/4 cup Red Onion

1 tbsp Almond Accents

1/2 Box Raisins

Directions

1. Rinse broccoli and chop into bite sized pieces

2. Cut two large slices of red onion, mince into small pieces

3. Mix light mayo and aged balsamic until they form a dressing

4. Microwave bacon bits for 15 seconds in microwave

5. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl

Makes 4, 1 cup servings

Basic Nutritional Information

Calories 96, Fat 4.13g, Carbs 11g, Protein 5g

It turned out to be pretty tasty. I could have added some additional mayo and balsamic dressing to coat the broccoli a bit more (that stuff absorbs, I tell you!). All in all, it satisfied my craving and was a nice side dish for a week-night dinner. It was also boyfriend approved.

Post-Workout Raspberry Chip Protein Smoothie

Whilst on the elliptical this afternoon, I found myself dreaming of some kind of protein dream creation... I knew it had to involve chocolate but that I also had to justify the chocolate with other, more healthy ingredients. I set forth on a mission to my local Raley's to acquire any ingredients not already in my fridge/pantry to concoct said dream creation. In my mind, I NEEDED frozen cherries to make this work. Raley's had no such cherries, so I cried a little bit inside and decided to settle for raspberries since they're also pretty good friends with chocolate. I  had almost everything else on hand, but I picked up cacao chips since I see them frequently used in "healthy" recipes and they are a pure form of chocolate. 

To make this shake you will need:

Frozen Raspberries (or cherries!), Cacao Chips (dark chocolate chips would work too), Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (or any kind of milk... chocolate would be better but I didn't have it on hand), Vanilla Protein powder (again with the chocolate would be better comment and same reasoning for not using it), Plain non-fat Greek Yogurt & Ice

Directions:

1. Add the following ingredients into a blender -

1/2 cup Frozen Raspberries
1 Tablespoon Cacao Chips
1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Breeze (Almond Milk)
1/2 scoop Pro5 Protein Powder (a whole scoop is fine depending on the powder you choose)
1/4 cup Non-fat Plain Greek Yogurt
1 cup Ice

2. Use the ice crushing or pulse setting on your blender to break down the ice cubes

3. Once the ice is well crushed, use the smoothie or regular blend setting, letting the mixture incorporate for about a minute

4. Pour and enjoy!

Stats (with the exact ingredients/amounts I used) -
Calories: 192.5, Fat: 4.5g, Carbs: 14.5g, Protein: 23g

Hot Pink Bendy straw: REQUIRED.

Pretending it's Summer

I'll avoid the usual introductory paragraph where I say I haven't blogged for a reeeeally long time and that I'm going to start writing regularly again... Because, I am a liar :)

Today is a rainy, windy day and it's pretty depressing. I know it's April and I keep thinking about the saying "April showers bring May flowers"... I hate that saying. I hope it's wrong this year. Flowers also need sun, and they need to grow without being pummeled to the ground by 60 MPH wind gusts - okay Mother Nature?? Enough of my bitterness.

This afternoon I found myself hungry at an awkward time and I'd already had an afternoon snack, so I decided I'd food gawk at the 'Food & Drink' board on Pinterest with hopes that I'd eat in a virtual/vicarious kind of way, but no luck there. I did, however, find a post with a slushy made out of frozen berries and Crystal Light! I was naturally intrigued and I had similar ingredients on hand (like strawberries that have been in my fridge since last summer...freezer burn will add to the slush, right?), so I decided I'd go for it despite the fact that the weather isn't really supportive of frozen beverages.

Here are the ingredients (adapted from justusgirlsblog.com)-

1 cup frozen Strawberries
2 cups ice
1 packet prepared Crystal Light of any flavor (I had Target brand "Margarita Lime" mix)

It turned out like this:

My first thought was - this would taste way better with vodka or tequila, but my second thought was that it tasted pretty darn good for packing only 60 calories. I think I'll make this as a cocktail during Summer with a shot (or two) of the good stuff. For now, it will hold me over until dinner and gave me a good serving of fruit this afternoon. I'm anxious to try it in different combinations and possibly with fresh berries/more ice.

Stay dry, folks! 

Happy New Year! (Plus an Appetizer Recipe)

Happy New Year, friends!

I hope everyone had a great Holiday. I am particularly enjoying another 3-day weekend to the max. 

First, I have to show you the miserable picture below from Friday @ work. My co-worker and I decided to take a walk despite the chance of rain, and about half-way into our 10 minute walk, we were hit with a sudden torrential downpour! Lucky for her, she had a scarf to protect her, but I only had my hands! I sent this photo to my boyfriend so he could feel sorry for me and tell me that I didn't look like a street bum (even though I did).

Anyways, back to NYE... We decided to go to a friend's house this year rather than braving the crowds and I think we made a great choice! I wore a silver 20's inspired dress from Forever 21, but you can't really see it in any of my pictures, especially since I wore a sweater most of the night. Guess I was more concerned with champagne than capturing any moments!

Now for the best part! I pulled a recipe for Hot & Cheesy Roasted Red Bell Pepper dip from my FAVORITE blog ever, How Sweet It Is

I basically stuck to the recipe, but I wanted to make a double batch, so I doubled almost everything except for the Asiago & Parmesan because the containers I bought were 5 ounces (I would have used 8 ounces if I doubled the recipe exactly). I used a can of roasted red peppers and cooked the dip in 4 smaller ramekins I had on hand.

I think it helped that everyone was intoxicated, but the dip was devoured by the end of the night. It's hard to go wrong with melted cheese. Sorry I failed to take any photos with my real camera, so the iPhone version will have to suffice! You can see some amazing pictures from the source of the recipe above.

You should probably make this on a random Friday night and drink champagne just because you can. My boyfriend says I can only make it for him because it's too good to share with anyone else :) Oh, the flattery!

Here's to a healthy & prosperous 2012 (free from any correct Nostradamus/Mayan/whoever else thinks the world will end predictions)!