Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken

This week's Trim Healthy Tuesday recipe is for a Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken.  A friend of mine often makes a strawberry spinach salad for church events and it is so yummy.  I had some strawberries and spinach in the fridge the other day and I thought I'd make a THMified salad and I'm so glad I did.  Super YUM!

I just take some spinach and tear it up.    Dress the salad with a mixture of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar (watch the carb counts on your balsamic) and a bit of liquid stevia. Sweeten some cut up fresh strawberries with Truvia and put them over the top. (You may want to do this ahead of time so the Truvia has a chance to dissolve.)  Then put some grilled (or shredded) chicken over the top. Sometimes I sprinkle some poppy seeds over the top too.  Quick, Easy and Delish!

This salad is S as long as you limit your strawberries to 1 cup.  You could make this FP by only using 1 tsp. of olive oil and no more than 3 oz. of chicken.

Linking up with Stacy Makes Cents/Gwen's Nest (where you can find more THM recipes) 

THM=Trim Healthy Mama...check it out!

Avocado BLT Salad (vegetarian)

The other night I was watching Forks Over Knives Presents: The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue on Netflix.  Rip Esselstyn prepared a kale salad that I thought was interesting so I had to try it.  From that salad and a recipe for a Vegetarian BLT salad on the Weight Watchers website I created this cross between the two. (I did try the kale salad last night and thought that was good too.)

I started with a base of Romaine and mixed spring greens.  Then I cut up 1/4 of an avocado and used my hands to squish it all into the lettuce so that the leaves are all covered (no need for dressing now!).  I added tomatoes, sliced scallions a squeeze of fresh lemon, salt and pepper and 2 strips of Morningstar Farms veggie bacon.  This is 3 PointsPlus on Weight Watchers.  It was DELICIOUS!

Tuna Rotini Salad Toss for Lunch

I am hoping to write a series of posts about what I have been eating while losing weight.  Sometimes I think half the battle is just figuring out what to eat and what a reasonable serving size is.

One of my favorite diet cookbooks is the Flat Belly Diet Family Cookbook.  This recipe comes from this book and it's delicious.  (It doesn't seem like diet food!) Actually, nothing I eat is "diet" food. I eat 400 calorie meals 4 times a day.  That's really all there is to it.  If you are looking to eat a healthier diet and lower your cholesterol then the Flat Belly Diet might be for you.  The recipes are all heart healthy.

6 oz. multigrain rotini pasta
1/4 cup canola mayonnaise (I usually just use regular mayo)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I like to just buy the frozen cubes at Trader Joe's...simple and always on hand!)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cans (5 oz ea.) water-packed solid white tuna, drained
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2" long strips
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 serving (1 1/2 cups) is 404 calories.

After I ate 1 serving for lunch I divided the remaining servings into individual containers for an easy to grab lunch.  I used a glass container for one serving and the other two I put into trays that individual frozen dinners come in covered with Press N Seal.  I make my own frozen dinners this way too.  Often times my family is eating something that either has too many calories or I don't know how to count it so I eat something else.  Pre-prepared meals are perfect for that.

Let me know if you try it and how you like it.

Brown Rice Salad for lunch

My current favorite lunch recipe is a brown rice salad.  If you've been reading my blog you know that I have been on an 11 month long weight loss journey.  I began it on the Flat Belly Diet by Prevention magazine.  In the FBD Pocket Guide there is a "recipe" for brown rice salad.

When my friend, Amanda, told me about this salad I didn't think it sounded very good but decided to try it anyway and I love it.  Over the summer, I fell into a pattern of eating a 400 calorie lunch but it usually consisted of some kind of sandwich, baked potato chips and a Weight Watchers Ice Cream bar.(Dark Chocolate Raspberry!)  Recently, I decided that I should get back to eating some healthier foods for lunch.


The recipe calls for brown rice which I do sometimes use. But currently I buy a brown rice medley at Trader Joe's that is delicious.  I cook it in a rice cooker and then portion it out in half cup portions in Press N Seal and keep it in the freezer. Then I can have rice in 1 minute in the microwave.

So my salad consists of:

1/2 cup brown rice
1/3 cup pinto beans (I use whatever canned beans I have on hand..watch calorie counts, they are not all equal)
1/4 cup avocado
2 T. salsa
2 T. lime juice
1 small tomato, chopped
black pepper to taste

(The original recipe also calls for 2 tsp. olive oil but I leave it out so I can eat an ice cream bar...yes..I know I said I wanted to be healthier but I LOVE them. :) )

(I usually sprinkle with a bit of salt.)

It's so yummy and nutritious.  Give it a try and let me know how you like it.  What is your favorite healthy lunch?