A Last Splash: Summer Salads & Nutrition Tips

Since we're nearing summers end, I thought I'd share some simple summer salads I enjoyed along the way. I'm no Foodie by any means, but they're easy to make and taste great too. And since recently, I've been chatting nutrition with a nutrionalist friend of mine over in Texas: Bonnie Faske, I thought I'd share some of her tips to tweak my dietary intake. Maybe you too eat some of these foods. First up, here's the simple summer salads - you can really eat at any time of the year...

Egg Salad
Eggs, mayo, S&P, some croutons, deli pickle slice and a chilled glass of apple juice.

Tomato Salads
Served either with basil, balsamic, EVOO, S&P, and sliced mozzarella
Or served as a slice with S&P on a bagel with either cream cheese or egg salad.

Grilled Steak Salad
Skip the potoes and slice your grilled steak on a bed of romaine lettuce. I added some crumbled Feta and ranch (just not too heavy on the ranch) This also is a great alternative for a burger: slice it up and serve on a bed of lettuce.

Mixed (bag) Salad
Topped with raisins, walnuts, and raspberry vinergaette!
YUM...

Chopped Chicken & Grapes
I literally threw this together one day - and loved it!
I chopped up some left-over rotissarie chicken (breast), and only added grapes & feta cheese - no dressing & it was DELISH! To drink, I had chilled Cran-Grape juice.

Summer Fruit Salad Alfreso for Sunday brunch


Here's the little list of the foods I eat most frequently, with some of Bonnie's Tips to Tweak for a healthier diet intake...

Rotisserie chicken - Fine to eat, just make sure you eat white meat more than dark, and take that skin off before eating!



Chicken Cesar Salad - Trade it up to a Mediterranean salad with dressings on the side. You get more nutrients (more color=tons more nutrients) and it's about half the calories of a Caesar salad, since the dressing is always mixed in.


Soups - Stick with clear or broth-based soups, and you can eat as much as you want!


Yogurt (Activia) or occasional Pineapple Cottage Cheese - Trade the Activia for a Greek yogurt (I like Fage brand, but Chobani is good too). Greek yogurt has three times the amount of protein, which will fill you up without adding sugar or calories. Make sure the cottage cheese is fat free, and you are good to go!


Pretzels / Popcorn / Crackers (something to crunch) - Popcorn (sans butter!) is perfect. Look for Emerald brand almond crackers. They are AMAZING and much better for you than the traditional crackers/pretzels.


Brussel Sprouts - YAY!


Broccoli - WOOOHOO!!!


Pasta - Always, always, ALWAYS whole wheat pasta. This is a rule I tell every single person. I don't care what it is in, always make it whole wheat. More protein, slower digesting, higher fiber, lower calories, more filling, heart healthy...I could go on and on.


Rice (white) - I wish I had The Price Is Right buzzer right about now. NO!!!! Same rule as above with pasta--brown is better, for all those same reasons. I know it's not as tasty, but you can find varieties that fluff up just as white rice does. PROMISE!! :)


Black Beans - Great!!


Grilled Pork / Steak / Ribs / Chicken - As long as you go with the lean meats rule I talked about earlier, have at it!


Shrimp - Perfect!


Tilapia - Not bad, but not really a nutritious fish choice. Fish such as mahi mahi, cod, salmon, etc. have much more nutrition to them, although tilapia isn't a bad choice.


Salads - Fabulous!


Carrots - You can always have these for your "crunchy" snack with a little FF ranch dressing!


Mushrooms - Awesome!!


Tomatoes (I LOVE on a bagel w/cream cheese and black pepper or eat as a salad with fresh basil) - Wonderful!!!


Granola Bars - Limit the processed ones, if possible. They can contain a ton of extra sugars and preservatives that aren't the best for you. I can actually send you a really good high-protein granola bar recipe that you don't even have to cook, just mix and freeze, then cut and eat!


Wine, coffee, Coke (1 can a day) - In moderation, perfect.


Lipton Raspberry Diet Ice Tea - Fine by me!!

And as for water, I don't drink as much as I should. Here's what Bonnie recommends: "As long as you are drinking at least a bottle or two of water a day, that would be best. The tea is actually a great substitute because it's mostly water, just with a light amount of flavor to it without the calories added in."


Bonnie also recommends: "Start making small changes when you are the one cooking. Even if your husband is a big high-fat meat eater, start buying the leaner meats. That's one of the biggest little changes you can make, no matter who you are. When you eat lean meats versus high-fat meats, your intake of protein increases, saturated fat decreases, and you will eat less because of the amount of time it really takes to digest the large amount of protein."

Nutrionalist
Bonnie Faske Lynn

Bonnie is so incredibly enthusiastic about starting her new Nutrition Consultation business. She not only studied Nutrition and has a degree from Texas A&M, but it is Bonnie's passion to "help meet their highest potential."  She's building her website now, but in the meantime, if you'd like some tips to tweak your nutrition for a healthier lifestyle, email Bonnie at bonniefaske@att.net. When the site is up (can't wait!!) I'll change to link it here.

I use to be all into health and fitness... but over the years, I got away from it. Teaming up with a buddy (or at the gym they would be called a "spotter") is a great means of motivation to help get you to a healthier lifestyle - without the restrictions of some fad diet or dangerous pills. I've been having some severe headaches lately. Hopefully some of these changes will also help them go away.

Thanks for stopping by!
and enjOY your long weekend!



LINKING POST TO:

504 Main - Tickled Pink Friday


 

 

6 comments:

  1. Great post! I love to see how other people manage with food. I recently discovered that a few too many years of eating Lean Cuisine almost every day for lunch was a large cause of my constant indigestion! So, re-working my eating plan... I'd love to see your granola bar recipe- you're right that the ones in the store are packed with sugar. Thanks for sharing!
    : ) Meg

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  2. Thanks so much for sharing these...that chicke/grapes/feta cheese looks great!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  3. Wow Lynda, What a BEAUTIFUL blog! Are these really your own photos? These are magazine-worthy. {I think it's so hard to make food look good in pictures!} Thanks so much for stopping by & for your sweet comment on my blog {pantry post}. I really enjoyed my visit to yours!

    Warmly, Michelle

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  4. This is just such a beautiful and informative post. I am so glad that I came to visit and saw it. I really do need to ramp up my protein intake. Your blog is so beautiful and polished. Lovely visit.

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  5. Thanks ladies!! Glad you enjoyed it. First foodie post (other than images of Thanksgiving lol) Hubs wondered why I kep taking pics everytime I made a salad... Just wanted to try something new - and Bonnie's info was a great & timely add!

    Thanks Michelle! yes - Most are my pics I've taken with either my cell phone or just a Panasonic Lumix camera (from 2007). The pics that aren't mine are usually within an "inspiration post". I use Picnik to edit, add text and make collages.

    xo Lynda

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  6. With all the beautiful fruits and vegetables in season and at your fingertips, just no reason not to take this opportunity to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables.
    Dreambox

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