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!

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