Chill Out

Here is an awesome summer salad to make when additional heat in the kitchen is not an option! I typically steer clear of recipes that have more than 5-6 ingredients. I'm all about quick and easy, so I almost passed over this salad, but it looked so amazing in the picture that I had to try it. A hand full of ingredients were for the dressing and believe it or not, they showed up in my frig and pantry. I hope you give it a try, you won't regret it!

Greek Pasta Salad

Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes



5 ounces (2 1/2 cups) dried conchiglie pasta (seriously...I call them shells!)
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 seedless cucumber, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 yellow bell pepper cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 ounces reduced fat feta cheese
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I used bottled)
1 tsp minced fresh garlic (I used jarred)
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse under cold water, drain again and transfer to paper towels to absorb excess water.
2. Combine tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, beans, onion, feta, olives and mint in a large serving bowl; add pasta and mix.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, honey, mustard, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour over the pasta and vegetables; toss well. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste; serve.

Nutritional facts per serving:
334 calories, 13 g protein, 49 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat (2 g saturated), 7 g fiber

*Recipe from Recipe.com - by Laraine Perri

Top 10 Superfoods for Women

I just stumbled upon this article on my Comcast home page and thought I would share – America's Healthiest Superfoods for Women. You've probably heard of all of these superfoods, but I like how the slideshow provides a brief description of why they were deemed the top ten and what the benefits are.

1. Alaskan Salmon
2. Wild Blueberries
3. Oats
4. Broccoli
5. Walnuts
6. Avodacos
7. Red Beans
8. Greek Yogurt
9. Olive Oil
10. Dark Chocolate

The slideshow lists other great superfoods to add to your diet as well. Seriously, you can feel the super powers coming on when you eat these foods!

http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/news-healthiestsuperfoodforwomen/1/

Six Small Meals a Day

In October I was diagnosed with Adrenal Gland Insufficiency. At that time I made some changes to my diet and one of those changes was to switch from three squares to six small meals a day, which helps with the healing of the adrenal glands by providing a steady stream of fuel throughout the day for balance. But this method of eating isn't only for adrenal gland repair.

This "energy balance" method of eating allows you to take in a similar number of calories as you're burning off. As you burn calories throughout your day–by exercising, walking from the parking lot, taking the stairs–the calories you take in should stay within similar levels of the calories you burn. As long as you're constantly fueling your body with small meals, you're constantly teaching it to shed fat. When you think about it, limiting yourself to three meals a day you are asking your body to operate normally all the time, even though you are intermittently depriving it of fuel then dumping big heaps of calories into it every 6 hours or so.

To keep those fat burners firing, eat your six meals like this:

| Alternate larger meals and smaller ones.
| Eat your snacks roughly 2 hours before lunch, 2 hours before dinner and roughly 2 hours after dinner.
| Eat to fit your own lifestyle and schedule, but an ideal schedule looks something like this:

8:00 AM – Breakfast
11:00 AM – Snack
1:00 PM – Lunch
4:00 PM – Snack
6:00 PM – Dinner
8:00 PM – Snack

Caprese Skewers

One of summers freshest and easiest recipes; Caprese salad. You can serve it so many ways, but my favorite are Caprese skewers! I brought this to a recent girls gathering and it was really well received, so much so that a few gals asked for the recipe. Here you go!

Caprese Skewers
(Makes 24 skewers)

Grape tomatoes (72 each)
Fresh Mozzarella (You can use a block and cut squares or buy the mozzarella balls. Both are found in the deli section by the specialty cheeses. 72 each)
Fresh Basil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Sea salt
Pepper
Wood skewers (I buy the standard kabob skewers and cut them down to size.)

Alternate tomato, basil, mozzarella three times on each skewer. Place them on a plate or platter (it's fun to use a contrasting color) and drizzle with EVOO and Balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Nuts do you good!

One day last week I read in Fitness that walnuts have nearly double the disease fighting antioxidants of almonds, peanuts, pistachios or pecans, so snack smarter is their advice. Then the very next day I read in Taste of Home...this just in...turns out pecans contain more antioxidants than walnuts. Really?!

What I do know is nuts are one of the best plant sources of protein. They are rich in fiber, phytonutrients and antioxidants such as Vitamin E and selenium. Nuts are also high in plant sterols and fat - but mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (omega 3 - the good fats) which have all been shown to lower LDL cholesterol.

But don't limit yourself to just nuts. In addition to nuts, seeds such as flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds also offer health benefits. Again moderation is the key - limit your intake to 1 to 2 oz of unsalted nuts per day.

No Meat No Matter

If you are like me and don't eat a lot of meat, you may be concerned about getting enough protein. There is considerable debate over the amount of protein a person needs to consume per day, the current recommended daily intake (RDI) of protein is 46 grams for women aged 19–70 and 56 grams for men aged 19–70. Turns out most Americans consume more protein than necessary.

Your diet still includes foods that offer a good dose of protein per cup – some might even surprise you: tilapia/fish (26 grams), almonds or cashews (20 grams), black beans (15 grams),  milk (8 grams), brown or white rice (5 grams), eggs (4 grams), even broccoli (4 grams).

When planning a meatless menu, do your heart healthy and choose protein sources that are naturally low in fat (beans or brown rice), or choose low-fat or non-fat versions (dairy products). Veggie burgers are another option. I really like Morning Star burgers, Asian or Spicy Black Bean on my salads or crumbled and wrapped in a whole grain tortilla. They are low in saturated fat and contain 7 grams protein per burger.