Skinny Egg Salad

We were on vacation earlier this month and I came home five pounds heavier.  I hate how one can gain five pounds in a week and it takes five weeks (or more!) to take it off again.  So I've been (trying to) cut back on calories and count EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth.  Easier said than done!  That also means making sure every bite will keep me feeling full.  Satisfied.  Not hungry!

This Skinny Egg Salad is high in protein, but low in calories, so it really fits the bill.  And it's The Boy's birthday this week, so I'll need all the help I can get when we order in pizza and have cookie cake sitting around. Sigh!

Skinny Egg Salad
Adapted from Dashing Dish
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Ingredients:
3 hard-cooked eggs (3 egg whites and 1 yolk, discard the other 2 yolks)
1/2 stalk celery, diced
1 mini dill pickle, chopped
1/4 cup Miracle Whip Light dressing
1/2 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. Penzey's Sunny Paris seasoning
Sprinkle of dried dill
Salt and ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Coarsely chop three egg whites and one egg yolk and place them in a medium-sized bowl along with the celery and pickle.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, mix the light dressing, mustard, and seasonings.  Pour the dressing mixture over the eggs and gently stir until completely mixed.  Serve immediately by itself or on a flatbread.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

Calories:  Approximately 185 (entire recipe)
Serves: 2

Marinated Five-Bean Salad (gluten-free, vegan)

It's finally warming up in our neck of the woods.  Finally (it's ONLY May!).  At last it's time to put away the soup pot, fire up the grill and break out the salads.  My go-to salad is this one.  But, in all honesty, it takes a lot of time to cut up all the veggies.  I needed something in my repertoire that was quick and easy.  And I like a side dish that is either a) low in calories or b) packs a nutritious punch.  And, of course, yummy (that's such a given, I almost neglected to mention it!) This salad is all of the above:  fast, skinny, and filled with protein. And as a bonus for my friends with food allergies and sensitivities, it's both gluten-free AND vegan, so it will be perfect to share at this summer's backyard barbecues.  Hubby declared it a keeper!

Marinated 5-Bean Salad
Adapted from CalorieKing.com
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Ingredients:

½ c. red wine vinegar

3 Tbsp. Splenda

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 ½ tsp. Italian seasoning

½ tsp. minced garlic

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

1 c. frozen corn

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 can (14.5 oz.) wax beans, drained

1 can (14.5 oz.) cut green beans, drained

1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15.5 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed.

Directions:

Combine vinegar, Splenda, olive oil, and spices in a small bowl.  Whisk to combine, then set aside.  In a large bowl, combine corn, red bell pepper, and all varieties of beans.  Toss, then pour dressing over the top and gently stir to ensure all the beans are covered.  Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight, stirring occasionally and prior to serving.

Serves: 8 generous servings, approximately 146 calories each

Lean Cuisine Salad Additions: A Review

I have to say, the first time I saw Lean Cuisine Salad Additions in the freezer case at Target, I kind of rolled my eyes.  Because, really, who needs help making a salad?  It's a little lettuce, you add all the veggies you like, maybe a bit of protein, and your favorite dressing.  It's really not hard.

Upon closer inspection however, I saw that one of the varieties of Salad Additions was Southwest-Style Chicken, which sounded super good, especially because I'm slightly obsessed with McDonald's Southwest Salad with grilled chicken.  I love it.  I've even discovered a Hungry Girl recipe for the salad (I know, a recipe for salad...kind of like a recipe for a sandwich, but believe me, it's good) which is seriously yummy, just not readily available in Iowa in January.  So when I came across a manufacturer coupon for $1 off two Salad Additions, and another Target coupon for a free bag of salad when you buy two Salad Additions, I thought it must be a sign.  I bought them.

Southwest-Style Chicken
The Southwest-Style Chicken comes packaged with three pouches.  One includes chipotle ranch dressing, the second, a chicken and vegetable steam pouch, has grilled white meat chicken, black beans, sweet corn, roasted red peppers, and poblano peppers.  The final pouch is crispy tortilla strips.  According to the box, one package contains 260 calories, 9 grams of fat, 18 grams of protein, and 590 mg of sodium.  The idea is to just "add your lettuce" and you have a meal.  My full plate of lettuce added 25 calories.

The first step is to remove all the pouches from the box, which needs to be frozen.  You place the unopened dressing pouch in a cup of room temperature water to thaw, set aside the crispy tortilla strips, and place the chicken and vegetable steam pouch in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes.  When the pouch is finished cooking, you are supposed to leave it in the microwave an additional 1 minute before placing it on top of your lettuce.  Then you add the salad dressing and tortilla strips.

One issue I had with the instructions was that it never mentioned draining the steam pouch.  It had quite a bit of water in it when I took it out of the microwave.  If I hadn't drained it, it would have added a lot of hot water to the salad.  Yuck.  Fortunately I was paying attention and was able to empty the water from the pouch before dousing my salad with it.  It might be something the manufacturer should mention.

Another issue I had with the salad was the texture of the peppers.  There's something not quite right about mushy peppers on a salad.  The chicken, corn, and beans were good, but the peppers through me off a bit.  But the flavor was really good, with a nice zing, so I got over the whole texture thing.

I ate the Southwest-Style Salad Additions for dinner on an evening that I don't normally workout, and the protein held me pretty well (meaning, by evening snack time, I wasn't ravenous and ready to bite off my arm).

Bistro Chicken
The Bistro Chicken also comes packaged with three pouches - 1) a sweet and tangy vinaigrette dressing with bacon, 2) grilled white meat chicken, asparagus, yellow carrots, and red peppers, and 3) crispy onion straws.  These ingredients account for 240 calories, 8 grams of fat, 15 grams of protein, and 430 mg of sodium.  A full plate of lettuce added 25 calories.  This variety of Salad Additions is prepared the same way as the Southwest-Style Chicken.

Again, I had the problem with the water in the steam pouch.  Since I knew to expect it due to my prior experience, I drained it without issue.  And I also had concerns with the texture of the vegetables.  I really couldn't get over cooked carrots and asparagus in my crunchy salad.  The dressing had a nice flavor, but I think it was a little heavy on the onion, of which I'm not really a fan, so the crispy onion straws were not a favorite, either.

I ate the Bistro Chicken Salad Additions for lunch on a day that I worked out.  I was pretty hungry by the time dinner rolled around that evening.

The Verdict
Would I buy Lean Cuisine Salad Additions again?  It depends.  If I had a coupon or they were on sale, I would probably get the Southwest-Style Chicken for lunch, if I wasn't going to be home but would have access to a microwave.  I really liked the kick of the dressing.  Maybe Nestle should bottle that and sell it!  I don't think I'd get the Bistro Chicken variety.  I just didn't care for the cooked veggies and I didn't like tasting onion all afternoon.  The Cranberry & Chicken variety might be worth trying, but I don't think I'd purchase the Asian-Style since I'm not really big on Asian-flavored dressing.

What about you?  Is this a product you'd be willing to try?  What flavors do you think you'd like?

Disclaimer:  This review is my entirely impartial, unsolicited opinion.  No compensation or other consideration was provided by the manufacturer of Lean Cuisine Salad Additions, and I purchased the products myself (with coupons, of course!). 

Bring on spring and bring on salad!

So as I mentioned in my last post, we've already begun grilling here in northeast Iowa.  Tonight we grilled burgers, which I often serve with veggies, sweet potato fries, or mashed potatoes.  I was in the mood for something fresh and "spring-y" though, so I flipped through my salad "favorites" binder and came to this recipe, which I made last year when I started my garbanzo bean kick (full of protein...gotta love 'em!).  It makes a great big bowl and we'll be able to eat leftovers with chicken or fish all week long!

Couscous-Garbanzo Salad
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

Salad
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 cup water
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 cup grape tomatos, quartered
1 cup diced cucumber
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 (15 1/2 oz.) can garbanzo beans, drained

Dressing
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Penzey's Shallots (or use dried minced onion)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring water and bouillon cube to a boil, then gradually stir in couscous.  Cover and remove from heat.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Place couscous in a large bowl and let cool completely.  Fluff with a fork.  Add tomatoes, cucumber, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and garbanzo beans and toss well.  In a small bowl, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and spices and stir with a whisk.  Pour dressing mixture over the couscous mixture and toss gently.

Calories: 130  

Serves 10-12 (1/2 cup serving)