Five Healthy Ways to Add Protein to Your Salad

Summer salads are all over the foodie blogs and are a perfect way to cool down when the heat is up!  The versatility of salads allow almost everyone to enjoy them in some for or another.

I have been having a salad with a lot of veggies, herbs, spices, and protein for dinner each night for months now.  They never get old since there's so many ways to make each one different.  Of course, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms are almost always on my salad, and then I'll add different things from there.

In the past, I've noticed the lack of a healthy protein source for my salads, and needed to fill the void. So I came up with five simple ways to add lean protein and flavor at the same time.  Try each one of these ideas for each day of the week and enjoy the healthy variety!

1. Grilled Chicken Breast (sliced, shredded, or diced) - Grill boneless-skinless chicken breasts seasoned as you like and cut up into cubes (or your preferred serving size) to use as a salad topper.  I will cook a few on the weekend, cut up, then store in an airtight container to add extra lean protein to complete my salad.

2. Nuts and Seeds - Buy them raw and dry roast yourself, or just eat them raw. If you like a little crunch, these will pack a delicious protein punch; with so many types of nuts and seeds available, you're sure to find a favorite. An added bonus is the healthy fats you'll get from these sources too! Dry roasts sunflower seeds are always welcome on my greens, but I also enjoy pistachios, pumpkin seeds, cashews, and walnuts.

They aren't on salad, but you get the point....use them on salad!

3. Homemade Slow-cooker Veggie Protein Dressing/Dip - My ultimate favorite way to add a melting pot of flavor, spice, and everything nice protein! It's so easy! Add a few bags of your favorite frozen veggies in a slow-cooker, toss in a cup of lentils or a couple cans of beans, season to taste, and let everything cook for several hours. Once cooked, just puree in a stand or immersion blender and store in fridge to use as a thick protein dressing on your salad.  This is functional flavor at its finest!

Homemade dressing that doubles as dip? #Win!!

4. Canned Tuna or Salmon - Look for the low or no salt added fish in water for the healthiest choice. Mix with dijon mustard, lemon juice, dill, and spices to add a protein zip to your bed of greens and veggies. This is wonderful mixed in or just placed on top, and oh so easy. When they're on sale, I'll use sardines by themselves for a healthy dose of omega-3's too.

Bonus points for having tuna stuffed in mushrooms on your salad!

5. Plain, Non-fat Greek Yogurt or Cottage Cheese - Add a cool and creamy tang to your salad with yogurt! Whether mixed with a little dijon, herbs, and spices, or straight from the container, yogurt is an often overlooked choice for salads.  My favorite yogurt mix is like a Tzatziki sauce without cucumbers; I add mustard, dill, garlic and onion powder, cayenne, and pepper to plain yogurt to create a quick and healthy salad sauce.

There are many more than 5 ways to up your protein on salads, but these are my tried and true options that are easy to prepare and healthy to eat.  If you've been having the same ol' salad every day/night, zest it up and try one or all of these next time.

Geez, it feels like it's been a long week! Anyone else feel this way?  Why can't it ever feel (or even better, actually be) like a long weekend? Such is life, I guess....bleh.

Q: Are you doing anything fun this weekend? For me, fun can just be keeping myself inside and just relaxing, but there is that new Batman movie....hmm. I will definitely cook some delicious food for lunch and snacking....any ideas on what it should be?

Have a great weekend!

Spicy Bay Scallops in a Balsamic Reduction Sauce for My Birthday

As I get another year older, time seems to go by just a little faster than before. What’s up with that? This weekend is just a blur and it's hard trying to reflect on what I did. Good thing we have pictures!


On the topic of speed, most of my posts will most likely be shorter due to a busier work week. Don’t you despise it when work gets in the way of your passion? Maybe a lot of you are lucky enough to have work as your passion; in that case, I’m envious.

Oh well, working with good people can really help make your job better. The group I work with makes my job tolerable and fun because they do things like bring me a Portobello Mushroom Cake for my b-day.


For my special birthday meal, I cooked a healthy dish for myself, just as I prefer. Kelley told me she’d cook something, but she knows how crazy picky I am and it’s just best for me to do it myself. No problem!

I slow-simmered scallops, Brussels sprouts, and sliced Portobello mushrooms in a light balsamic reduction broth seasoned with herbs and spices. Basically my favorite foods all in one dish! After taste-testing the delectable union of fish and veggies, I chilled the rest to create a super salad with Zilks salsa as dressing.

Have you heard of Zilks? It’s based in Austin, TX and they make absolutely fabulous hummus, pesto, and salsa. Even better, the ingredients they use are real food that can be found in your kitchen; unlike the Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, and other hoop-la added to most brands. They sent me several delicious products to try, and so far my expectations have been exceeded. Stay tuned for a tasty review in the near future!

What a way to celebrate another year of being Here! I made extra so I can add to tonight’s salad. Sorry the pictures didn’t turn out as well as I wanted, but hopefully they still inspire you to try this soon. Otherwise, I’ll feel selfish for being the only one to have had such a splendid (maybe I'm a little biased) dish.


Q: Is your job also your passion? Please share if you care! If it’s not, what “would” be your dream job?

Spicy Bay Scallops in Balsamic Reduction Sauce

by RC Liley

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients (Serves 2 - 3)

• 1/2 pound bay scallops; fresh or frozen (if frozen, make sure you thaw first)
• 1/2 pound Brussels sprouts
• 1 medium to large Portobello mushroom; sliced and chopped into cubes
• 4 cloves garlic; crushed and chopped
• 1 cup low sodium chicken, fish, or vegetable stock; you might need more to cover veggies half-way
• 3 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 T dried cilantro
• 2 tsp dried thyme

Instructions

Heat a non-stick sauté pan with a lid over medium high heat

Add garlic and sweat for 30 seconds

Pour vinegar into pan and scrape any burned garlic from the bottom; let vinegar reduce for 1 minute and pour in the stock

Add Brussels sprouts, herbs, and spices; cover and cook 10 minutes

Add mushroom pieces and cook, uncovered, another 5 minutes

Toss in scallops; cover and cook 5 minutes

Remove from heat and let sit, covered, another minute or two

Enjoy warm or chilled over a giant salad, the sauce makes a great dressing too!

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Quick and Healthy Meatless Monday: Cool Quinoa Curry Salad

Quinoa is pretty awesome stuff.  I'm always amazed that when I mention it at work or many other places, people just get a confused look on their face.  These are the same people who can tell you when the iPad 8 (I know this isn't real; I'm exaggerating) is being released.

Being a staple seed in our home, I'm always looking for new and tasty ways to prepare the tiny spheres of complete protein. Since I just bought some curry powder, I figured I'd try it with quinoa.

The result was pure and simple bliss with each bite. Fluffy quinoa, a little bite from the curry, a big bite from the cayenne, and full of healthy green veggies all work magic in this simple dish.  Now that the warmth is probably here to stay, this is a perfect meal to bring along on a picnic or to work for a cool lunch.

Make this Curry Quinoa Salad and double the ingredients to have again or for a quick fridge to plate dinner.

Ingredients  (serves 3-4):•1/2 cup dry quinoa; rinsed
•3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
•1 onion; chopped
•12oz package of frozen green beans
•10 - 12oz package of frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 cup of any beans you have; I used black-eyed peas, but black, kidney, garbanzo, or any white beans would be great too
•1 cup chicken stock
•2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
•1 tablespoon each of curry powder, cumin, basil, cilantro
•1/2 teaspoon cayenne
•sea salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:
1. Heat non-stick sauce pan.
2. Add garlic and onion. Cook for three minutes or until soft. Add spices and let toast for 20 seconds.
3. Add vegetables, quinoa, stock and salt and pepper (if desired).
4. Cook for 20 minutes or until quinoa is fully cooked (it will be translucent).
5. Transfer to large bowl or portion out into storage containers for each person. Place in fridge to chill.
3. Whenever you're ready, take out of fridge and enjoy; no heat required!

Kelley doesn't like them, but I added sliced beets to mine. Great color contrast and taste (to me)!
I have been finding many ways to use quinoa, including quinoa pancakes for Kelley and quinoa cookies with goat cheese, rosemary, and espresso balsamic.

Interested?  I'll be posting recipes soon!

What food staples do you use each week?  Is it boring or something you'd never give up?

I always have yogurt and some form of squash ready to use.  These things are not boring and I most certainly would never give them up!

Seven Splendid Salad Toppings

Are you tired of having the same type of salad (as a side or entrée) every time you make one? Don’t let salad monotony affect you! Look at that bowl of mixed lettuce as a blank slate waiting for vibrant colors and flavors to be mixed into for something totally new. I try to vary my toppings each time (almost daily) I have a salad. So far, I’m not burned out and still enjoy the multiple salad creations I “toss” (my shot at a corny pun) together.

When it’s hot outside, you want to keep things cool inside. Salads are a great option to help stay away from the stove, oven, and microwave but still have a great meal. Here are seven salad toppers I love mixing into my salads:

1. Papaya Seeds – Yes, you read this right, seeds from the papaya fruit. I love to buy fresh papaya, cut it into chunks and freeze for appetizing blender concoctions; but what about all of the seeds in the middle? Unlike the fruit that encompasses them, the seeds have a pleasant peppery taste which pairs well on salads. Try it. Papayas are easy to prepare; just peel the soft skin, cut down the middle, and viola, you have the seeds! Scoop out the seeds and keep in an airtight container in the fridge; then enjoy fresh papaya as you’d like.
2. Salsa – If you need to cut down on calories or just looking for something different, salsa is your answer. There are many varieties to choose from at the store, just look for real ingredients and nothing more. I’ve seen modified food starch, guar gum, and even corn syrup in some, so be cautious! From mild, medium, or hot, have your choice and mix into your salad as desired. Add some canned black beans, corn, and tomatoes for a Mexican fiesta salad.
3. Goat Cheese – This may not be very unique to some, but goat cheese has such a strong flavor that you don’t need to add a lot. Kelley and I go through the giant tube-shaped goat cheese log within 3 days sometimes….she gets most of it. For the little bit I do get, I love getting a couple scoops and crumbling on top of the salad. The goat cheese pairs well with sliced strawberries and nuts too.
4. Seeds – Add crunch with a healthy dose of protein and good fats from sunflower, pumpkin, and other seeds. Nuts are also a great choice with similar fat and calories per standard serving, but since seeds are smaller, you get more crunch. 
5. Dijon Mustard and Yogurt – Stir a big spoonful of Dijon or another favorite mustard into 1/4 to 1/2 cup of non-fat plain yogurt for a healthy dressing made in minutes. Add a bit of honey to mellow out the dressing if desired.  To really up the ante, add your favorite herbs and spices.  My favorite is cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, and dill.
6. Whole Grains – Barley, Rice, Quinoa, or Couscous can be cooked ahead of time and mixed into cold salads for extra fiber, protein, and essential nutrients. Adding quinoa to the salsa, corn, black beans, and tomatoes is a favorite of mine and I suggest you try it too. If you don’t have cooked grains on hand, try whole grain crackers instead. I enjoy the hearty crunch from Crunchmaster multi-seed crackers when broken into a few pieces and put on top of my salad. They stay crunchy for a long time too, so don’t worry about soggy cracker salad syndrome with Crunchmaster crackers.
7. Beans – As I mentioned before, black beans are great with salsa salad dressing, but any canned beans will do. Fiber, protein, and much needed nutrients will help fill your body with healthy flavor; try a mixture of beans if you can’t decide on just one. Garbanzo beans and tomatoes add some nice Italian color to your bowl or plate.

Go crazy; add all seven options to your salad for once big meal that fills you up with natural fiber, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals all necessary for our bodies. Do you have a favorite salad topping that’s not so “ordinary?” Please post to comments and let me know, I’d be interested to try. As always, along with the 7 noted toppings below, for some extra spice….Just Add Cayenne!