Grilled Chicken, Peach and Walnut Salad

Fruits and vegetables are good for you and they are even better married in  a salad. The combination of sweet, savory and crunchy makes this peach chicken salad perfection. This is easy to prepare and perfect for those warm spring and summer days when you want something satisfying and refreshing.

Peaches are the star in this recipe, so only use the freshest, ripest, juiciest ones you can find

Use a mix of fresh salad greens.

Red onion adds a nice pungent dimension to the salad

Walnuts or pecans add a nice crunch. I love to use glazed walnuts because it adds something special

 The  flavors in this salad are bright and refreshing and perfect for spring and summer when its warm and you don't feel like cooking

Ingredients

2 large peaches

2 grilled chicken breasts (roasted works well too)

1/2 cup red onion

1/2 cup salad dressing (recipe below)

6 cups spring salad mix

6 cups spring salad mix or your own blend of chopped salad greens

Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

1 small shallot chopped

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup Braggs organic apple cider vinegar 

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions:

Peel peach and slice into long sections, slice red onion, and slice your chicken into small pieces and put in large bowl. Add salad greens and peaches and toss with Citrus Vinaigrette dressing or store bought poppy seed dressing

For the salad dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together in a nonreactive bowl until thoroughly combined.

 

 Bon Appetit!

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Delicious and Healthy Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I have this love affair with food, but I have known for quite some time, that I will have to reform some of my foodie ways and start making healthier versions of the things I love. I am getting older and I certainly don't want to grow horizontally.  I decided to try making a cauliflower crust pizza to satisfy my hankering for ooey gooey cheesy pizza. It was a great success.

Well.

Almost.

It was tasty, and filling and cheesy and saucy and all the great things a pizza should be, so I thought I could make this pizza and trick my son into eating more vegetables by not telling him the crust was made with cauliflower.

 I made two pizzas. A supreme pizza loaded with veggies, sweet Italian Turkey Sausage and Pepperoni for me and a plain Pepperoni for him. I tried very hard to pass this vegetable crust pizza off as the real thing. Let me tell ya, it was an epic FAIL. My son is quite the pizza connoisseur because I have taken him to some of the best pizzerias in Los Angeles and his nine year old taste buds are pretty refined when it comes to pizza, so passing off a pepperoni pizza on cauliflower crust didn't quite fly. Our conversation went like this:

Me: "I have got a surprise for you!"

Little Man: "What is it mom?"

"Me: "PIZZA!!!"

Little Man: "YAY !"

My son was really excited. Very excited.

Until he put the pizza in his mouth...

Little Man: "What did you make this with, it tastes like dead vegetables mixed with garlic. I need to help you next time mom, so I can see what you put in this stuff" "Stick with your original pizza recipe mom"

Okay, so for him, no es bueno, but I LOVED IT! Now, don't get it twisted, it does not taste 100% like the real thing, but it is pretty close and very very tasty and the cherry on top is that its healthy and low carb. This is a great way to eat healthy and still enjoy some of the bad stuff we aren't supposed to have. I really like stuff I'm not supposed to have, so finding ways to make things that are bad for me, good for me is a win win in my book. Are you ready to try some healthy pizza?

You will need one head of fresh cauliflower. Put it in a food processor or use a cheese grater until it looks like snow. Microwave it for 5 minutes and then dump all of it in a towel and squeeze all of the water out of it. You must get as much of the water and moisture out of it as possible for your crust to turn out good.

 Add all of the spices and an egg and mix it together

Use parchment paper (not wax paper) and shape dough with your hands and bake in oven until golden brown

Your crust should be a nice golden brown in 15-20 minutes.

It is very important to precook the crust so that it can withstand the toppings without getting soggy

Add your pizza sauce and spread all over the crust

Ready to go into the oven

The finished product

The pepperoni pizza ready to bake

The finished product was pretty delicious. I made two pizzas and customized the toppings, but you can also make one large pizza, just adjust the toppings if you choose to make one big pizza.

Ingredients

For the Crust

1 large head of cauliflower cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese

2 eggs 

Toppings

Approximately 1 cup pizza sauce

1 1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

1/2 green bell pepper

1/4 cup sliced red onion

1/2 cup pepperoni

1/4 cup sweet Italian turkey sausage 

1/4 cup sliced black olives

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450

Put your cauliflower in a food processor and blend until it is the consistency of snow. (You can try using a cheese grater if you do not have a food processor). Put your cauliflower in a bowl and microwave for 5 minutes. Let it cool and wrap all of the cauliflower in a towel and squeeze all the water out of it. Once you have removed all the water from the cauliflower, put it in a dry bowl and mix in the spices, cheese and egg. You will end up with a cauliflower dough.

Use a sheet of parchment paper and shape your dough into a round pizza, no bigger than your pan or pizza stone. Put parchment paper with the dough on it, onto the pan and bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Spread your pizza sauce on the crust, sprinkle the cheese and your other toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes.

I love to have salad with pizza, so I made a chopped salad and garnished with fresh avocado. Perfect healthy and satisfying dinner.

Bon Appetit!

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Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad

It is a new year and most of us have indulged in holiday eating more than we care to admit. I ate a lot of cake and cookies and pie and macaroni and cheese. Did I mention that I ate a lot of cake, cookies and pie? I enjoyed every last crumb too. I don't even feel guilty. Okay, maybe a little. Well, the holidays are over and it is time to get serious about eating healthy. I am excited about eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables and you should be too. You and I will feel so much better. This salad is something special.

It's really special

 

This salad is so good I have eaten it three days in a row. 

 

Yes.

 

It's that good.

 

 I love a good salad, especially a colorful salad that is chock full of fruit and fresh vegetables. One of my favorite salads is the strawberry poppy seed chicken salad at Panera Bread. It is one of their signature summer salads and I enjoy it quite often in the summer. After experimenting in my kitchen, I came up with my own delicious salad inspired by Panera, but with a few of my own special touches. This is simple, delicious and healthy. Try this and watch those holiday hips go away. If you are watching your sugar intake, you can swap the poppy seed dressing for a simple mix of Braggs apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Dijon and a hint of agave. Are you ready to taste this colorful masterpiece?

I like to mix my salad greens and I always include baby spinach

A little spring mix and romaine add more color and texture

And then the berries

oh the berries...

Mandarin oranges add additional sweetness

The Panera version of this salad has pecans, but I switched it up with toasted walnuts

Grilled chicken is the final ingredient. The salad is equally delicious if you make it completely vegetarian, but we need our protein. Don't we? I'm ready for some salad. How about you?

 

 

Ingredients

2 chicken breast halves seasoned and cooked

For the Lemon Poppy seed Dressing

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons diced onion
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup olive oil or regular vegetable oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Add all ingredients except oil and poppyseeds to the blender or a food processor. When everything is well blended, start adding the oil a little at a time in a steady stream. Add the poppyseeds and process for a few minutes.

In a large salad bowl, combine the salad greens, fruit and walnuts. Toss with dressing and put a mound of salad one each plate and add the chicken.

Makes approximately 10 generous servings

Go ahead and tell everyone you spent all day slaving over a cold salad:-)

Bon Appetit!

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