It is starting to feel like spring (well at least it is above 50 degrees today)! This week’s Clean Eats recipe is easy, healthy and perfect for spring and summer time! Our client Barbara is sharing her new favorite way to spice up a spinach salad.
This recipe is from the blog Gimme Some Oven. There are so many different ways to make this salad! Barbara exchanges the blue cheese for goat cheese and uses her own balsamic dressing. I love that healthy fats like avocado and almonds that we just discussed in the latest FitFuel post are included in the ingredients too! Here’s what you’ll need…
Ingredients:
6 cups fresh baby spinach
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 avocado, diced (or you can double this to 2 avocados!)
4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
half a small red onion, thinly sliced
poppyseed dressing (recipe below)
Poppyseed Dressing Ingredients:
1/2 cup avocado oil (or any oil, such as olive oil)
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp poppy seeds
pinch of ground dry mustard (optional)
salt and pepper
Prep time: 10 minutes
Steps:
Whisk all dressing ingredients together until combined.
Toss all ingredients together with your desired amount of dressing until combined. Serve immediately.
Now this is a salad you will look forward to eating!!! Add some protein like chicken or salmon to create a full, balanced meal. Double these ingredients to make a big salad for the week. Thanks for sharing, Barbara!
This clean eating dish comes to us as a recommendation from my Aunt Michelle. Back story – I went to Miami with my Aunts, Michelle and Stacey, to visit my cousin Danielle and go to the Patriots game a few weeks ago. We all sat on the beach complaining about how we didn’t want to be in a bikini (while drinking beers/eating crap), so at the end of the fun weekend we decided to challenge each other to a fitness competition. Winner would be the first one to reach their health and fitness goal (whatever they set for themselves) within a month and we’d all pitch in and buy the winner a prize. Long story short, we’re two weeks in and although everyone is slowly but surely changing the way they eat and working out more, we’ve decided a month is too short and we’re extending the challenge to March! We send pictures of our healthy meals to each other to motivate (or intimidate) one another, so I asked my aunt to share her favorite so far.
This recipe is from the blog Sisters Consuming Life. The dish is good warm or cold – so it is great to make and store for the week!
Ingredients:
Salad:
1 cup uncooked Red Quinoa (Nature’s Earthly Choice)
1 (14 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 small avocado, chopped
Can add hot smoked salmon or chicken for more protein
Dressing:
4-5 tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from 2 small limes)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin, or more to taste
P.S. If there is one thing my mom and Aunt Michelle have taught me about cooking (and they are great cooks) it is to not worry about exact measurements. A dash of this, pinch of that – works! I like to bake more than cook, so I used to try to measure everything perfectly like you have to when baking, but it slows you down – especially when you are trying to cook and eat clean every day!
Prep time: 30 minutes
Steps:
Add 1 cup of red quinoa to 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a vigorous boil, then reduce heat and cook until tender and water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
While the quinoa is cooking, chop the vegetables and prepare the dressing.
Mix the dressing ingredients using an immersion blender, or by hand.
Allow quinoa to cool for about 5 minutes after cooking, then fluff with a fork.
Add the beans and vegetable and toss well.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and season with salt and pepper to taste.
My aunt enjoyed this salad as a dollop over lettuce with a serving of protein on the side.
Photo Courtesy: Aunt Michelle
Also, I saw this photo on Facebook and wanted to share:
When it comes to reaching fitness goals whether they be to lose weight, get stronger or tone up, it is 80% (some say 90%) work in the kitchen and 20% working out. It is a commitment to eat clean and takes a lot of time (unless you are Tom Brady), but it helps you see results from workouts (at the gym or in my classes) a LOT faster!
Looking for Clean Eats suggestions – send to info@townbarre.com if you’d like to share your favorite!
Town Barre 