"Another Awesome Salad" Alert...

So, I was fortunate enough to be able to run home at lunch today and pretty much threw a salad together with whatever I could get my hands on fastest...and the result was this beauty...

Today's Mix:

• Arugula & Spinach
• Diced cantaloupe
• Cole Slaw Cabbage Mix (Dry, no mayo)
• 1/4 diced Avocado
• Gorgonzola shreds
• Drizzle of olive oil
• And the best thing to ever happen to salad: Trader Joe's Rosemary Pecan & Cranberries...

Seriously folks, I can't even begin to stress the awesomeness of the Rosemary Pecans!  They are like SALAD MAGIC:)  Fantastic!

But I thought I'd show you what some pre-diced fruits/vegetables and 5 minutes can produce!  Just grab whatever you have available to make a quick and healthy lunch:)  No excuses:)  As Roseanne would say:  "cheaper than fast food, faster than cheap food" :)

Beat the Heat, Part 2....

So last night's dinner was as cooooool as yesterday's lunch:)  And it involved a little of this....

And a lot of that....

We made fresh Spring Rolls with a 'Thai inspired' cole slaw!  Cool & Summery! :)

I started the rolls with the only real 'cooking' of the entire evening...I sauteed about 20 shrimps, coated in sesame seeds, in a little olive oil until they were pink.  (about 6 minutes)

Next, it was time to break out my wrappers...which were honestly one of the weirdest ingredients I've ever worked with!  They looked like a doily!! :)  But soaked in a plate of water for about 30 seconds softened these up and made them ready to roll!

Side note:  Me and the lovely gentleman at the "Whole Foods" had a 10 minute discussion in the aisles about how anyone could possibly justify the calorie count in these sheets of AIR!  However, after some head scratching and small calculations, we figured out that they were 340 calories for about 2 1/2 sheets worth.  Phew, OK...much better!

Anyway, I digress:)  So I laid out all of my ingredients (and that plate of water in the top right for 'soaking the sheets') and got ready to roll!;)

I wrapped up these babies with romaine/(leftover) arugula, avocado, carrots, scallions & the sesame shrimp.  Most recipes I read  for spring rolls called for rice/cellophane noodles, but I just couldn't bring myself to use them this time.  (cold stringy noodles, for the most part, scare me;)  Maybe next time...;)

I rolled, rolled, and rolled on a river! :)  These were so pretty when they were all done!

And sooooooooooo good!  I must say, I was sorta skeptical about these since I'm normally NOT a fan of "cold" dinners, but I realllllly LOVED these!  They were light as air, but heavy on delicious flavors!  Me thinks these will be QUITE a summer staple this year!

And the dipping sauce really added even MORE flavor.  I mixed (the above mentioned) Thai Peanut Sauce with a little Soy sauce and a teaspoon of crunchy almond butter.  It was coool, but with a KICK!  HIIIII-YA! (insert karate chop:)

And I also used the Thai Sauce in my 'slaw.  I mixed  the sauce with cole slaw cabbage mix, a diced red pepper, 4 diced green onions & a handful of chopped peanuts.  The perfect cool (and slightly spicy) side dish! 

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this dinner!  I already can't wait to have it again! :)  And those rolls are so versatile, the possibilities are endless!  (maybe with the noodles next time??  maybe...;)

So, what would a night be if I didn't talk about ice cream or some sort of ice cream product?  You guessed completely correct if you assumed we currently have ZERO space in our freezer;) 

Again, I will repeat: I do NOT eat "light" products if they are not good!  I am FAR from the person who lives & dies by them...butttttttttttt, when they are low cal AND good...well, then we have a winner!  And here is one:

These bars were smooth and SUPER creamy!  And they weren't even lyin with the claim on the box, as there are actually distinguishable pieces of strawberry in these babies!

And who could not love a dessert where the "suggested serving size" is actually 2 bars???

hahahahahah...I managed to keep it to one bar, and who could complain about THAT for 60 calories??  Not me!!  Sweet!

Ahhhh...we're getting closer to Friday!  Is it bad that I'm mentally already ready for NEXT Friday???  So nice when a 3 day weekend is in the not-too-distant future! ;)  Have a good Thursday!

Beat the Heat....

So another meeting of the "Sassy Salad Club" was in order today, since it was one of the hottest days of the year so far.  (Bleh!  Hate the heat!)  But anyway, we managed to cool down with a Cantaloupe, Prosciutto and "Cabrales" salad...not too shabby for a 'work lunch', no? :)

Well...sorta!  I made a visit to the GLORIOUS cheese counter at the "Whole Foods" yesterday afternoon in search of this interesting 'Cabrales" cheese that I'd never heard of.  The woman at the counter told me that it was a Spanish blue cheese, and that they didn't carry it since they needed to sign a WAIVER in order to sell it since it was SOOOO strong!  Crazy, right???  So she directed me to this OTHER slightly milder Spanish Blue Cheese, 'Valdeon'...

Emphasis on the word slightly!  This cheese was pretty strong too...but it mild-ed out with the 'loupe and the arugula.  It certainly made for an interesting Wednesday lunch:)  Two thumbs up!

The big 7-0.....

So, not only did Scott manage to get the computer up and running again last night...butttttttttttttttttttt: He officially LOST 70 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The 'student surpassed the teacher' ;)  Now I gotta catch up to HIM:)  SOOOO PROUD!! :)

Anyways...so now I have quite a few things to show you from the last few days, but figured I'd start with last night's dinner since we loved it so much!  We made Roasted Corn Tostadas!  (I am on a roasted corn kick, apparently!)  These were sooooooooooooooo filing!!!

This time, however, we actually DID grill the corn as instructed:)  I coated them with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little chili powder and Scott grilled them up for a little charr-fabulousness.  Then the only tricky part:  scraping off the kernels, but it's worth it!  I LOVED fresh corn!... 

Meanwhile, I warmed up some tortillas on the stove.  I just left them right on the range and flipped them as soon as I could smell them burning:)  The nose knows, right?? :)

I lined up almost all of our fillings....

And got busy layering!  This baby was PACKED with refried black beans, roasted corn, lettuce, avocado, cheese and topped with a little of the 'chipotle cream.'  I made the "cream" with fat free half and half and a little flour to thicken it up...worked JUST FINE!  You couldn't really taste it anyway, but you could FEEL it in the back of your throat! :)  El Fuego! :)

Here was Scott's...he added a little roasted garlic salsa to finish it off.  Bursting at the seams, I tell ya!

These were delicious and almost all veggies, which is pretty healthy! :)  And we liked ALL of the fresh ingredients = PERFECT for summer!!

We 'sided' our tostada's with some sauteed zucchini with MORE roasted corn;)  Yum!

Ok...I knowww I have talked a LOT about ice cream lately....but it IS summer, after all!!  And I just HAD to mention this flavor because I am completely obsessed with it!  (I even had it for 'lunch' on Friday because I knew it was the ONLY thing I REALLY wanted....)

Now let me tell ya, I don't mess around with ANY 'light ice cream/frozen yogurt' UNLESS they are good....and this one is gooooooooooooooooood!  I LOVE honey and this one is SWIRLED throughout with a little granola CRUNCH for texture.  DELICIOUS!

And the stats are not too shabby!

And you know this is good if I actually chose THIS over Coconut Chocolate Graeter's for the night! :) hahahahhahaha...

So I hope you're as happy that the computer is working as I am ;) hahahahaha  Have a great Wednesday!