Shrimp Cobb Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Shrimp has been one of my favorite foods since I was a little kid. It has a nice flavor, provides protein, and is still light and low calorie.

I knew that I had shrimp at home and was really feeling a nice salad. I started going over the things I had in my fridge and literally couldn't think of anything. Then I thought about the bacon I randomly had leftover from a couple days ago (random because I never buy bacon). Shrimp wrapped bacon? That sounds delicious but not exactly what I was looking for.

I sifted through the limited other ingredients I had lying around, and each one fit perfectly into a summer-inspired lighter cobb salad. Instead of heavy bleu cheese or ranch, I could make a nice citrus vinaigrette and cut out the cheese.

Here's What You'll Need:

For the Salad:
-4 cups of baby spinach
-10 cherry tomatoes cut into thirds
-1/2 avocado, chopped
-1 ear of corn, kernels removed from cob (or 1 small can of corn, drained)
-2 slices of bacon
-2 hardboiled eggs, chopped
-6 oz shrimp
-1/4 tsp of paprika
-salt and pepper to taste

For the Dressing:
-The juice of one lemon
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp white wine vinegar
-1/2 clove garlic, minced
-1/8 tsp oregano
-salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) If you haven't already, cook your bacon slices in a pan or microwave until they are crispy, and chop them into small pieces.
2) If you haven't already, hard boil your eggs (you may also buy them already cooked). Chopped up the eggs.
3) Add the paprika, salt, and pepper to your shrimp and cook on a grill or in a pan on the stove. If you are using pre-cooked shrimp, I still suggest adding the seasoning and just heating up the shrimp a bit using either method.
4) You can either add all the ingredients into one large bowl or split ingredients in half and serve separately.
5) Mix together the dressing ingredients, add to the salad(s), and enjoy!

If you are hesitant about the dressing, please try it! It is seriously delicious in the salad. It balances so well with the egg, shrimp, and bacon and gives just that extra bit of added flavor to this meal. Let me know what you think, and feel free to subscribe below!

Spiralized Zucchini Summer Salad with Balsamic Chicken

If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a huge fan of grilling. I'd probably be just fine (if not really happy) grilling most of my meals. It's pretty simple. You can make a delicious marinade and just let your ingredients soak it up the fridge for a bit before throwing it on the grill, or you can just add some seasoning and throw it on.  Then you flip it over a couple of times, and, voila, a delicious, flavorful meal. Plus, in the meantime, you can prepare whatever else you need for your dish.

As August is creeping by (it's somehow almost half way over), I want to utilize that grill as much as possible. I decided to use another of my favorite tools, the spiralizer, to make a fresh, summer-inspired salad.

Here's what you'll need:

-3 chicken breasts (the nutrition info accounts for 5 oz chicken breasts)
-1 1/2 large or 2 medium sized zucchini, spiralized (I used the ribbon blade but any will do)
-1/2 avocado, cubed
-1 ear of corn
-1/2 large tomato, cubed
-1/8 red onion, chopped
-1 granny smith apple, cubed
-6 tbsp feta

For the marinade:
-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
-2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
-2 tbsp lemon juice
-1 clove of garlic, minced
-A dash of Himalayan sea salt
-A dash of black pepper

For the dressing:
-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
-1 tbsp olive oil
-3 tsp spicy brown mustard
-1/2 clove of garlic, minced
-Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) Mix all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl or plastic bag, add the chicken, and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes to an hour (the longer the better).
2) Heat up the grill.
3) Peel down the husk of the corn (without removing) and discard of the corn silk. Pull the husk back up to cover the corn, and toss it on the grill. The corn will cook for a total of 20-25 minutes (rotating every 5 minutes or so).
3) After about 5 minutes, add the chicken to the grill. The chicken will cook for about 7 minutes on each side.
4) In the meantime, chop up your ingredients if you haven't already done so, and make the dressing.
5) Remove the chicken and corn from the grill when they are done cooking.
6) Let the chicken sit for about 5 minutes, and then cut it into slices.
7) Cut the corn kernels off the cob.
8) You can either mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl or create individual bowls. I tend to do the latter. Add the raw zucchini noodles. Top them with apple, onion, tomato, avocado, corn, feta, and finally the chicken. Add on some dressing, and enjoy!

The mixture of the raw zucchini plus  the fresh tomatoes, apple, and onion mixed with the grilled chicken and corn is the perfect summer meal. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and let me know what you think below! Also feel free to sign up for (free) e-mail updates on new posts.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

If you read my last entry (for vegan cauliflower fried rice), you'd know by now that I am a sucker for carbs. I love potatoes, rice, pasta, you name it. My greatest weakness of all of these is probably French fries.

They are a vehicle for delicious sauces and they are pretty darn delicious on their own. An embarrassing story (that my sister loves to tell) is that I used to eat plates of French fries as a meal when I was in elementary school. I always look at my mom with the 'what were you thinking' look as she tells the story. But really, she's the greatest mom around and wanted to do whatever made me happy, which unfortunately, was eating plates of French fries.

So yeah, French fries, I can't get enough. I've recently started making the switch over to sweet potato fries when I go to out eat (if they're an option). Honestly, not much healthier. However, that's why I'm bringing you this post today. I wanted to turn one of my favorite foods into an easy, healthy version to make at home and enjoy guilt-free.

Here's what you'll need:

-1 giant sweet potato - if you look at that picture up there, my sweet potato was literally the length of my cutting board (or 2 medium sized sweet potatoes)
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt
-1/2 tsp chili powder (if you do not like spicy, skip the chili power or use 1/4 tsp because they will have a kick)

Instructions:

1) Preheat your over to 400 degrees F.
2) Cut your sweet potato into fry-like strips. I prefer thinner fries, so mine were probably about 1/4"x1/4"x3".
3) Throw the potato pieces in a Ziploc bag or Tupperware container. Add the olive oil, pepper, salt, and chili powder. Close the container or bag tightly and mix it all around.
4) Lay the fries on a baking sheet so that they are one layer and aren't on top of each other.
5) Put the baking sheet in the oven for about 20 minutes.
6) Take the fries out, flip them, and place them back in the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until they reach your level of desired crispiness.
7) Remove the fries from the oven. I find that they're a little bit better/crisp if you let them sit for couple of minutes.
8) Serve and enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below, and feel free to sign up for e-mail updates on new recipes.

Spiralized Greek Salad with Chicken

I’m not sure if my extreme love for Greek salads is shared everywhere, of if it’s a tri-state area thing. Either way, everyone should try a Greek salad. It is a perfect mix of everything that is delicious. The sweetness from the red onion and tomato mixed with the saltiness of feta and olives, and don’t even get me started on the dressing. They’re just amazing and also versatile. They can easily be made vegetarian of vegan, or you can add in some anchovies or chicken.

I had my first (and favorite) Greek salad at a diner. I still go to this specific diner just for the Greek salad. They’re typically made with lettuce, onion, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, feta, and sometimes bell peppers and anchovies. I decided to take one of my all-time favorite salads, and give it a little twist using my spiralizer.

Here's what you'll need:

For the chicken:
-8 oz chicken breast, cubed (about 1” cubes)
-1/2 tbsp olive oil
-1 clove garlic, chopped
-1/2 tsp oregano
-dash of salt and pepper

For the salad:
-2 cucumbers, spiralized (I used the 2nd blade for a little bit of a thicker cucumber noodle)
-2/3 large tomato, chopped
-1/8 of a red onion, chopped
-20 pitted Kalamata olives, halved
-6 anchovy filets (optional)
-4 tbsp feta

For the dressing:
-2 tbsp red (or white) wine vinegar
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
-1/4 tsp oregano
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-salt and pepper to tast

Instructions:

1) Heat up the 1/2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan, and add the clove of garlic. Gook for about a minute, and add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink (about 10-12 minutes).
2) Add the 1/2 tsp oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook for an additional minute or two to make sure that the chicken is fully cooked through. Remove from heat.
3) Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients, and set aside.
4) In two bowls, split the cucumber noodles. Top each with half of the onion, tomatoes, olives, and feta. Add anchovies as desired.
5) Top each bowl with half of the chicken.
6) Add desired amount of dressing, and enjoy!

If you are a vegan or a vegetarian, feel free to leave off any meat and/or cheese. It will still be delicious, trust me! Let me know what you think, and please subscribe to e-mail updates for new blog posts below.

Healthy Chicken Parmesan Burgers

Grilled food is without a doubt some of my favorite food. I get so excited when it starts to get warm in the spring because that means that grilling season has finally arrived. Not to say that I won't grill in the winter because, trust me, I will. Over the past couple of months, I've grilled everything from salmon to turkey burgers to kabobs, but I wanted to try something a little different.

I was trying to come up with what I should cook for dinner for my boyfriend and myself. Chicken parm, one of his favorites, instantly came to mind. But I wanted to grill and I wanted to make something healthy. Then it dawned on me - why can't I have all three? How about healthy chicken parm burgers. I even stuffed in some spinach because I love getting in greens wherever I can.

Here's what you'll need:

-1 lb ground chicken
-1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
-1/4 grated parmesan cheese
-1 tsp dried basil
-1 tsp Italian seasoning
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-1 cup spinach
-1/3 cup tomato/marinara sauce
-1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt
-1/4 tsp ground black pepper
-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
-1/3 cup part skim mozzarella, shredded

Instructions:

1) Mix together all ingredients except for the mozzarella in a  bowl.
2) Form mixture into 3 to 4 burger patties depending on the size patties you'd like. We made 3 because we were going bunless.
3) Grill the burgers for about 8 minutes on each side. Watch the burgers closely because cooking times may vary by grill.
4) Add the shredded mozzarella to the tops of the burgers and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
5) Remove the burgers from the grill and serve as desired. You can also add some additional sauce if you'd like.

I also grilled some broccolini (tossed in olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes) and whole tomatoes as sides. They were both delicious and highly recommended! The tomatoes were great with the burger and are a good substitute for adding additional sauce.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did! Let me know what you think, and feel free to subscribe to e-mail updates on new blog posts below!