Favourite things 2

Everytime we go to the UK, one place I have to visit is Lakeland Plastics.  It's such a neat store full of useful things for the home and of course it's in the Lake District.  Prior to our visit, we had arranged to have a get together at Christmas a group of us.  One of the things we had decided upon was to have a gift exchange where we had to buy one of our favourite things no more than $10 each and then give it to each one of the participants at the party.  I knew exactly what I was going to get and it was something I was going to buy anyway.

So off I went to Lakeland to get everyone some "Cover Mate's."  They are like a shower cap for bowls.  I use them instead of using cling/saran wrap.  The covers are washable and reusable.  I love them and use them daily.  You can buy them also from Amazon, but they are a lot more expensive there for some reason?  Anyway, if you can find them they are worth while.  A word of caution though buying the cheap versions on Amazon won't be worth the money.....been there done that!!  May as well have just given the money to a charity than buy the cheap ones.

One thing I make regularly is a garden salad.  I generally put the following in a garden salad.  Lettuce, sweet pepper, cucumber, radishes, tomatoes, red onion.  Sometimes peas and sometimes raw mushrooms.

This large bowl lasts two to three days.  Of course I use my plastic bowl cover instead of plastic wrap to cover the bowl.

What do you put in your salad?

Quinoa.......just loving it........

We have just recently discovered Quinoa.  I love using it in a salad.  This is my go too recipe:

Super simple cook 1 1/2 cups quinoa in 3 cups of water for 25 minutes.  I flavoured the water using a veggie bullion cube.   Used a can of mixed beans.  Some veggies, in this case baby tomatoes, mini sweet peppers and red onion.  Added crumbled feta cheese and dressed it with Balsamic Vinaigrette.

We will munch on that all week.

I'm not a vegetarian, but

I don't eat a lot of meat.  The following is one of my favourite meals.  It's a big pasta bowl full of lettuce, cucumber, red onion, tomato, raw cauliflower, alfalfa micro greens and canned mixed beans.

 I don't skimp on the salad dressing and usually use Three Cheese Ranch dressing, it's my guilty pleasure!!

I buy these cans of beans from Wal-Mart, and they are a great value (!!) at under $1 a can.

 Looking at the nutrition chart, they are also good for you and a great protein source instead of meat.

By the time I chomp through that bowl of goodies, I will be full.

What is your go too low calorie meal?

Best ever dressing for salad greens....

Back in December when I hosted the Book Club pot luck, one of the ladies brought over a salad.  We all just loved it and there wasn't a scrap left.  I asked the lady who brought it for the recipe and I have made it a few times.  However it's the dressing that is a winner and so much better than the bought stuff.

To make the dressing you need the following:

1/4 to 1/2 cup of Olive Oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon, or 1 squirt of Dijon mustard
Sprinkle of salt.

Place all ingredients in a small jar:

Shake it all up and pour on your salad greens.  Refrigerate any leftovers; keeps for a few days.

The recipe for the salad is this:

1 Pkg baby spinach
1/2 pomegranate
1/3 c crumbled feta
candied walnuts or pecans
1/3 c sunflower seeds
blueberries

You can add or subtract whatever you like or don't like.  We like it with just salad greens and crumbled feta.

An easy way to get the seeds from a pomegranate is cut the pomegranate into quarters.  Place in a bowl of water and remove the seeds while in the water.  The white bits float to the top while the seeds settle in the bottom.