Salads continue

This salad challenge is going way better than I thought it would...my sugar cravings are more under control. I used Tina's trick of saving for one really good treat...it was a cupcake on Friday and a small Blizzard on Saturday. I plan to make some healthier, but decadent, treats later today, so that should help in the future.

As for the salads, the fiance declares that his heartburn has improved in the past few days...and I really think that the increased veggie load might be involved! We've have some good ones lately. On Friday night, I made stuffed chicken breasts with fennel salad.

Those of you who know about my deep fear of raw meat will appreciate the bravery it took for me to complete this meal. The fiance wasn't home and it was do-or-die! I roasted some red onion and red pepper with olive oil and S&P, and used some lemon-herb goat cheese that was leftover from another recipe to stuff the chicken breasts. Then, I spiced them on the outside and relied on the lazy-girl's tool for chicken cooking...our good friend Mr. Foreman. That way, I can cook them extra thoroughly and they never get tough.

The fennel salad was also epic. I sauteed onion and fennel bulb with some salt, 1 tbsp balsamic, juice of 1 orange, and 1 tbsp maple syrup. Then, I segmented another orange and chopped some apple into small pieces. In the end, I combined them all and added more salt and pepper. I tried it hot and cold and I prefer it hot.

I spent a little time this weekend hanging out with my friend Ethan.

(Doesn't he look like a king in his chair?)

And his mom had us over for dinner when we were done playing.

She made chicken and chickpea curry with rice. Now, I had to honor the salad challenge, so I made a loose interpretation of salads...it was roasted cauliflower, carrot, onion, and apple in spices and maple syrup with golden raisins. It actually went with the curry pretty well and I felt that my salad challenge was honored.

I didn't actually get two salads in yesterday, but I did snack on a banana, cauliflower, carrots, and apples all afternoon while watching Ethan. I'm going to count my monkfish citrus salad from the first night and not worry too much about it.

Today we woke up and had some scrambled eggs and breakfast potatoes ala the fiance. I made the juice...1.5 apples, 3 broccoli stalks, 2 carrots, 2 cups spinach, 1 tsp minced ginger. I don't think of juice as a salad substitute or even 'real food', but it's a nice energizer and feels very refreshing.

 

I then got right down to business...
Except I'm so easily distracted...

They weren't helping. I got up and ran to work and back...8 miles this time! I'm getting ready for the Go!St. Louis 1/2 Marathon on April 10th...anyone else out there going to do this event? There are some shorter races and a marathon if the 1/2 isn't quite your flavor...

Anyway, I'm getting a few other things done tonight, but once I publish post on this one, I'll have accomplished everything I wanted to take care of today! What a feeling!

Have a great week!