A Practical Guide To Healthy Living

Today’s recipe is a simple, hearty  and healthy dinner salad that boasts high protein and high fiber.  If you skip the added chicken, you could serve this as a pretty and creative side dish.  Or sub tofu for chicken, and create a vegan one-dish meal.  In any case, this’ll cost you only 30 minutes of your time, counter to table.

Orange Chicken Quinoa

Boil 1 1/4 c. water in a small saucepan.  Add rinsed quinoa, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for approximately 12 minutes, or until the water is absorbed by the quinoa.  Remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes and then fluff.

While the quinoa is cooking, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.  Trim the scallions and cut into 1-inch pieces.  Saute the chicken and scallions in a skillet with 1 t. of olive oil, until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Meanwhile, make the dressing.  Cut 1 inch off each end of the orange.  Squeeze the orange ends into a small bowl, to get about 2 T. of juice.  Whisk together the orange juice, the lemon juice, 3 T. olive oil, salt and pepper.  Peel the remainder of the orange and slice it very thinly.

Add the chicken mixture, the dressing, sliced orange and the pistachios to the quinoa and toss.  Taste for seasoning – add more lemon juice, salt and/or pepper if desired.  Arrange 1 c. of salad greens on each of four plates, garnish each with 1/4 of the chicken mixture.

Serves 4.

Adapted from the Nutrition Action Healthletter, April 2009

Tip: Are you using non-stick cookware?  It’s more than suspect from a health-standpoint, it could be downright dangerous.  Did you know that a properly seasoned cast iron frying pan is virtually non-stick?  The secret is to heat it up before you begin cooking your food.  The 1 teaspoon of oil in this recipe more than coated my cast iron frying pan and created a non-stick surface for my chicken – all for only 10 extra calories per serving.  And bonus!  If you use cast iron cookware, you’ll get a little extra iron in your diet.

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Those of you who know me “off the blog” know that I eat a lot of baby spinach.  I buy a huge 16 oz. tub once a week, and I use it every day - in smoothies, steamed lightly, chopped up in frittatas and egg dishes, raw in salads with lots of additions . . . I can’t get enough.  Spinach is packed with nutritive benefits.  I love other greens too, but I think that pre-washed baby spinach is the unsung hero of the prepared-food world.  Move over, Chef Boyardee!

Yesterday I talked about moving on to spring and summer.  A slow process here in New England, full of ups and downs and teases.  But I’m starting to think salads, and right now while there are no local, tender and tasty salad greens, I love the more substantial bite of a salad made with baby spinach.  Healthy, fast and easy, too.  What more could a girl wish for?

Here are some ideas for additions to your spinach salad – tweak them to your liking, and make your salads smaller for use as side dishes, or huge for use as main courses.  Maybe you try taking a salad for lunch this week?  Just pack components separately to avoid soggy wiltingness . . . small glass jars leftover from jams are great to reuse this way.

1. Spinach salad with sweetened dried cherries, chopped walnuts, crumbled feta and fig vinegar/EVOO vinaigrette.  Note, goat cheese is great here too.
2. Classic spinach salad with chopped hard-cooked eggs, halved grape tomatoes, crumbled bacon (please use the real stuff!) and dijon vinaigrette.  Add sliced button mushrooms if you like them, or try Marjorie Drucker’s (NE Soup Factory) updated take which boasts a warm pancetta dressing.
3. This spinach salad with toasted chickpeas and pomegranate vinaigrette is on my list to try – POM sent me a case of pomegranate juice that I’m looking to use!
4. Spinach salad with strawberries and pecans – my sister-in-law got me on the strawberries and spinach salad thing and I am still in love with this combo.  This is a good recipe.
5. Easiest ever – baby spinach topped with sweetened dried cranberries, crumbled bleu cheese, chopped walnuts and Newman’s own light raspberry walnut vinaigrette.
6. Indulge a little and top your baby spinach with grilled chicken (or pull your chicken from a supermarket rotisserie bird), pieces of brie cheese, halved grape tomatoes and a honey-mustard vinaigrette.
7. This recipe from Bon Appetit is on my to-try list – who can resist this zany combo of spinach, pear and avocado? Or this one with warm feta dressing?

What’s your favorite spinach salad?

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I’m pasty. And grouchy. Uninspired in the kitchen and in desperate need of some sun and sand . . . so while I take a break to recalibrate and find my mojo, I thought it’d be fun to revisit some of Semi-Sweet’s top posts. Look for them starting tomorrow – I hope you get reacquainted with an old favorite or two, or perhaps find a new one . . . . Bon appétit!

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Did you know that physically fit people are 40% less likely to catch a cold? True, according to a recent study. Why? Exercise motivates your infection-fighting cells to do their job – this study, from the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found benefits from 20 minutes of exercise five days a week, but a little more wouldn’t hurt you! Just be careful – extreme exercise does suppress your immune system . . . “happy medium” is the name of this game.

Image: Jeroen van Oostrom / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Like I said a week or so ago, I’m trying harder with the cooked veg.  This recipe showed up in the January Everyday Food magazine and I knew at once I’d have to try it.  I’ve been trying for a while to get D. to eat kale.  He’ll eat Swiss chard and other greens, and enjoys kale in soups (um, with sausage, and really who can blame him?), but he’s not a fan of kale for kale’s sake. [Read more →]

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It’s still winter. We’ve been brutalized this year, and there are no signs of letup. We’re all still stuck inside, sharing the germy love.

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I’ve decided we need to eat more lentils. They’re a terrific source of protein, they cook up quickly and they’re versatile. Think of them as the boneless, skinless chicken breast of the vegetarian world . . . .  So to that end, this week I tried out this new recipe and it’s going to be a regular (to the extent we have those) at our house.  It’s zingy (more or less, depending on your taste for cayenne) and flavorful and warming.  And quick and easy too.

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You’ve probably heard the news – tea’s great for your health.  But are all teas created equally healthful? Nope. [Read more →]

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