A Personal Battle of the Bulge

Salads–The Secret to Cooking Light

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Cooking Light is one secret to speedy weight loss!

What better way to lose weight than to have a hearty salad, full of flavor, color and ingredients that are filling and yummy! A super lunch for a hot day is a salad chocked full of healthy ingredients that fill you with omega 3 fatty acids and fiber. If that doesn’t sound as good as it tastes, then you are missing out on a cooking light secret —  hearty salads.

You don’t think about getting in the kitchen and cooking anything to prepare a salad, but salads as a main dish are more popular than ever now. Preparation ahead of time makes for a quick meal, and yes I mean meal with these hearty choices of salads. Boring salads with French dressing, tomatoes and lettuce only are a thing of the past. Just take a look at the recipe below for the Warm Quinoa Salad. It has all the makings of a super filling meal while abiding by the “cooking light” rules.

Cooking Light Salad Recipes:

 

Warm Quinoa Salad

Cooking Light Ingredients
* 1 cup of quinoa,  (“Qin-wah”) rinsed
* 2 cups of water or stock
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
* 1 tomato, seeds and excess pulp removed, chopped
* 1 can adzuki beans, rinsed well
* 4 TBS lemon juice
* 3 TBS olive oil
* 3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
* 1 avocado, cubed
* 1 TBS chopped pumpkin seeds
* Unrefined sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Combine rinsed quinoa, water, onion, garlic, and a little salt in medium saucepan and turn heat to high. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat to low, and simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Fluff with fork and transfer to a bowl. Add chopped herbs, tomato, rinsed adzuki beans, 2 TBS lemon juice, 1 TBS olive oil, salt and pepper.

Toss romaine and avocado in rest of lemon juice and 2 TBS olive oil. Season with salt and cracked black pepper. Serve quinoa on bed of salad greens. Sprinkle with chopped pumpkin seeds.

This is just one of many salad recipes for cooking light when trying to eat to lose weight. Try using  different lean meats, nuts and berries on a bed of romaine lettuce to make some of the most tasty salad recipes. Grilled chicken, roast beef, even fish make great salad main ingredients. Try this cooking light combo that is one of my favorites for a grilled chicken strip salad.

Simple Grilled Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

  • Grilled chicken strips (This can be prepared ahead, or bought frozen)
  • bed of romaine lettuce
  • tomatoes cubed, or little salad tomatoes when in season
  • 2 T chopped purple onion
  • 3T shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup sliced strawberries
  • A couple spritzes of strawberry salad spritzer, or Ranch dressing, in moderation**
  • Salt, pepper, and oregano

The chicken can be prepared on the grill ahead of time, sliced into strips, and frozen. This is an easy way to only take out what you need for a single serving. With all the ingredients on a bed of romaine you have the makings of a simple grilled chicken salad.

Cooking Light is SWEET!

The more color in your salad, the more healthy it will be. Protein is important to help build muscle, and helps you stay full longer. As long as you don’t go overboard on the salad dressing, which can turn to sugar once eaten, you can still eat till you are full, without reservation, and lose weight. Your heart will love you for it.