A Delicious New Salad Recipe

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Bo and I spent a great deal of the weekend outside enjoying the weather. In fact, Saturday morning we enjoyed our first long run together since his knee surgery in April! He’s officially on the marathon training track with me now!

I mentioned in last night’s post that I had a lot of things to share from the weekend, but the most exciting is a new salad combination!

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While dining at Gemma on Saturday night with my girlfriend Jessie, we were intrigued by their amazing salad combinations.

INSALATE

Baby Arugula, grape tomatoes and Parmigiano 9
Artichokes, Parmigiano,truffle Vinaigrette 13
Watercress, Pears, Almonds, gorgonzola 9
Beets, mizuna, goat Cheese, Pistachios 11
Fava Beans, Escarole, Pecorino, Mint  11
tricolore, hazelnuts, Pecorino 10
Fennel, orange, Grilled Shrimp  13
seared sirloin tagliata, Arugula, tomatoes  14

Each salad incorporated perfect summer flavor combinations. The decision of which salad we would share was easier than we expected as we both vocalized a love of beets.

IMG_2661 (640x478) As soon as I tried a bite, I knew I wanted to recreate this salad at home for Bo this week.

Luckily, Trader Joes made it very easy!

IMG_2677 (640x478) I made this salad last night in less than five minutes!

Goat Cheese, Beet, and Pistachio Salad

Arugula

Beets

Goat Cheese

Roasted unsalted pistachios

Chopped Tomatoes

Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Start by layering beets along the bottom of your bowl.

IMG_2673 (640x478) In a separate bowl, mix arugula with two servings of goat cheese, 1/8 cup of pistachios (roasted unsalted), chopped tomatoes, and a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil.

IMG_2674 (640x478) Mix well until goat cheese is spread throughout and serve over the beets.

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Healthier Pocket Pies Recipe

Well hello there, Healthy Happier readers! I’m Meg, a long-time friend of Ashley’s, and I blog over at The Strawberry Swing. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine, so I’m quite glad to have a chance to meet you while she’s got her toes in the white sands of Bermuda. Lucky girl. I’m jealous!

ARD-MGK (427x640)                                                     Me and Ashley, back in the day at UGA.

A little bit about me: Like Ashley, I went to the University of Georgia. She and I met our sophomore year and were fast friends. Also like Ashley (and some of you, I bet) I’ve long struggled with my weight. So much so, that when I ordered my wedding dress I ended up on Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta paired next to a bride with similar struggles. Unfortunately while I was in a good place, she wasn’t. They filmed her trying to squeeze into a tiny couture gown against their advice, and it got stuck on her backside. I identified completely and felt horribly for unknowingly being juxtaposed as the “skinny” one. Because I’d once been in her shoes and I make the daily decision not to go back.

MGKwedding (640x427)I’ve struggled with weight for a number of reasons. I lived in 9 houses and went to 11 schools before I was 18, so stress eating has long been a bad habit for me. My grandfather weighed almost 400 pounds at his heaviest, so it’s in my genes, too. At my heaviest, though, I weighed in at just under 200 pounds. I was 18 then. It took two years to lose the extra 50 pounds I was carrying around, but now, nearly ten years and six dress sizes later, it hasn’t come back.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in losing weight and keeping it off, it’s that completely denying yourself things is not a sustainable way to exist. It’s about finding ways to make small changes that accumulate into big results over time.

You see, when I first started dieting (and now I can’t stand that word) I cut out sweets completely. Bad move. Because you know what happened? I’d want a cookie. I love cookies. One look at my blog will show you that I love to bake and to cook. So instead of the cookie, I’d eat an apple. And still want the cookie. So then I’d eat a cheese stick. And still want the cookie. You catch my drift. The cookie won every time.

If I’d just eaten the one cookie to start with, I’d have been better off than eating multiple “healthy” alternatives and then still caving to the cookie. For me, it’s all about portion control and moderation. So now I bake a batch of what I want, eat a few, and take the rest to work for my coworkers to enjoy. All the joy of baking with far less guilt.

These little pocket pies are perfect for just that. They’ve been the dessert du jour at our house lately. Individual size servings paired with fat free whipped topping or low fat ice cream will satisfy even the sharpest sweet tooth. (Be it mine or my hungry husband’s!)

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Pocket Pies

from The Strawberry Swing

 
Click here for an easy to use printable recipe!

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Eggland’s Best Spring Brunch

 

Thanks to Eggland’s Best, I had the great opportunity to host these lovely ladies for a Spring brunch.

DSC_0145 Eggland’s Best sent me a hostess package this week which included multiple coupons, an apron, a Flipcam, and a prize pack for one lucky guest.

Last night, after my long run, I spent the evening preparing for the brunch. I chose a menu which included a little bit of everything while also being easy to execute.

Eggland’s Best Spring Brunch Menu

  • Salmon, Onion, and Dill Crustless Quiche
  • Vegetable Strata
  • Fresh cut fruit
  • Vanilla and Greek Yogurt
  • Homemade Maple Almond Granola
  • Local whole wheat bread
  • Coffee, champagne, orange juice, and assorted hot teas

Bo and I had a great time cooking and laughing together last night!

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After the last minute prep was done this morning, we spent a few minutes ensuring that the house was spotless for our visitors.

Here are a few pictures of our home! It’s small but we love it! I’m trying to convince Bo that we need to paint the walls now that we know we’ll be here at least another year. DSC_0127DSC_0128  DSC_0125 DSC_0120 DSC_0121At 11 on the dot, the girls arrived! It was the perfect mix of old friends and new, all chatting about the latest fitness trends, healthy recipes, and more. I loved seeing everyone laugh and get to know each other. Today’s group was especially talkative.

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Thank you Eggland’s Best for a wonderful event. I think it’s safe to say that every lady feels the same way about you all as I do! We LOVE Eggland’s Best!

Please note it is important to disclose to your readers that Eggland’s Best provided you with VIP coupons, a gift card, a flip video camera, information and prize packs to giveaway to guests.

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