Fumi Salad with Grilled Chicken

Serves: 10-12

4# Grilled Chicken Breast, Sliced Thin

1 Head Cabbage, Sliced Thin and Washed

1 Head Napa Cabbage, Sliced Thin and Washed

¼ Head Red Cabbage (just for color), Sliced Thin and Washed

8 Green Onions, chopped fine

2 Cups Chopped Smokehouse Almonds

8 Teaspoons Sesame Seeds, Toasted

2 (3 ounce) packages Ramen noodles, Crushed (discard flavor packet), Toastes

Dressing:

2 Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Sugar

¾ Cup Rice Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to Taste

Directions:

Mix cabbage and onions and refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir in almonds (keep a few for garnish), seeds, and crushed noodles. Arrange chicken breast slices on top, and pour dressing over all. Garnish with remaining smoked almonds.

Bowl: TAG—$60.00/Each/In Stock

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

3 Cups Quinoa, Cooked (I Used Red)

1 Large Hot House Cucumber, Cleaned and Diced

1 Cup Feta Cheese, Crumbled

1 Cup Kalamata Olives, Halved

1 Cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, Soaked and Drained

One Red, Yellow and Orange Pepper, Chopped Fine

½ Red Onion, Diced

¼ Cup Fresh Dill, Chopped, A Few Sprigs Reserved for Garnish

Zest of One Lemon

Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste

Dressing:

1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Garlic

½ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

2 Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ Cup White Wine Vinegar

Zest of ½ Lemon

Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper To Taste

Toss all ingredients, drizzle with dressing and toss again. Served on a bed of Arugula. You may need to add salt and pepper after salad is dressed. This is a great one to serve with grilled chicken, tenderloin or salmon. Enjoy!

Wooden Bowl: TAG, $70.00/Each/In Stock

Ingredients for dressing

4 ounce Extra Virgin Olive OIL

1-ounce rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon WI honey

1 Tablespoon grated ginger

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint

1 Tbsp of chopped fresh basil

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar until fully mixed. Add all other ingredients, adjusting for taste. Season with salt and white pepper.  The dressing will be loose, stir or shake well before every use.  This dressing will be even better the day after it is made.

Ingredients for salad:

1 bunch baby spinach

12 snap peas sliced in thirds

1 cucumber peeled, seeded, and cut into long half moon shapes

2 ripe tomatoes cut in wedges

1 red or yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips

2 medium carrots shredded

6 radishes shredded

4 green onions sliced thin

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Lightly season the spinach with salt and white pepper. Toss with just enough dressing to coat. Arrange the spinach in the middle of the plate. In the same bowl season the tomatoes with salt and black pepper. Toss the tomatoes with the dressing and arrange them around the spinach with the points out. Place the remaining ingredients in the bowl. Season with salt and white pepper. Toss with the dressing and place on top of the spinach. Serve with you’re favorite grilled protein.

A week or so ago we talked about how important it is to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. We also suggested a grocery store “route” that involves avoiding the aisles as much as possible, and sticking to the outskirts of the store. Here’s why: The outer rim of the grocery store is where you’re going to find the biggest selection of Super Foods. We know what your thinking. Wait, Cheetos are not found in the outer rim of the grocery store. And Cheetos are super!  Indeed, Cheetos are super, but unfortunately, they are not SUPER for you.

Super Foods are those single ingredient, nutrient dense, and low calorie foods most of us can, and should, spend a little more time looking for. The good news is that you won’t have to look very hard. They’re SUPER easy to find.

Super foods are whole, real, unprocessed foods that are available in almost every grocery store.

Whole: this means they are not pre cut, not in a box, in a sealed container, or in a plastic bag. Try to find foods that have had the least amount of handling. Shopping at farmers markets is a great place to start.

Real: Super foods are not genetically modified to enhance flavor or to grow at a usually fast rate.

Unprocessed: These they are foods at their freshest and finest. Processing adds preservatives and maintains shelf stability. If you can’t pronounce the items on the ingredient list, you probably don’t want to eat them. Think, “If it doesn’t go bad, it’s bad for you.

Super Foods can help lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease, and best of all; they can actually help you get in a better mood. We know what you’re thinking. But…Cheetos put me in a better mood. Yes, but only temporarily. In the long run the Cheetos will only bring you down. Highly processed foods will never leave you feeling satiated. They will always leave you wanting more. They make ‘em that way.  Back out of Cheetos aisle and head for the fresh stuff.

Now that you’re standing in the produce or fish department, how to you choose? How do you decide which foods really are SUPER and which foods are just okay?

Here are a couple of tips that should be easy to remember (disclaimer: this list is not intended to encompass all super foods):

1. Look for bright colors (eat the rainbow)—blueberries, spinach, cranberries, broccoli, oranges, apples, avocados, kiwi, Brussels sprouts, plums, prunes and sweet potatoes.
2. Nobody does it better than Mother Nature—wild salmon, trout, scallops, and sardines.
3. Think pungent aroma and lots of flavor—garlic, kale, olives and onions.
4. Go Nuts (and grains)—almonds, grains, Quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, and steel cut oats.
5. And last but not least…Get out of the box—just for a week, try not to eat anything that comes out of a box.

There are indeed, plenty of other super foods to choose from—beans, eggs, green tea, and watermelon. The list can get overwhelming. You can keep it simple, though. The next time you’re in the grocery store, keep three little works in mind—whole, real, and unprocessed.

Happy shopping! Have a SUPER day!

Sliced Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Salad

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 Large, Good, Vine Ripened Tomatoes (as always, seasonal is best), Sliced

½ Pound Fresh Mozzarella, Sliced ¼ Inch Thick

1 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves, Julienned

2 Cups Fresh Baby Spinach

Dressing:

1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste

Directions:

Spread spinach on platter. Layer, one after the other, tomato slices and mozzarella slices on top of the spinach. Sprinkle with julienned fresh basil, and drizzle with balsamic dressing.

Platter: TAG—$36.00/Each/In Stock

Cheddar Jalapeno Spoon Bread (Gluten Free)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter and more for dish

2 Cup whole milk

1 ½ Cup corn kernels

2/3 Cup GF medium ground corn meal (Bob’s Red Mill Inn)

1 Small jalapeno finely diced

1 Cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

4 Large eggs – separated

Directions:

Preheat over to 400º. Butter a 2 quart baking dish, or smaller individual baking dishes.

In large saucepan combine butter, milk, corn, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt and diced jalapeno. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer while stirring until thickened.  Remove from heat, stir in cheese and let cool until warm to touch, stir in egg yolks until combined.

While mixture is cooling, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. When mix is just warm stir in about a 1/3^rd of the egg whites completely. Fold in the remaining 2/3 gently.  Pour into buttered baking dish.

Put in oven and reduce heat to 375. Bake until browned on top and jiggly in center – around 30 minutes. Cool a bit before serving.

Baking Dish: TAG with Lid, $10.00/Each/In Stock

It seems like a constant barrage of new health and wellness information is coming at us every day. If you’ve decided to implement a healthy lifestyle, it’s hard to know where to start. Exercise more? Yes. But when it comes to what we eat, scientists, doctors, and nutrition experts tend to send different health messages about everything from eggs, to butter, to carbs, to alcohol. All this information can make adopting healthy eating habits overwhelming to say the least.

The most important thing to do is simple—start. If you begin with one or two things, the process will be much easier. As the saying goes, “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch.”  So we have decided to put together a short list of easy things you can plug into your daily routine right away. Here are five simple, common sense, tips that will help you take that first step.

1. Try shopping around the perimeter of the grocery store. Head down the aisles only when absolutely necessary. Canned and boxed foods contain genetically modified ingredients and preservatives that are just plain bad for you. Buy fresh foods whenever possible. Adopt the simple Mantra; “If it doesn’t go bad, it’s bad for you.”
2. Get rid of your butter substitutes. Throw away the “I can’t believe it’s not butter,” and buy the real stuff—just use less. Or better yet, switch over to Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It’s still high in calories, so use it in moderation, but the fats contained in Olive Oil are in fact considered healthy.
3. Replace your table salt with sea salt, kosher salt, or pink salt. Kosher, sea, and pink are more pure forms of salt. They are not iodized (don’t worry, you’ll get enough in your healthy diet), but they’re not washed, processed and infused with anti-caking agents either. When you make the switch, you will find yourself using less, and still getting more flavor!
4. Be prepared. One of the biggest obstacles to eating healthy is time. Find and hour or two on the weekend to cut up small portions of your favorite fruits and vegetables to have available when you’re ready to reach for a snack.
5. Buy and eat local. This means more than just fruits and vegetables. Look for products produced in your own state—home grown asparagus, strawberries, and tomatoes. Use your local farmers markets, and look for products in the grocery stores that are organically grown and produced close by. Most states have organic farms that offer everything from fruits and vegetables, to meats and cheeses. Organic Valley is a great option for those of you in Wisconsin.

Again, it’s easier if you go slowly. Take one thing at a time, and the path won’t seem so long. Happy, Healthy Eating!

Gluten Free Meatloaf Cupcakes

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1# Ground Beef

1# Ground Pork or Turkey

1# Thick Sliced Applewood Smoked Gluten Free Bacon

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon dried parsley

1 Clove minced garlic

1/2 Cup grated parmesan

½ White Onion, Finely Diced

Worcestershire Sauce (4 dashes)

Kosher Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Cut 12 slices of bacon in half.  Bake @ 375 for 10 – 15 minutes until fat is rendered, but not cooked through. Still needs to be foldable.

Cut another 6 slices into 1/4” slices. Fry in cast iron skillet until fat is rendered, add onions and fry in the bacon grease until soft and the bacon is mostly crisp. Remove from pan and place on paper towel to drain and cool.

In large bowl mix ground beef, pork, eggs, garlic, parmesan, parsley, Worcestershire Sauce, salt and pepper, cooled bacon and onion mix.

In muffin pan lay two strips in an X across the bottom of the cups.  Using a size 16 disher (blue handle) form meatballs and place in bacon lined cups.  If you have extra mix left over – add a pat to each ‘muffin.

Bake in oven at 350º for about 30 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Plate: TAG Indigo, $14.00/Each/In Stock

Asian Marinated Grilled Pork Chops

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Thick Cut Pork Chops 4-6 each

2 Tablespoons Low sodium GF soy sauce

2 Tablespoons Sesame oil

1 Tablespoon Lime juice (fresh)

3 Cloves garlic minced

1 Tablespoon (1” thumb) fresh ginger minced

½ – ¾ t Cayenne Pepper

Mix marinade and add chops for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Let the chops come to room temp before grilling. Grill chops about 8 mins per side (145 internal temp).  Let rest 5 minutes.

Asian Slaw

Slaw mix:

1 Cup slivered almonds

6 Cups shredded green cabbage

2 Cups shredded red cabbage

2 Cups julianned carrots

1 Cup celery diced

2 Cups of snap peas cut in half

1 Bunch green onions diced

1 Bunch cilantro chopped

Dressing:

½ Cup white wine vinegar

¼ Cup sugar

2 Tablespoon GF soy sauce

2 Tablespoon sesame oil

2 Cloves minced garlic

1 Teaspoon ground ginger

1 ¼ Teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 Cup mayo (to your liking, or not at all)

In large mixing bowl whisk together dressing ingredients. Add slaw ingredients and mix. If not serving immediately – make sure you mix before serving.

Plate: TAG Indigo, $14.00/Each/In Stock