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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Salmon Pesto Veggie Blast

Hi!  Welcome to What Amy Ate Today!  I hope you will find some yummy and easy ideas for healthier eating in the oncoming posts; enjoy!  Here is my full Story!



Breakfast:   
½ cup plain oatmeal, cooked in microwave, topped with:
2 Tbsp chopped plain walnuts
½  tsp of cinnamon (no sugar) 
5 oz. glass of OJ (orange juice)
1 cup of regular coffee, black

Note:  I generally eat the same thing every morning with very little variation.  I am not a morning person and like to put breakfast on autopilot with something that I know is good for me and will start my day with good energy and will keep me full until lunch.


 
Snack:
Roasted asparagus (cold out of fridge), tossed with balsamic vinegar & EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
 

Lunch: Cold Asian salad:      
1 cup of baby carrots chopped up in food processor
1 cup of pre-steamed and then cooled green beans (haricot verts)
1 cup of cold rotisserie chicken, white meat, no skin
1 tbsp ginger sesame salad dressing

1 tall glass of tap water with freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup of regular coffee, black

Note:  I always try to have various precooked items in the fridge ready to go, that way I can throw something together for a quick and healthy lunch.  I also try to stock the pantry with various canned and jarred veggies (corn, artichoke hearts, peppers etc – low sodium when possible) and tons of types of beans for the same reason.


 
Snack:
¼ cup lightly salted peanuts
1 cup fat free lactose free milk

1 tall glass of tap water with freshly squeezed lemon juice



Dinner:  
Salmon Pesto Veggie Blast (Recipe below)
1 glass of red wine
 

Dessert:
1 Crisp Organic Gala Apple
1 tall glass of tap water


Amy's Salmon Pesto Veggie Blast Recipe:

Ingredients:
-1 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
-Red onion
-1-3 Garlic cloves, peeled  & chopped
-Spinach: block of frozen, thawed with all the extra liquid squeezed out!
-Artichoke hearts: canned- drained, rinsed and chopped
-SDT (sun dried tomatoes)
-Kalamata (black) olives : jarred & pitted
-White Cannellini Beans: canned – drained & rinsed
-Frozen Tiny Sweet Peas (we prefer Trader Joe’s peas for size and sweetness)
-Pesto sauce (I used jarred Classico pesto to save time)
-Salmon filet
-Parmesan cheese


Heat sauté pan on medium heat, when warm add EVOO.  When EVOO is warm add red onion and cook until softened.  Add garlic, cook for one minute.  Add spinach, artichoke hearts, SDT, olives, beans and cover to cook.  Add more EVOO if it’s too dry at this point.  Or you could add low sodium chicken or vegetable broth.  Once hot, add frozen peas and cover again until heated through.  Finally add in pesto sauce and salmon filet, cook until salmon is cooked through.  Serve with parmesan cheese if desired. 
 

Notes: 
This is one of my favorite pseudo pasta dishes where I pretend I’m going to make a yummy pasta dish but then cook everything and leave out the pasta.  Also, I don’t have quantities listed on this recipe, because as with many of my recipes, the amount depends on how much you enjoy each ingredient and how many people you are making it for.  There are lots of ingredients so it’s easy to leave out one or two by just increasing the other ingredients. 

This is a veggie powerhouse and what I like to call a “Veggie Blast” meaning simply a meal that is filled with tons of servings of veggies, vitamins and nutrients.  I try to eat at least one Veggie Blast a day to ensure I’m getting enough fiber and nutrients, meanwhile lowering my calorie count for the day, as vegetables are filling and typically relatively low in calories.


 
Tips:
-Trader Joe’s is a great place to get good quality jarred olives on the cheap!
-Target is a great place for affordable canned beans – buy the Target brand, they are just as good as the brand names.  I always load up on beans there and fill my pantry with all kinds I can find – kidney, black, white, pinto, chick peas – they are an easy filling protein to throw into almost any type of meal and very affordable!
-A good substitution for the beans would be roasted pine nuts (Sams club makes these affordable) or sliced almonds.  Just throw the raw nuts into your toaster oven on broil for a few minutes and a warm browned yumminess results.

-Non fish option – eliminate the salmon and just throw in some precooked chicken
-Vegetarian option – eliminate the salmon and just use more beans and/ or nuts
 

Warning: 
The beans may cause a little stomach disrupt if you aren’t used to eating them.  We eat them nearly every day so they don’t bother us.  The secret is building a tolerance to them overtime, so start slowly with all high fiber foods as your body adjusts!  Again, subbing nuts in place of beans is easy and yummy too.

1 comment:

  1. Great blog, Amy! I'll definitely be following your recipes and have passed your blog on to some friends (and daughters). Good luck with the blog and keep looking trim and healthy!
    Barbara
    http://barbarajsmith.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete