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Tangy Cucumber Salad Recipe

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Recipes, ,

Happy Saturday to ya! Hope your weekend is off to a great start! Mine has been good so far. But someone did not want to get out of bed this morning…

Grumpy Mac
Grumpy Mac

I had a grumpy boy on my hands this AM. But I checked the weather, and it was perfect conditions outside for a chilly walk before heading off to teach Jazzercise. So I pulled out my fleece jacket and Mac’s sweater for the first time this season!

IMG_1835It was a brisk walk with temps in the 50’s this morning, so we were both happy to be bundled up a bit.

IMG_1836When we got home, I warmed up with a cup of hot coffee with pumpkin spice creamer before having some Greek yogurt and half a bagel. This was great fuel for my 8 AM Jazzercise class! I had a fairly full room of sleepy-eyed students. But the pumpkin spice was pumping through my veins to keep my energy high!

After I was home, I walked Mac a bit more because the weather was just too amazing here in Springfield this morning! By the time we returned home again, and I had a long shower, it was time to think about some lunch. I was given 3 large cucumbers from my wonderful Jazzercise student, so I thought I should whip up a quick salad to use them up!

Tangy Cucumber Salad

Typical cucumber salads incorporate fresh onions and tomatoes. But I was fresh out of both of these veggies today. So I opted to add some baby carrots to my salad for extra color!

Ingredients

  • 1 large cucumber, or 2 small
  • About 15 baby carrots, chopped
  • 3 TB zesty Italian dressing
  • 2 TB Apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 TB minced onions
  • 1/2 TB dill weed
  • Drizzle of honey (optional)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Chop up the cucumber into bite-size chunks. I chose to cute my large cucumber length-wise twice before more finely chopping.

IMG_1837
From this…
To this!
To this!

Woohoo! Okay, now add in your carrots (or veggies of choice) that have already been chopped.

IMG_1839Next add the remaining ingredients, stirring thoroughly and taste-testing to determine if you need more salt, honey, etc. This salad is all about seasoning proportions and your taste preferences. I like mine a little more sweet, so I added a good drizzling of honey. If you like it more tangy, add a touch more Italian dressing.

Cover and refrigerate an hour or so before tossing once more and serving! This salad is fresh and super low-cal. Use up those last summer cucumbers while you can!

For the rest of my lunch, I made a low-carb wrap with some fresh spring mix spinach and turkey with mustard.

IMG_1841I made my wrap a little too full, so I just folded it in half and ate it like a taco. It works!

Now Nick and I are just lounging around while I snack on some carbs before my Glow Run 5K tonight! Nick is not running with me since me and my girlfriend decided it would just for ‘us girls’, but he may come cheer us on! The race begins at 8 PM. It should be dark and chilly by then – perfect running weather! I hope to snap some great photos of all the glowing runners to share with you all tomorrow.

Get outside and enjoy this weather! See you all after my race!

Holy Hotness

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Recipes, , , ,

Forget the Fall-flavored coffees I’ve been talking about. It is still Summer for sure!

photo(55)HOLY HOTNESS! And fyi, it said 101 degrees about 2 minutes before I caught this pic. NOT okay. This made for a grumpy girl on my way home from work today.

photo(51)Counting down the days until the cooler temps are supposed to return to the mid-80’s. 4 days and counting…

Lunch

Lunch today came together relatively quickly and painlessly! I wasn’t starving so this actually gave me time to prepare a salad and sit down to eat it while I pondered what else I would have to finish off my midday meal. (I’m usually so ravenous that I start inhaling everything in sight. But not today!)

photo(49)The salad was a tasty and colorful one! I topped fresh romaine lettuce with carrots, mushrooms, snap peas, and 2 peppers. A little Catalina dressing on top made this mixture extra yummy! The salad was pretty filling, so I opted to do an easy and quick sandwich for the rest of my lunch.

I topped a whole wheat Bagelthin with 1/4 cup cottage cheese and a couple slices of honey ham and a touch of mustard. Yum!

photo(48)This savory mixture never gets old. Being lactose-intolerant keeps me from eating cheese filled sandwiches on most days, but cottage cheese (in small amounts) luckily does not make me sick! It’s creamy goodness is a large staple in my eating habits lately.

photo(47)Of course, a little of the cottage cheese oozes out, so you have to be willing to lick your plate clean. It’s well worth it though, I promise!

And with that, I was full so I headed out with Mac on his midday walk. At this point in the day, it was about 1 PM and 90 degrees. I know my coworkers love when I come back to the office smelling of fresh sweat! 😛  Holy hotness, indeed!

Dinner

Dinner started as soon as I arrived from Jazzercise tonight. I was feeling extra lightheaded and could tell my blood sugar was a little low. So I grabbed some banana cream pie yogurt (yum!) and added a tablespoon or 2 of Fiber One cereal. The crunch was awesome and a touch of carbs is just what I needed!

After a quick shower, I was digging through the fridge and found a bag of broccoli slaw that was getting ready to go bad. So I decided to throw it in a skillet to saute it – Pinterest style! Or at least I adapted it from something I saw on Pinterest…Enjoy!

Sauteed Broccoli Slaw

You will need…

  • One 12-oz. package broccoli slaw.
  • 1-2 sweet peppers, sliced/chopped
  • 1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 ts minced garlic
  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 1 TB Lite soy sauce
  • Garlic salt to taste

To begin, I heated the olive oil in the skillet. I then added the minced garlic and let it simmer for 1 minute. Add peppers and mushrooms, stir and let simmer for around 2 minutes.

photo(54)Next, add the broccoli slaw. Stir this all together and let it cook for around 4-5 minutes on medium heat and stir occasionally. Note: Your skillet will feel very full, but it will become more manageable the longer it cooks.

photo(53)As the slaw starts to reduce a bit, add the soy sauce and sprinkle with garlic salt. Once the slaw starts to get softer and acts a bit like pasta, it should be ready to serve! Cook a little longer if you want a softer consistency – just keep stirring to avoid scorching!

photo(52)This was easy and filling!  Plus it makes a huge pan of low-calorie veggies that can be altered to your tastes. With the garlic and soy sauce, this version smelled and tasted like something you might get from a Hibachi grill restaurant. Experiment with adding different types of veggies or spices to adapt it for you meal.

Have a great night everyone!