Every since my trip to New York City in January, I’ve been on the losing end of the weight gain battle. Just as fast as you can say City Bakery’s pretzel croissant I’m suddenly about 10 pounds heavier.
Eeek!
I’m as vain as the next cream puff and with bathing suit season on the horizon, it’s time to right the ship.
Generally speaking, I try to eat a very balanced diet. I eat everything, I just try to make sure that I eat in moderation and that I get lots of fruit and vegetables. This has served me well in recent years as I’ve turned the corner on weight gain and slowly found myself looking more and more the way I want to look and feeling the way I want to feel.
Having said that, lately I haven’t been eating the greatest of lunches. I’m either grabbing whatever is available (usually not something good) or even worse, skipping lunch.
My favourite sort of lunch has a little bit of everything: some dairy, some carbs, some protein and some vegetables and the vegetables are almost always salad in some form.
But I have to be honest, as much as I like my lettuce it does get a bit boring after awhile. I decided it was time to try some of the kabillion salad recipes I’ve had bookmarked from various magazines. I finally got around to trying this salad recipe from the April/May 2006 issue of Body + Soul magazine.
I had to make a few changes to the recipe, the biggest being no strawberries. We’re at least a few months away from strawberry season here in Ontario and I don’t care how beautiful they look, those monster strawberries you see in the grocery store have absolutely zero flavour. What’s the point?!
Instead of frisee, which isn’t always available, I used arugula, red-leaf lettuce and Belgian endive. I loved this salad! It was refreshing and the walnuts and goat cheese gave the salad a nutty, creamy angle that was so flavourful. I cannot wait to try this salad again, especially when strawberries are in season.
For those of you that don’t know about Magazine Mondays, it’s the non-event I created to give all those of us with stacks of food magazines everywhere the chance to finally try some of those recipes we’ve bookmarked! There are no rules for this event and the only requirement is that you send me the link to a magazine recipe you’ve posted on your blog. I’ll include it in my next Magazine Mondays‘ roundup.
Here’s who has joined me this week:
A regular contributor, Janie of Panini Girl made a Berry Tiramisu with Lemon Curd from the June 2009 issue of Bon Appétit.
Margaret of Tea and Scones made Peanut Butter Cupcakes from Taste of Home She also made Pasta with Chicken and Squash using another recipe from Taste of Home.
Another regular contributer, Tia of Buttercream Barbie made a Quick Raspberry Cream Cheese Brioche Ring from the Sept./Oct. 1995 issue of Cook’s Illustrated.
Tamy of Always Eat on the Good China made Banana Raisin French Toast.
My buddy Wandering Coyote from ReTorte returns with Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake from the January 2009 issue of Canadian Living and Marmalade Cake from Food Network magazine.
Tina from Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor made BBQ Shrimp from Southern Living magazine.
Have a wonderful week, everyone!
Ciao!
8 comments
Erica Lea
Thanks for the link & for hosting this event! Good for you for trying to keep healthy. Your salad looks delicious. If fact, there are many yummy recipes this week.
Tamy ~ 3 Sides of Crazy
I agree lettuce can get boring, but lately I’m all about tossing it all in. Our salads have been chock full of veggies, fruits and other goodies.
Tia @ ButtercreamBarbie
i can never get sick or romaine hearts! costco 6 packs of it 🙂
MM is growing – it’s great!
Caffettiera
Fresh ideas for salads are always useful – thanks for sharing! And I totally agree with you, skipping lunch or eating something bad AND full of calories is the biggest mistake you can make if you want to keep a healthy weight.
Claudia
I am on an arugula kick. It has appeared in the stores and I put it under grilled meats, heap it on sandwiches and love the peppery flavor. The creamy goat cheese and crunchy nuts make this a satisfying meal. Yay for you.
Tina Marie
Thank you for the link and I want to say…love the looks of that salad. I have been putting on the pounds with all the Nigella recipes here at Squirrel Head Manor…whew! I could use a healthy salad like this one,
Janice
Check out lunch at Restaurant Guy Savoy in Paris…amazing experience.
Sweets By Vicky
I;m always up for a good change-of-veggie salad recipe! 🙂 Glad you’re back!