Market Fresh Blackberries

Yesterday’s trip to the farmer’s market yielded a lot of photos and some amazing produce.  I got these blackberries while there and I do believe they are the largest blackberries I have ever seen and they are so sweet.  The one I am holding is not even the largest!  They were a great healthy breakfast this morning.

I also got some beautiful tomatoes that I will be using for a caprese salad later today.  For those that aren’t sure – a caprese salad consists of sliced tomatoes, sliced fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar.  All you do is take a slice of tomato, lay it on the plate, lay on a slice of mozzarella, add the fresh basil and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  So good.

I got some fresh corn, some beautiful green onions, and a few different types of squash.  One type of squash was interesting to me – Mediterranean squash.  It looks like a zucchini but is a much lighter green color.  In looking for recipes on Google, it appears you use it like any other summer squash like zucchini or yellow squash.

What kind of things do you gravitate to at your farmers market?

Recipe - Cajun Broiled Grouper

Tonight’s dinner was so easy and so good.  I am not a huge fan of fish but I really enjoy this Cajun Broiled Grouper with yellow carrots, white beans and spinach in an herb sauce , served with a glass of Reisling.
 
The vegetable mix is frozen - Green Giant Digestive Health.  Look for it in your frozen vegetable aisle.  It is microwaveable in a steamer bag, is only 90 calories per serving and there are two servings per box.  I used both servings.

For the grouper, I used 7 ounces frozen grouper fillets.  Prepare baking sheet with non-stick spray and place fillets in pan. Spray each fillet lightly with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning. Lay lemon slices on top. Broil fillets on high for 5 - 6 minutes depending on thickness. This is also great with tilapia. Calories for 7 ounces is 245.

So this dinner took me about 10 minutes to prepare from start to finish and the total calories for dinner, including the wine was 605.  If you leave off the wine it is only 425 calories.  Healthy, low calorie, fast, easy, and good.  That’s my kind of meal.

Yummy Recipe - Tropical Chicken Fingers

I came up with this recipe on the fly tonight and it was so good I wanted to share.  It's nothing new or even creative but it was really good.  The mango coconut sauce is pre-made in a bottle.  It is made by Tropical Pepper Company.  I get it at Earth Fare but I know you can find it in a lot of grocery stores.  I had the chicken and sauce with some grilled asparagus and it totaled under 400 calories but I had only 3 chicken fingers instead of a full serving of 4.  If you have 4 chicken fingers and 3 tablespoons of sauce it is a total of 431 calories per serving.  Enjoy.

Tropical Chicken Fingers with Mango Coconut Sauce

• 1 lb Chicken Breast (boneless,skinless)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Panko Japanese Style Bread Crumb
• Non stick Cooking Spray
• 1 whole lemon, cut in half
• 6 tbsp Mango Coconut Pepper Sauce
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

Directions

Spray skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Use pre-cut chicken strips or trim chicken into 8 strips. Break egg into a flat bottomed dish and add salt and garlic. Mix well with a wisk. Dip chicken strips into egg and then roll in panko crumbs, coating the chicken well. Place the chicken in the heated skillet and spray with a little more cooking spray. Turn chicken once browned. Cook thoroughly. Squeeze lemon juice on chicken and place on plate. Serving is 4 chicken fingers with 3 tablespoons of sauce on the side.

Recipe: Pesto, Spinach, Tomato, and Goat Cheese Pizza

I am not a big fan of traditional pizzas.  But since I am trying to eat healthy and get a wider variety of ingredients into my diet, I have tried a lot of things that I never really thought about before.  

I knew I loved spinach just about any way you fix it and I knew that a little goat cheese  will go a long way to adding flavor without a lot of calories.  So when my daughter made a yummy tomato and goat cheese pizza from a Cooking Light recipe I thought I would start experimenting and try some additional ingredients.   

The pizza recipe below is what I came up with.  It uses some prepared ingredients, some fresh and it makes a pizza with 6 slices at 221 calories per slice. 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust by Boboli
• 2 tbsp Pesto from the grocery
• 2 oz Fresh Raw Spinach
• 1 medium size Roma Tomato, sliced
• 2 4/5 oz Alloutte crumbled goat cheese
• 2 oz Asiago Cheese or Parmesan, shredded

Directions

Spread pesto on pre-made pizza crust. Layer on spinach then add sliced roma tomato. Top with goat cheese and sprinkle with asiago cheese.
Bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.

This pizza is pretty filling and you get a lot of veggies in.  You could add diced chicken or chopped artichokes, or replace the Roma tomato with chopped sun-dried tomatoes.  Be creative and make it your own.