So that’s how strawberries look like outside of Costco! Hahaha! My thirty-something self felt like a kid and shared in the excitement my 6-year old was feeling.

I gave my little girl instructions to only pick the biggest, brightest red and bruise free strawberries she could find.  She nodded her pretty little head, of course.   But when we got home, I still found a couple of strawberries that shouldn’t have been in my daughter’s pail. Oh well.  She did try.  She was just happy to be doing something with her friends. Here she is with one of them comparing harvests…

After a while, she lost interest in being a strawberry picker and handed her pail to me to continue filling it for her.  We ended up with a little over $11 worth of strawberries, which were priced at $2.75 per pound.

If I may be honest, I’ve had sweeter, better tasting strawberries.  We should probably pick strawberries at the farm where Costco gets its strawberries.  But as one of  my gal pals put it, Costco’s strawberries may be sweeter and cheaper even, but taking pre-packaged strawberries in in the cold storage of Costco does not make for very good photo ops. Hee hee.  Ok.  Fine.

We’re glad we got to go strawberry picking.  We’ll do it again in a heartbeat, far from sweet strawberries notwithstanding.  So what did I do with our strawberry harvest?  I turned them into homemade strawberry filling and used it in two cakes I made last weekend.  We still had some leftover, which we can use as topping for waffles or for some good ‘ol peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  We’re taking it easy on the filling though.  Too much of it, even if it’s not so sweet anyway, might lead us to apidextra. No, thank you.

I got the strawberry filling recipe HERE, contributed by Danielle Michalski.  You won’t believe how easy it is to make!

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 C coarsely chopped hulled strawberries
1/2 C sugar
2 1/2 T cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring all ingredients to a boil in a heavy small sauce pan, stirring constantly and crushing berries slightly with back of spoon.
2. Boil 2 minutes to thicken, stirring constantly (mixture will be slightly chunky).
3. Pour into bowl and cool completely.

Quick and easy!  It will take  more time to get in the car and drive off to Walmart to buy a jar of strawberry preserves.  It would be cheaper, yes, but where’s the fun in that? :P

Like I said, I used the strawberry filling for two out of the 3 cakes I made over the weekend.  You can very well guess what I’ll be posting about next!  *wink*

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups spring salad mix
1 mango, peeled and diced (discard the seed)
3 tangerines, peeled and sliced
2-3 Tbsp Newman’s Own Lighten Up Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Toss all the ingredients in a big bowl and top with parmesan cheese.  Serve in individual salad plates or bowls.

It doesn’t get any simpler than that!   Plus, you get a load of natural vitamins too!

By the way, I received the Newman’s Own Lighten Up Honey Mustard Salad Dressing as part of the Foodbuzz Family Bites/Tastemaker Program. :)

Cheers, y’all!

Sharing precious fridge space are two huge tubs of leafy greens: spring mix for our salads and spinach.  I bought the tub of spinach because I saw boxes of spinach nuggets at the open fridge section of Costco.  I thought, hmmm, I’ll just make the nuggets myself, hence, the tub of spinach.  Did you think I ever got around to making the nuggets?  Of course not! Hee hee.  I ended up using the spinach for pasta, wraps and mushroom stuffing…

I’ve always wanted to make stuffed mushrooms.  And because I had a lot of spinach, spinach-stuffed mushrooms was the way to go.  I’m glad I finally got around to making stuffed mushrooms!  That was one day during our meatless Lent.  I got the recipe HERE.  I did very minor changes.  One, I didn’t have thyme so I didn’t use any.  Two, I used whole wheat bread crumbs.  Three, I topped my mushrooms with mozzarella cheese.  I also used freshly grated parmesan cheese.

We all loved how these mushrooms turned out.  These are appetizers but we ate them with rice just as we would any other vegetable dish.  And I have to say,  couldn’t get enough of ‘em.  I had to save some for my daughter’s school lunch the next day.  She’s mighty proud to be eating spinach.  Haha.  *wink*

It’s been about 3 months now since we started making smarter food choices.  Healthy eating plus regular exercise just melts the pounds away.  No need to buy diet pills.  But that’s just me. :)

Cheers, y’all!

My little girl was thrilled when she saw what I prepared for her.  She thought it was fancy.  It’s not every day she gets to use a wine glass for breakfast…or any meal for that matter! ;)  I was done layering the fresh bananas and low-fat strawberry yogurt when I found the fresh strawberries in the fridge, so I decided to just use one for garnish.  After the princess of the household was served her breakfast, I proceeded to make a Strawberry-Banana Yogurt Parfait for myself, this time, I included some strawberry slices…

When my daughter saw what I made for myself, her earlier smiles turned into a frown.  Why?  Because, in her very words, “Yours is prettier.”  *sigh*  Well, she may be right that the second one is a tad prettier.  It must be the strawberry slices or the size of the glass which was a lot smaller, or both.  Believe you me that the strawberry slices were just a mere after thought. What’s a mom like me to do?  I offered that we switch, but she didn’t want to. Oh well, lesson learned.

There are endless possibilities for fresh fruit yogurt parfaits.  You will only be limited by the fruits in season and the yogurt flavors available.  Other than breakfast, this make for a healthy and hearty dessert or snack. ;)

Speaking of “hearty”, February is American Heart  Month.  And this parfait is definitely good for the heart.  Take care of your hearts, y’all!  Eat healthy, exercise and live smart (no huffin’ and puffin’ on even electronic cigarettes!).

Have a great week, y’all!

*This is also an entry for Lasang Pinoy, Sundays (La.Pi.S.) for the theme “Hearty”.*

Our salads are usually just spring mix veggies with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers.  I love throwing in some diced mangoes, too, whenever I have some.  Last Monday, I traded fresh black berries and sliced strawberries for the tomatoes and cucumbers…

I have to say, I loved it!  I loved how the strawberries added a burst of color to the salad.  Most importantly, I loved the sweet and tangy kick from the berries.  Too bad for hubby, who isn’t very fond of blackberries…except maybe for the techie kind. Hee hee.  I made Honey Vinaigrette Dressing to go with the salad.  It’s pretty much the same vinaigrette dressing I posted on THIS ENTRY, except that I substituted the sugar with (Texas) wild raw honey, which is the healthy kind of honey. ;)

Homemade Honey Vinaigrette Dressing

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp sesame seed oil
5 Tbsp wild raw honey
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger root

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all the ingredients then transfer to a bottle and shake thoroughly. Toss the salad with the dressing just before serving.

There you have it.  It’s a win win combination: fresh vegetables + fresh fruits + homemade dressing with wild raw honey = a very happy body. I hope to be sporting a new and natural glow soon.  Just maybe, I will no longer have to look for exposed acne solution.

Cheers to fruits and veggies! Load up on ‘em!;)

I’ve been a very good girl these past few days, loading up on my greens.  The rest of the family is loading up on their green leafy veggies as well.  I bought a big tub of Organic Spring Mix veggies at the supermarket today and we each had a side of  Tossed Spring Mix Salad to go with our lunch. ;)  I added  sliced tomatoes and cucumber and diced mangoes, too  Yum!

Yesterday, I made a vinaigrette dressing that became a huge hit with my family, including my 5-year old daughter, not to mention my vinegar-aversed husband.  They liked the dressing and I mean liked it a lot!  I got the recipe from my dimsum cookbook. ;)

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp sesame seed oil
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger root

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all the ingredients then transfer to a bottle and shake thoroughly. Toss the salad with the dressing just before serving.

We had Steamed Tilapia for lunch (and dinner!) yesterday and the beautiful thing about this dressing is that it makes for yummy dipping sauce as well!  How’s that for hitting two birds with one stone, er, mixture?!…salad dressing and dipping sauce in one!  Tomorrow, I’ll make a fresh bottle of dressing.  Salad days are here to stay. :)

Cheers, y’all!

INGREDIENTS

3 bananas cut into 1/4″ slices
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
oil for deep frying
powdered sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Combine banana slices, sugar and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.

2.  Fill wonton wrappers with the banana mixture and roll as you would a spring roll or lumpia.

Or, if  you’re not going for the spring roll look anyway and want to get as much filling in there as possible, just fold the wonton wrappers as you would dumplings. That is, taking one corner (for square wonton wrappers) or edge (for round wonton wrappers) and folding it in half.

3.  Deep fry until light brown.

4.  Drain in paper towels and dust with powdered sugar.

You can also substitute the bananas with apple slices.  No more rotten apples! :)

Quick.  Sweet.  Easy. ;)

oOo

Believe it or not, I always got my fill of this snack from street vendors. :D  And I never seemed to have a problem, thank God! Now I have to make these myself as the other alternative (flying back home with travel medical insurance to boot!) is insanely impractical and expensive.  Hahaha!

The catfish fillets were seasoned with salt and pepper then coated with seasoned flour then fried to a golden brown.  Fillets cook very quickly so make sure to check your Movado watches for time. The rice, on the other hand, was sprinkled with crushed garlic chips.

To make the green mango salad, simply toss cubed green mango slices and sliced tomatoes in shrimp paste.  You can add chopped onions and a bit of cilantro if you want.  I’m just not such a huge fan of uncooked onions. :)

There you have it…a meal that is simple, stress-free and satisfying. ;)

Happy Wednesday, y’all!

Yesterday, I attempted to eat a healthy lunch.  I had a turkey sandwich (no cheese!), shrimp salad and a small bunch of sweet grapes.

To make the Shrimp Salad, I simply put together an assembly of lettuce, cucumber and tomato slices, a few pieces of newly cooked shrimps and about two tablespoons of light honey mustard dressing.

To tell you honestly, I was hungry again after about two hours.  Hahaha!  But my tummy can be trained.  I’ve done it before and I  know it can be done again.  *cross fingers*  More salad days to come!

My friend, Veron, brought these goodies to our potluck post-halloween party on November 1st.  Strawberries and chocolate are such a perfect match, don’t you think?

I have another WW entry here.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!