This scale is great!  It is called the Perfect Portions scale and it weighs your food and gives you the nutrition facts based on the individual food codes.  It has codes for approximately 2000 different foods.  This is such a wonderful tool to help keep your portion sizes in check.  It is so easy to take a larger portion than we actually need when we are eyeballing (and especially when we are hungry!!).  I usually weigh my food portions every few months to make sure that I am keeping myself in line.

If you are interested in getting one of these, please email me!  I have coupons for 50% off just for you!  It expires the beginning of June, so let me know soon!  Also, you can get more information at http://www.perfectportionsscale.com.

This is a spin-off of my Dad’s AMAZING garlic salad that is a must-have for any special occasion!  Of course I will never master this recipe, but I can at least make a sad attempt 🙂  You can adjust the amount of lemon juice to increase or decrease the tartness.  Also, add any veggies that you have on hand.  The dressing tastes great with just about anything!  This night we had a cheese potato (recipe coming) and my hubby grilled us some lean top sirloin.  It was fabulous!

This makes 2 salads:

4-6 fresh garlic cloves, crushed

Juice of 1 lemon

dash of salt (you can use Morton’s lite salt if you are watching your sodium, or omit all together)

1 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp Canola oil

8 cherry tomatoes cut in half

8 pieces artichoke, quarters

4 pieces hearts of palm

2 cups chopped Romaine lettuce (I use spring mix when I don’t have Romaine)

Add garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, and oil together in a wooden bowl and mix well.  Then add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts and hearts of palm and mix well.  Add the lettuce on top without mixing.  Cover the bowl and let sit in the fridge for approximately 1-2 hours.  Toss salad and serve!

Yum!  I made this salad to go on top of some fresh salmon I bought at the farmers market.  It was a perfect match!  It was so good that I ate it plain as a snack the next day!

1 mango, cubed

2 Tbsp red onion, diced

0.75 fresh jalapeno, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, fresh

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 garlic cloves

Peel the mango and cut into cubes.  Add the red onion, jalapeno, lemon juice and garlic.  Adjust the amount of fresh jalapeno to your tolerance of heat.  Toss together and serve with your favorite piece of fish or eat it plain for a snack.

In honor of national nutrition month…

Make sure to eat from the rainbow this month!  Eating a variety of colored fruits and veggies will ensure that you get all of the nutrients that you need!  Remember that every color has different nutrients that are important to your health.  For example:

Blue & Purple fruits and veggies: Boost the immune system, contain antioxidants (anthocyanins) that protect our cells from damage by free radicals, can protect against cancer, stroke and heart disease.  So, eat your blueberries, blackberries, plums, eggplant, and plums!

Red fruits and veggies:  These contain lycopene which is a heart healthy substance that may protect against some cancers like prostate cancer.  Lycopene is better absorbed when it is cooked in a little bit of fat.  For example, cooking tomatoes in a little bit of olive oil will allow more lycopene to be released, giving us more benefits!  Lycopene is also an antioxidant, so make sure and eat your tomatoes, beets, red apples, pomegranates, red grapefruits, radishes, raspberries, cranberries and all other red fruits and vegetables!

Yellow and Orange fruits and vegetables:  These all contain beta-carotene, which turns into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A helps our skin, mucous membranes and our eyes to be healthy.  It can also help with keeping our immune systems healthy, as well as protect against macular degeneration.  This is an eye disease that can eventually lead to blindness and is most common in the elderly.  Citrus fruits like lemons, oranges and peaches, are also very high in vitamin C which is wonderful for the immune system.  Some of the yellow and orange fruits and veggies are pumpkin, carrots, yellow corn, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, butternut squash, apricots and pears.

Green fruits and veggies:  Artichokes, lettuce, green onions, spinach, kale, zucchini, brussels sprouts, green beans, cucumbers, kiwi, peas, limes, honeydew and avocado are all part of this group.  All of these contain a substance called lutein that can also help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts.  Many of these contain folate, as well.  Folate is especially important for women of child-bearing age.  Eating an adequate amount of folate can prevent neural tube defects in babies.

White fruits and veggies:  These contain a substance called allicin, which is helpful in lowering LDL cholesterol levels.  LDL cholesterol is the “lousy” cholesterol that we want to keep low.  This substance can also regulate blood pressure levels, and can help prevent heart disease.  The allicin gives onions and garlic their wonderful aromas and tastes!  Fruits and veggies in this group include mushrooms, potatoes, garlic, onions, cauliflower, jicama, bananas, white peaches and ginger.

All of these colors contribute to our overall health, so make sure and eat from the rainbow! 🙂

Yummy!  Thank you to Meridith for giving me some truffle oil today!  I used 1.5 tsp plus a sprinkle of the low-sodium salt on top of a pile of kale.  I put the kale on top of parchment paper on top of a baking sheet and then put it in the oven on 350F for about 15 minutes.  The kale started browning and got a little crisp.  If you don’t like the flavor of truffle oil, then I would suggest olive oil.  It can be strong if you use too much, but it has a wonderful flavor!

Enjoy!!