My GO-TO Dinner

Hello! Remember me?!

You would think with my less than ideal circumstances I would have blog posts up every hour.... 

... obviously that is not the current situation we have at on our hands at the moment. Instead of enlightening you with easy, healthy meals to try, or recapping my oh-so exciting life adventures, I've been at the mercy of my dead camera battery and wedding shower planning - both excuses, but valid excuses?

Anyway, between licking envelopes and watching people race from the sidelines, I managed to snap a few quick photos in my kitchen of my GO-TO dinner. 

Remember back in the day when I shared The Anything and Everything Shake? Well here is the Anything and Everything Salad:

Looks kind of gross, right? But it's SO good! 

Lot's of veggies:

Simple Black Bean Burger:

Along with some Avocado:

I usually throw some hummus and blue cheese on top as well. Unless I'm at a restaurant, I typically use hummus as my salad dressing. Paired with some avocado, it's a great way to get the creaminess of those gross popular ranch dressings without consuming all that glorious trans fat goodness.

Besides the taste and beautiful colors, I love the fact that it takes me awhile to finish it all.

Anyone else have a go-to dinner?
If my refrigerator is void of my favorite salad staples, I usually go the chicken and sweet potato route. 


Stay Healthy,

Herbs!

Hello, hello!

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I've been hanging out at my parent's house since Tuesday - taking full advantage of free HBO, popsicles and constant attention from my mom. She brings me bowls of dry cereal, ice water, my medicine, magazines - you know, typical tasks that any mother would do for their less than able child. 

So yesterday, in the midst of bringing out those previously mentioned items, from up out of no where comes my mom, shoving a handful of herbs into my face "Here! Smell these! They came from my garden!" 

Without having much of a choice, I smelled the handful of herbs, and was actually pleasantly surprised by their fresh smell. My mom further informed me that she is also growing cilantro, rosemary, mint, orange mint, parsley, basil, garlic chive and oregano in our backyard. 

Now, for those of you who don't know much about herbs past the spice section of the grocery store, herbs are small leaves or seeds that can be used in cooking to give the food more flavor and dimension. This could be as easy as sprinkling some basil and parsley into a spaghetti sauce, to flavoring boring old tap water with some mint leaves or even creating a marinade for chicken or fish, such as my mom did last night -  

here my mom is cutting up some garlic chive, parsley and rosemary herbs  into some bourbon for our salmon to marinate in for the day. 

The options are limitless! 

If you do try to grow your own herbs, here are some tips on how to keep them fresh!

•  Loosely wrap herbs in a damp paper towel, then seal in a zip-top plastic bag filled with air. Refrigerate for up to five days. 
• To revive limp herbs, trim 1/2 inch off the stems, and place in ice water for a couple of hours.
• Snip off as much as you need, and the plant will last for weeks or even months.
• Wash herbs just before using; pat dry with a paper towel.
• In most cases, heat kills the flavor of fresh herbs, so they're best when added to a dish at the end.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to use herbs while cooking?

Is anyone growing their own herbs?

Stay Healthy,

Salad Dressing

Hellooo Kinetic Nutrition readers!!!

I apologize for my absence from the online world over the past couple days... it's been a whirlwind of a weekend! Dr. Alexander and I were up/down/over in Easton at the Women's Expo all weekend and at the Hoover Hustle 5K and 10K Sunday morning treating runners. Well, he was treating, I was just holding down the fort... literally... there were some gusty winds yesterday!

I have a fun post coming up in the next day or so, but until my flawless pictures are ready to be uploaded, or taken for that matter, I wanted to do a little post in the meantime just so you guys didn't have to go through the agony of yet another day without my wonderful words of wisdom.

So here we go... Salad Dressings.

It's Saturday night.
You and your girlfriends (or bros) are out to dinner.
You're on an awesome high from actually making it to the gym this morning, in time for the 8am spinning class, which you always seem to miss.
After a quick menu scan, the only words that seem to stick in your brain are: bacon cheeseburger and sweet potato fries. Yum.
You take a deep breath.
Gather your composure and further investigate the menu.
After much debate, and input from the peanut gallery sitting at your table, you decide against the burger and fries and opt for the salad in attempts to be healthy.
Congratulations on making a healthy decision! 

..................20 minutes later...................................

Food arrives.
Your large salad sits in front of you.
Without putting much thought into anything, you mindlessly drench your healthy salad with the 4 tubs of ranch dressing strategically placed around your salad plate.
STOP! Your healthy decision just turned TERRIBLE!

Sound all too familiar?

Let me just start by saying that, there is nothing healthy about ranch dressing. Yes, I know, you may hold ranch dressing dear to your heart, but keep eating it and you won't have a heart to hold anything close to (I ended in a preposition, sorry English majors) 


Here are the Stats on Ranch Dressing:

Keep in mind that's just 2 tablespoons. 

So what are some healthier options, you ask?

• Opt for no dressing! A lot of the salads these days have tons of little extras on top. Between the nuts, craisins, avocado and veggies, I can almost guarantee you'll still get plenty of flavor. 
• Cut your amount in half. Okay, okay, so you just physically aren't able to dump the ranch, in that case, use half of what you would normally dump on. 
• Choose a vinaigrette instead. More time than not, it's going to have less calories, less fat and less sugar. 
• Dining at home? Make your own! Dr. A highly recommends this homemade recipe that he always uses:  
• 3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 4 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 5 cloves of garlic (or to taste) 
• Combine all ingredients in a container with a tight fitting lid.  Shake vigorously.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Anyone out there have an addiction problem to ranch dressing? Your own special dressing? Let us know!

Stay Healthy,