Spinach Salad

I can't believe I am actually doing a "recipe" blog for this. Its really so easy. Take a huge bowl and add all of the following ingredients together:

• Spinach - 2 cups (makes salad for one person)
• Shredded Cheese (sharp cheddar) - 2 tablespoons
• Sunflower seeds - 1 tablespoon 
• Veggie Patch meatless meatballs - 5 to 7 of them, cooked
• Catalina Dressing - 1 tablespoon (fat free)

For a vegan/healthier twist, skip the cheese!

Prepping for the week: Smoothie (Breakfast/Snack)

So here's the deal, I have a very busy morning ... Like everybody! So I cheat, well kind of! I chop up and portion out my fruits so I can whip up a quick smoothie in the morning! The smoothies I make are full of fiber and protein. Let me know if you would be interested in more smoothie recipes :)

Spinach Mushroom Quesadillas

Spinach Mushroom Quesadillas

(Serves 4 – 2 half quesadillas per serving)

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Pam Cooking Spray
• 8 ounces White Mushrooms, Sliced
• 8 cups Baby Spinach
• 8 Whole Flour Tortillas
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, Sliced
• ½ Red Bell Pepper, Sliced
• ¼ Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• ¼ Tsp Cumin
• ½ Tsp Salt
• 4 Slices of Cheese or 1 cup Shredded Cheese
• 4 Tbsp Low Fat Sour Cream

Directions:

1. Heat a Tbsp of Olive Oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the Onions to the pan. Sauté till they turn yellow and then add the Red Bell Peppers. NOTE: We only want to soften the peppers. Set this aside.
2. In the same pan add in the Mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes. Once the mushrooms soften up add in the Spinach. Note: You will need to constantly toss the Spinach so that it doesn't burn. The goal here is to wilt the Spinach.
3. Add in the onion and pepper mix. Now let’s add in all the seasoning.
4. The salt tends to make the vegetables sweat a tad more, so cook for another 3-5 minutes. Once it is the consistency you like, turn of the stove and take the filling off the heat.
5. Spray the inside of a skillet lightly with Pam Cooking Spray and heat the tortilla. Once it softens up, layer half the tortilla with the sliced cheese and filling. Fold.
6. Cook evenly on both sides. Be careful when flipping over the YUMMY Quesadilla! It takes less than a minute to cook these so be very careful.

Serve warm with sour cream!

I find sautéing vegetables and then making quesadillas very easy. When my brother and I were much younger my mom would make the vegetable filling on her day off and refrigerate it. This made for a healthy lunch while she was at work. This is ideal for college students too! 

PS: Spinach is an EXCELLENT source of Iron, boost energy level, so eat up! 

Green Monster Smoothie

Green Monster Smoothie

(Servings 1)

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 Tbsp Nutella
• 1 Ripe Banana, sliced
• 1/2 cup Fat Free Vanilla Chobani Greek Yogurt
• 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
• 2 cups Baby Spinach

Directions: 

1. Add all ingredients in a blender in the order listed above.
2. Blend till smooth. 

Tips:

• You can add an additional tbsp of flax seeds. Please note that they do have a strong taste. 
• During the summer months I slice the Banana and freeze it. PS: Slice before you freeze, just trust me on this one!
• You can substitute the Nutella with Peanut Butter. I am allergic to peanuts so Nutella seemed like a great alternative and who doesn't love chocolate?!!
• Plain fatfree milk and yogurt maybe used, I just prefer Greek yogurt's consistency. 
• If you would like to bulk this smoothie up let the Chia Seeds soak in the Almond milk for about an hour (or longer). They grown a tad in size. 
• I get the Chia seeds and Almond milk from Whole Foods. 

ENJOY!