Spinach Pomegranate Salad

I've been sick this weekend and spent most of the day yesterday alternating between watching the first season of Downton Abbey in bed and painting seascapes (I've started something I am very excited about, stayed tuned!)  My wonderful husband took our kids on a bird watching adventure so I could lay low.  I was drinking large amounts of tea, besides soothing my throat, Downton Abbey put me in tea kind of mood and I didn't eat much.  This delicious salad was from a few days ago, I was thinking I might save it for another 7 Days, 7 Salads series but it was so good I want to share it now.

Spinach Pomegranate Salad

1-2 cups spinach

1/4 cup microgreens (sprouts)

2 Tablespoons pomegranate seeds

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds (I prefer roasted & salted)

1 teaspoon chia seeds (optional but so good for you!)

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette (I used Trader Joe's Fat Free version)

Served with Mary's Gone Crackers Caraway flavor.

7 Days - 7 Salads - Day 5 - Sesame Ginger Shrimp Salad

I enjoyed this salad for lunch...very light and low in calories but satisfying.

for the salad (serves 1):

1 cup baby romaine lettuce

1/4 cup edamame

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

6 large cooked shrimp, well chilled

a handful of sugar snap peas

I used 1 Tablespoon of Bragg Gluten Free Sesame & Ginger Dressing.

Cabbage Soup

Since my second child was born I have lost about 20 lbs.  The key to my weight loss has been simple; take in less calories than I burn.  When I want to lose weight I record calories in and calories out, every day to make sure I stay within my calorie budget.  I highly recommend Lose It! but there are plenty of smartphone apps and websites that will track calories for you.  By seeing the caloric value of what you eat you really begin to understand which foods will give you the most "value" for the least calories. 

I have a few tried and true low calorie foods that I return to time and time again.  I hope to share all of them with you and will start with cabbage soup.  I call it cabbage soup but really it's an ever-changing vegetable soup that is very loosely based on a Weight Watchers recipe.  You know I don't always measure so below are estimations:

Saute 1/2 cup chopped onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil until they start to become transparent. 

Add 1/2 cup chopped carrots.  When parsnips are in season I also add up to a cup of them peeled and chopped. 

Cook in olive oil (add more if needed) until parsnips/carrots begin to soften. 

Add 1-2 cup chopped green cabbage

***at this stage you can add any other veggies you like.  I sometimes add chopped celery, zucchini or green beans.  Today I happened to have kale, so I added about 1 cup chopped kale.

Add 4-5 cups reduced sodium broth (enough to cover vegetables.)  I prefer chicken but you can use vegetable to go vegan.  I love Trader Joes Savory Chicken Broth pouches - one pouch per cup of water. 

Add 1 tablespoon italian herbs and 1 or 2 whole bay leaves. 

Simmer covered until vegetables are soft - about an hour.  Remove bay leaves.

***for years I ate the soup as is - rustic with all the whole veggies but lately I've started pureeing.  Use an emersion blender or transfer small batches to blender until soup is as pureed as you like.  Today I avoided the kale when I blended in a blender because the color of the kale when blended was not so pretty.  A great benefit of blending is that my 6 year old will eat this healthy soup when blended but would NEVER otherwise eat cooked cabbage, parsnips or kale!