Just Add Eggs

Okay, here's a quick post about transforming your salads.

Today I had a salad for lunch. Yesterday I had a salad for lunch and dinner. The day before that I had another salad for lunch. You would think that I might be getting tired of salad by now. 

Nope. 

I could go for another bowl of that goodness right now. :)

I love salads, and I never tire of eating them. However, if you are someone that finds salads a bit boring, or not too flavorful, then this simple trick is for you.

I have found the secret ingredient to a taste-sensation salad. And that is... hard boiled eggs. That's all it takes. Of course you want a good dressing, but I've already discussed that. I've even given you the recipe for the very best balsamic dressing known to man.

Anyway, if you add a hard boiled egg (or two) to your salad, it instantly becomes incredible. The other day I was eating a bowl of chopped lettuce with dressing. I added a hard boiled egg and it was a whole new experience. Hard boiled eggs provide a creamy goodness in every bite. I cannot adequately describe how delicious this is, so just trust me and go make yourself a salad with hard boiled eggs. If you top it off with my balsamic dressing, it's a guaranteed success.

Please let me know if you try this. Have you already tried salad with hard boiled eggs? Do you like it? Do you love it? Let me know in the comments below. I love hearing form you.

Also, if you want to see more tips on spicing up your salads, just let me know. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, so please don't hesitate to ask.

Have a lovely day and may God bless you! :)

Lots of Love,

Mariah

Salads of Summer

It's September! Even though summer is over, you can still enjoy some salad. Here are some of my favorite salads from this summer. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do!

Get the recipes here:

Summer Garden Salad

Tuna Cabbage Salad

Carrot Cabbage Salad

Balsamic Black Bean Salad

Balsamic Black Bean Salad

I went on a picnic with my sister, and we had veggie meatloaf and salad. If you want me to post the recipe for the meatloaf, let me know. It's one of the best tasting dishes you will ever have. We make it about every other week, and it's usually gone in a day.

Okay- you don't have to ask, I'll post it. :)

Anyway, we are supposed to be focusing on this lovely salad. This salad is really very simple, it's the dressing that makes it a hit. Any mixed greens should be fine, just add some black beans and balsamic dressing, and you will have a masterpiece. For this salad, I threw together a mixture of romaine and iceberg lettuce. I topped it with onion, corn, peas, and black beans. I used about 1/2 cup of canned black beans, and maybe a tablespoon or two of our homemade balsamic dressing. This balsamic dressing is one my very favorites, and it makes any salad taste amazing. I hope you enjoy it!

BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

• 1.5 cups olive oil
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 tbsp. fresh garlic (or 6 large cloves)

Mix all of these ingredients together in your blender until it reaches a smooth consistency. That's all! Now go try this dressing on your favorite salad!

Blessings,

Mariah

Coleslaw

I love coleslaw. It's delicious, crunchy, light and healthy! Besides tasting wonderful, it is also incredibly easy to throw together. This salad can be ready in minutes.

Another wonderful thing about this salad, is that it is low-calorie, so if you are trying to lose weight, or limit your calorie intake, this is perfect. You can eat it as a snack, or as a side dish, maybe even as your meal. :)

Adjust the dressing to lighten this up some more if you like. Cabbage, carrots, and raisins are so good on their own, that you don't have to eat them with anything!

However, I recommend using a dressing, that's really what makes this delicious, and just adds that touch of goodness. :)

• 1 head of cabbage
• 6 medium carrots
• 1/2 cup of raisins
• 2 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 cup of light mayonnaise

We used a large head of cabbage, so we added more mayonnaise to ours. If you are using a regular or small amount of cabbage, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise should be enough. You might even be able to reduce it.

Get out a large bowl and add in your ingredients as they are ready. Shred six carrots, finely shred your cabbage, and add in the raisins. This is your salad. Now for the dressing!

 In a separate bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar. Pour this dressing over the salad and mix well. That's it - now go and enjoy this refreshing salad! 

I hope that you get to try this yummy carrot cabbage salad/coleslaw. Please comment below and let me know if you try it. Thanks so much! Have a fabulous day and may God bless you! :)

Lots of love,

Mariah

Summer Salad Bowl

Summertime is salad time! When it's hot and you're hungry, what's better than a cool, crisp, refreshing salad? I love salad. I can eat salad for my breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack. Salads are the perfect combination of healthy and delicious. You can get really creative and make some fancy salad, or you can just throw together some lettuce and spinach leaves. I enjoy making my salad beautiful, and I usually make the salads for our family. Yesterday afternoon, I made this simple, delicious, and beautiful salad for a healthy lunch.

I used one bag of romaine lettuce (which was three small-medium heads of lettuce), 1/2 bag of fresh spinach leaves, 1 large onion, 2 stalks of celery, 2 medium/thick carrots, 1/2 can of corn, 1/2 can of whole pitted olives (which I chopped), and about 3/4 c. of frozen peas.

Usually we will add some cucumber, tomato, and greek peppers to our individual plates. Adding tomatoes and cucumbers to the whole bowl makes the salad a bit soggy, so that's why we don't put them in the salad bowl.

I'll be sharing some more salad pictures and recipes soon, so keep checking back. As always, have a marvelous day, and may God bless you more than you can possibly imagine!

LOVE,

MARIAH

Cabbage Salad & Banana Cookies

The other day I was so hungry, and I wanted something cool, crisp, and healthy for lunch. I threw together this healthy cabbage salad, and cooked up some mixed veggies too.

This salad consists of about 1 cup of cabbage, 5 slices of tomato, onion slices, 6 cucumber slices, 1/4 cup of tuna, 1 tbsp. of mayonnaise, and a few peas as a garnish. Also, I added a dash of salt, pepper, and a squirt of a secret sauce my dad makes. It was really good! (I took this picture while my other veggies were cooking.)

 While I fixed myself a salad, I had some cinnamon banana cookies baking in the oven. I got this recipe from Taralynn McNitt at Undressed Skeleton. When I saw them I thought that they looked so good, and I had just had to try them.

(These are her cookies - they look big, beautiful, and delicious!)

I was getting ready to make the cookies, and went into the kitchen to see if we had any flax seeds. I glanced at the fruit basket to see how many bananas were left. My dad was standing in the kitchen eating the last one. He caught me looking for bananas, and asked if I  had planned on eating one. Long story short, when he saw I needed a banana, he offered me what was left of his. That was just so sweet... there was about half a banana left - exactly what I needed. He's the best. :)

So, I whipped together these cookies and popped them in the oven. They were so easy to make!

Cinnamon Banana Cookies

• 1/2 medium banana
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tbsp. ground flax seed
• 1 tbsp. oats
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda (recommend using less)

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your baking sheet and drop three, tablespoon sized, cookies on there. I made four instead of three. When your oven is ready, bake these for about 10-12 minutes. Let them cool and then dig in and enjoy! These are a healthy treat that are guilt-free. They are also gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats. These only have 30 calories per cookie!

The first cookie I ate was delicious! I loved it and was so pleasantly surprised by the absolute goodness. However, the second and third cookie were a bit too salty. I would recommend reducing the baking soda to about 1/4 tsp., and I would use a bit more banana next time. I had roughly half a banana, but not quite. It might have helped if I had more banana and less baking soda. 

I enjoyed my cookies with a glass of skim milk. My salad was finished, but the veggies weren't done cooking, and I was making my brother a sandwich. So I snacked on these cookies while I made the veggies and sandwich, then I went and enjoyed my complete lunch.

These cooked veggies are my very favorite mix. They are so amazing. I cook them in less than a tablespoon of olive oil until they are soft and warm. They need no salt or pepper - or anything! If you prefer your veggies without the extra calories from oil, spread them out on a baking pan, and broil them until done. They are fantastic this way! This mix is a bag I get at my grocery store - Aldi. It's called California Medley. They are so delicious, so if you can get a bag - try them! ;)

In this picture you can see that my cookies are a bit smaller and darker than Taralynn's. As I said before, I will make these again with more banana, and less baking soda. You could add raisins, coconut, or nuts to this, just remember that by doing so you will be increasing the amount of calories.

Well, thanks for reading! I hope that this post was helpful and inspiring. Please let me know if you try these cookies. I would love to hear how they turn out for you. Taralynn said that they were phenomanal, so even though mine weren't fantastic, I'm not giving up. I want all of my cookies to taste amazing - not just one. :) If you take my advice and reduce the baking soda, they should be fantastic. Also, if you happen to try my tuna cabbage salad, please let me know how you liked it. Thanks! Have an awesome day and a blessed week! 

Love & Grace,

Mariah