New Year's Smezalution...

When the year turns, everyone starts talking about resolutions- go to the gym, eat healthier, blah, blah, blah. Well I say, "New Year's Resolution, New Year's Smezolution!" And I also agree with the experts on weight loss and eating healthy, diets are a joke- for me (trying to lose baby weight), what works is picking some fav food options that you can make on at least a semi-regular basis....oh, and they have to be healthy food options that taste AWESOME (so that you'll actually want to eat them more than once in your life). Thought I'd share a couple that are DELISH and super easy considering how good they taste!

The BEST Caesar Salad Recipe.....

Don't be discouraged- I know this looks like a lot of ingredients, but after you buy them once, you'll have them at home for when you want to make this amazing dressing (guests are always amazed when you serve this dressing and then you tell them you made it from scratch!)

Put all of the following into a food processor or blender and puree together:

• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp anchovy paste (I know this sounds gross, but it gives that real Caesar salad taste, so don't skip it)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
• 1 large egg (nuke it in the microwave for 8 seconds- enough to zap any salmonella, but not long enough to cook it)
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

After these ingredients are pureed together, gradually drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil while the processor or blender is running to emulsify the oil into the rest of the ingredients. Toss the dressing over 2 bunches of romaine lettuce and toss in 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (have more for topping too), and 1.5 cups of croutons. Add some grilled shrimp, chicken or salmon and you have yourself a delish homemade dinner that is filling but easy on the waist line!

The "I have all of this random food, and don't know what to make with it" Recipe:

The solution= dump some tasty vinaigrette on it all and roast it up! This is another option that can work out on a regular basis and can be super healthy. Last night I found myself with no plan for dinner, but with a bunch of random veggies and some chicken breasts and no idea what to do with them. So I decided to toss them in an easy vinaigrette dressing and roast them in the oven. I had cherry tomatoes and chicken- so I whisked together about 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (eyeball all of these and season to taste- toss some fresh cracked pepped in too), tossed the tomatoes and the chicken in the dressing, dumped them on a rimmed baking sheet and popped them in the oven on 350 for 25 minutes. At the last minute, I laid a slice of Swiss cheese on top of the chicken breasts to let it melt in the oven. I whipped up a box of whole grain rice mix (such as Near East brand), popped some of the whole grains on the plate and topped with a chicken breast and some of the tomatoes, and called it a dinner. It was really good too! You could do this with just about any random set of veggies you have left over in the fridge, such as carrots, squash, zucchini, bell peppers. Be creative and enjoy!