Keep in mind, this a recipe from my grandmother, so you kind of just throw things together.

Here is what you’ll need (per my mom):

5 large potatoes diced and cooked

2 cups of cabbage grated

1/4 cup of dill pickle diced

1 1/2 cup of ham diced

1 onion dice (optional)

Mix potatoes, cabbage, ham, pickle and onion.

Dressing:

1 cup of mayo

2 tablespoons of vinegar

1 teaspoon dill seed

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Mix, then mix and toss over potato mixture.

Mom, how did you make this healthier?

I used low sodium ham (the original recipe calls for SPAM). I also used light mayo.

And that’s it, folks! One of my favorite holiday recipes in a healthier way! Enjoy!

Am I right?

I am horrible about menu planning, and consequently, find myself pacing the kitchen in the late afternoon, opening and closing the freezer, cursing myself out for not defrosting anything, checking the cupboards to see if something amazing has materialized since I last checked it five minutes ago, all the while being followed around by a whiny three year old who is all of a sudden ravenous. (Run on sentence. Yikes. Sorry).

This week, I’m writing it down. I’m making a grocery list. I’ve got a plan. And lucky you – you can copy it if you want. I know! I’m a giver.

Also? Many of these recipes make for fantastic leftovers. So you could even be covered for lunch the next day…bonus!

Sunday: Flank or flat iron steak (flat iron is generally less expensive) with roasted broccoli and baked potatoes. Yes, I know there’s quite a lot of oil in these two recipes, but olive oil IS good for you. Cut down on the amount of oil in the broccoli if you must.

Monday: White bean chicken chili. Perfect for the cooler fall weather.

Tuesday: Tilapia tacos.

Wednesday: Bowties with ricotta tomato sauce, green salad.

Thursday: Shoyu chicken thighs, brown rice, steamed green beans.

Friday: Homemade pizza night – I buy dough from Trader Joes, and we all do our own toppings. I usually lean toward sun dried tomatoes, light feta, spinach, kalamata olives and mushrooms with an light olive oil/garlic sauce. Husband is all about pepperoni and mushroom, the three year old does mushroom and cheese. Served with a big old green salad.

Saturday: Somebody had better be taking my tired butt out to dinner side eye to husband.

Do you have a menu plan? Link up in the comments!

Also? This grocery list is printable. Yes, I know it looks L-O-N-G, but I’m willing to bet that you have a lot of these items in your pantry. And if not, it’s a good time to stock up.

Happy cooking!

Recently, we invited some friends over and all of their kids and we had ourselves a regular ole salad party, sponsored by Wish-Bone.  We created a few new salads (whipped them up is more like it) while trying to manage the 7 children 7 years and younger from tearing up the house.  It was fun : ).

Wish-bone provided us their four new salad dressings and away we went!  I wish I had recipes to share but it was more like:  let’s put a little of this and a little of that and oh boy, doesn’t that sound good to add, etc etc.  We were *cooking* old-style (but really with no style at all, ha ha).

Anyhoo, here are our three creations:

I wish I had fancy names for these creations but I don’t.

Let’s call them Pasta Salad (bow-tie pasta, grape tomatoes, grilled chicken marinated in the Mediterranean dressing, basil, salt/pepper, more dressing drizzled on top to desired flavor), Bruschetta Salad (I have no idea how this was made because my friend Julie made it- I know it involved homemade croutons that she baked in the oven, mozzarella cubes, grape tomatoes, basil and the Bruschetta Italian dressing,  and then last but not least, Crisp Berry Salad (green leaf lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, almond slivers, and Superfruit Berry Vinaigrette dressing).

All three salads were fantastically awesome in their own right but I had a favorite that I just couldn’t get enough of.  Can you guess which one it was?  It was this one:

O-M-G.  The salad was so easy to pull together and the dressing (Superfruit Berry Vinaigrette) was perfectly light and refreshing and oh so yummy.  I must have had three servings of this salad (if you wanted to make it a meal, you could marinate chicken breasts in the dressing, just a little bit, and then grill it).

In reality, all of the dressings tasted great but we all agreed that the Superfruit Berry one was hands-down the best.

For some official recipes from Wish-Bone, then click here.

So, would one of you lucky readers like to win your own Salad Sampler kit of the new Wish-Bone Salad Dressings (plus a great salad bowl)?

Here’s how to enter:

• Leave a comment on this post letting me know which dressing most appeals to you.
• Contest ends Friday September 2nd at 11:59PST.
• A winner will be picked that weekend and notified by email.  Please make sure we have your email- no email, no win.
• US residents only.

]]> http://shrinkingjeans.net/2011/08/try-it-new-wish-bone-salad-dressings-giveaway/feed/ 9 http://shrinkingjeans.net/2011/08/eat-your-veggies-recipe/ http://shrinkingjeans.net/2011/08/eat-your-veggies-recipe/#comments Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:00:39 +0000 heather http://shrinkingjeans.net/?p=14578    I have been dying to sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for ages. If you’re not familiar with CSA, it’s a great way to get locally sourced food, directly from farm to table. The problem? It’s pretty pricey. So, I’d been hitting the farm stand a few miles away.

{Click here for more info on CSA}

A few weeks ago, I scored a great deal to try out our local CSA for 1/2 price for a month. Our first box arrived (at our doorstep, no less) last Monday morning. Let me tell you, it was like Christmas. My 3 1/2 year old son and I went through the box. He asked what each kind of fruit and vegetable was, then proceeded to try to take a bite. My kid loves his produce. Proud mama here.

The box was chock full of goodness…fresh romaine, zucchini, napa cabbage, beets, green onions, apricots, pluots, peaches, mushrooms, red grapes and a cantaloupe.

That’s a LOT of produce. So much, I was kind of worried I wouldn’t be able to use it all before it went bad.

Then a light bulb went on…RATATOUILLE.

I chopped up that zucchini and the mushrooms, then added peppers I had on hand, some yellow squash and tomatoes from our garden. Colorful and delicious.

If you’ve never tried ratatouille, you absolutely must. Especially if you’re not a big fan of vegetables. I will state that I truly believe that roasting vegetables will convince even the pickiest, veggie hating eater.  Roasting preserves the nutrients and adds a different dimension of flavor.

Also? Ratatouille is versatile. I’m sure die-hard French chefs would protest, but I think you can pretty much roast up any darn mix of veggies you want and call it ratatouille.

So here’s my recipe. It’s super easy. And perfect for summer.

- Any mix of veg you like, chopped into similar sized pieces. I usually do peppers, zucchini and cherry tomatoes, then whatever else I have languishing in the crisper.

- Olive Oil.

- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

That’s it. I told you it was easy.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Chuck your veg on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper (Don’t be stingy with the salt, yo. Just don’t go crazy). Bake the mixture until the vegetables are fork tender – I usually start checking them at about 15 minutes.

Once it’s done? Eat as is, or top with a nice piece of grilled chicken or fish. Toss with whole wheat pasta. My favorite lately has been mixing the ratatouille with leftover cooked quinoa or brown rice and balsamic vinaigrette. It’s a delicious and quick lunch and is equally good hot or cold. It’s a great packable option.

So now you really have NO excuse to let vegetables go bad. Make a ton of ratatouille and you’ll always have a delicious option just waiting for you in the fridge.

This salad is one of my own concoctions and I love taking it to cookouts, potlucks, etc.  If you are lucky enough to have a vegetable garden, it’s even better when made with veggies fresh from the garden!  Since I don’t have a garden, I buy the English cucumbers when I make this salad since they are seedless.

This has been a busy summer. No doubt about it. We haven’t had a free weekend since the middle of May and we don’t have one till the middle of August. I got up this morning and starting thinking about the day and what had to be done. We are going to the air show. This requires food and coolers, sunblock and cameras. I decided to check my email before I got started. Sitting next to the computer is my list of scheduled Shrinking Jeans posts. In my head, my next post was July 28. Imagine my surprise when I realized I had a post due today.

My post today is supposed to be a recipe. I can do this. I have cooked so much in the last few months. We have had more parties than I can count and I think I have cooked for almost every one of them.

My favorite go to salad lately has been from Taste of Home. It’s a quick and healthy taste treat. It is there Antipasto Tossed Salad and it is really good. It travels well which has been a big help to me. You can find the recipe here.

That’s it from me. Sorry to be so quick, but I have 25 jalapenos to seed and stuff and coolers to pack. I need to be ready in 90 minutes and I’m still in my jammies. Hope you have a great day too.

During my recent pregnancy, the only insatiable craving I had was watermelon. We probably went through at least three personal sized seedless watermelons per week, because my three year old son is also addicted. He actually will sneak into the fridge for watermelon.

I can’t complain. Watermelon is a great low calorie way to satisfy a sweet tooth. It’s also chock full of water (duh), so it’s super hydrating.

The bad part? Watermelon is not cheap during the winter. But right now? We’re in inexpensive watermelon season.

So I suggest you dig in!

Tomorrow is probably one of the highest watermelon consumption days of the year, so I thought I’d round up a few recipes to share.

First off? Savory watermelon. You heard me. If you haven’t tried watermelon in a salad, you must. I love it with feta – the sweet of the watermelon paired with the briny feta is amazing. I found this recipe from Paula Deen for Watermelon Salad with Mint Leaves. Take note: this is probably the only Paula Deen recipe in existence without a pound of butter.

Next, I present Watermelon Mojitos courtesy of Ina Garten, a.k.a. the Barefoot Contessa. This is a classed up version of the fruit punch we used to mix up in a cooler in college. Wait. Scratch that. How embarrassing.

(A side note? I want Ina Garten to adopt me so I can go live at her fabulous house in the Hamptons, wear linen and frequent charming little shops).

Finally, Watermelon Soup. This recipe sounds amazing, using lime juice as a tart punch against the sweet of the watermelon and honey.

To everyone out there, happy early 4th of July! Stay safe and have fun.

I found this recipe several years ago on Dottie’s Weight Loss Zone. That site is a great resource for those who follow Weight Watchers, and it is especially chock full of all kinds of recipes.

This recipe is a favorite at our house. It’s quick, easy, and doesn’t require any actual cooking. That’s always a plus in my book, LOL!

Are you having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend? We hope so! If you’re planning on firing up the grill tomorrow, we have a couple of suggestions to help keep your meal on the lighter side. You know, so you don’t have that post holiday regret because you couldn’t walk away from the potato salad….

Lighter Side Dish Recipes

• Strawberry-Basil Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Rosemary Sweet Potato Steak Fries
• Bacon Potato Salad – From In Good Taste
• Southwestern Corn Salad
• Sauteed Zucchini, Peppers, and Tomatoes

And here’s a handy post on How To Grill Vegetables!

Lighter Dessert Recipes

• Lemon Pudding Cake
• Neapolitan Tower Cake
• Cherry Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust – From Eating Well

Lighter Drink Recipes

• V-8 Bloody Mary
• Mellow Melon Margarita
• Pomegranate Martini

Have a safe, fun, and Shrinking Memorial Day weekend!!

What I have for you today is one of my favorite go to salads. It’s great for lunch or as a side with dinner. The best thing is that it is so simple to make. I found it in the Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet cookbook. Here’s how you make it.

1/2 large sweet onion
1 medium cucumber, sliced
2 cups grape tomatoes
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, sliced
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/3 cup fat free Ialian salad dressing

Arrange onion, cucumber, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella on salad plates. Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately. This makes 6 servings.

The good news is that each serving is only 85 calories with 4 grams of fat. I think you’ll like it.