Chia Seeds: THE Superfood of Choice

Is your appetite out of control for sweets or something crunchy every day?  Are you diabetic and looking for a natural way to control your blood sugars?  Are you tired of having to take fiber supplements?  You seriously may want to consider my favorite super food on the supermarket shelves, the chia seed.  Best known for growing Chia Pets in clay pots, the chia seed has an impressive list of nutrients and health benefits.   

This tiny seed is big when it comes to nutrition value. It’s high in fiber, as a half-ounce contains 6 grams of fiber, the same amount of fiber found in three slices of whole wheat bread.  The soluble fiber when combined with liquids forms a gel, which may help the body regulate how carbohydrates are digested and stabilize blood sugars.  The soluble fiber also may have a role in controlling appetite and cholesterol.  It also provides omega-3 fatty acids; in fact, it contains some of the highest amount of plant-based omega-3 fats. The antioxidant content is comparable to fruits and vegetables.  

What’s even more amazing is how simple it is to eat chia seeds.  No need to grind first, just sprinkle or stir and eat. Chia seeds have little flavor, making it easy to add to your favorite foods without changing the taste. Simply sprinkle one tablespoon on salads, yogurt, cereal, applesauce or smoothies. Or stir the seeds into a beverage such as juice right before meals to help control hunger and feel full longer. Because chia seeds are rich in antioxidants, there is no need to refrigerate to keep the oils present from going rancid.

They are great to use when you get cravings. Some individuals experience mid-morning or mid-afternoon cravings. This is the perfect time to have about ½ tablespoon of chia in a yogurt or a pudding cup.  I personally put mine in my smoothie every morning and then later I mix it with peanut butter to put on my afternoon apple. Chia seeds also help you stay hydrated, so this is a great option in the hot days of summer or if you are doing activities or sports in the heat. They are even a healthy option for kids!

The best thing about it is you can use it anytime of the day and it’s all natural!  Aim for about 1 ½ tablespoons a day and up to 3 tablespoons a day.  Try this delicious summer salad for your next meal and be brave, choose chia!

Strawberry-Kiwi Spinach Salad with Chia Seeds

Serves 12

All you need:
1/2 cup ligh raspberry vinegarette
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 (6 ounces each) bags fresh spinach
2 pints fresh strawberries, halved
4 medium kiwifruit, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 medium green onions, sliced

All you do:

 

1..     In a large bowl, combine spinach, strawberries, kiwi and green onions.

2.     Stir chia seeds into dressing right before serving.   Add dressing to salad and toss to coat.

~Crazy

Making Memorial Day Weekend More Delicious With Grilled Caesar Salad

Memorial Day weekend is just a couple hours away and I bet you will be celebrating in some sort of way.  Whether you are having people over for a grill out or maybe you are going over to a family members for a get together, you are going to be eating and why not make this weekend stress free.  Throw the stressors in the garbage this weekend and let your weekend be about having fun and celebrating all that wonderful service men and women that have fought for our freedom.

Lucky for you I have a salad that will not only be easy but it's a small little spin on a classic salad that will make a huge taste difference.

Grilled Caesar Salad is what you should be making this weekend.  Use it as a side dish, or add some protein to it for a hearty main entrée.  Whatever you do, just try it, you won't regret it!

So there's not a lot of ingredients that you need to go out and buy which is a plus.  You will need a head of romaine lettuce, and not that stuff you find in a bag, you will also need some parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing, red onion, and black olives (in you prefer.)

So now first step is that you will want to go and preheat your grill.  Get that puppy hot because as soon as you have cut your ingredients it will only take a couple minutes and then you will be ready to eat.

Now we are just going to take off any leaves that are wilted or don't look the best.  Then we are going to wash it and cut it down the middle lengthwise. 

That's all the cutting for the lettuce right now, so just open up the romaine lettuce and set it on a plate, or tray to take out to the grill.

I then spray the cut end of the lettuce with olive oil spray and season with freshly ground pepper and Kosher salt. 

Last thing we are going to cut is the red onion.  Just cut the ends off, and take the skin off the onion.

Cut in thin slices, which you should get between 6-10 depending on how big your onion is.

Now we are ready to pack up all our ingredients and take it out to the grill.  Yes, you can take it all out to the grill because we will prepare the salad outside.

So the first thing after the grill is preheated we are going to throw on the red onions since they take longer than the romaine lettuce.

**You can grill your onions until very soft, I usually only throw them on for about 3-4 minutes because I like the crunchy texture but I love the smoky grill flavor.**

As soon as you turn the onions over is when you will want to put the romaine lettuce on the grill, cut side down.  Shut the lid to the grill, but whatever you do don't leave!!  This step only take 2- 2 1/2 minutes. Let your lettuce cook for only a couple minutes.  You want to get some nice grill marks on your lettuce with a little smoky flavor but you don't want it cooked all the way through.  The lettuce should just start to wilt but still have a delicious crunch.

Look at the lovely little lettuce

Now that you take the lettuce and onions off the grill, go ahead and cut up the lettuce.  First start by cutting through the leaves lengthwise about 4 or 5 times.

Next turn the lettuce 90 degrees and cut the head of lettuce in about 1 in. square pieces. How easy was that?  You don't need to buy bagged lettuce again!  When the lettuce is cut just throw it in a bowl to serve. 

From here you have 2 options.  #1 option would be if you are serving the salad right away, than go ahead and put the dressing right on the salad and mix until all incorporated.

Add on your cooked red onions, shredded parmesan cheese, black olives, and croutons.  Serve and Enjoy!!

If you are taking this salad to a friends or won't be serving this salad right away, I suggest putting the salad in the bottom of your dish, topped with grilled red onions, parmesan cheese, and black olives.  Wait to put the dressing and croutons on until right before serving so that the salad is fresh and crisp.

 

Hope you enjoy the salad, I know my family loves it.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Grilled Caesar Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce, cut in half

1 medium red onion, sliced in rings

Olive oil spray

Kosher salt and pepper

½-3/4 c. Caesar dressing

½ c. black olives

¼ c. parmesan cheese

½ c. croutons

Preheat grill to medium heat.  Spray romaine lettuce and red onions with olive oil spray and season with salt and pepper.  Grill the red onion for about 2 minutes on each side and lettuce for only 2 minutes with the cut side facing the grill.  Grill lettuce until grill marks appear and the it becomes wilted.  Remove red onion and lettuce.  Place lettuce onto the cutting board and cut into small bite size pieces.  In a medium bowl toss the grilled romaine lettuce with the Caesar dressing, top with red onion, black olives, parmesan cheese and croutons.

-Cool

Monday Motivation: Meal Planning, Do It!

It's Monday! Aren't you so excited? But seriously, Monday is a great time to start the week out healthy. Take today to plan your meals out for the week, hit up the grocery store after work today, grab ingredients for a healthy dinner and prevent yourself from the dreaded "Oh it is 4 pm and I have no idea what I am having for dinner" blues. 

It doesn't have to be expensive or complicated, but it does need to be balanced. "Think 3" for meal planning. 3 of the 5 food groups should be present in your meal and I always recommend Protein, Vegetable and a Whole Grain. 

Are you getting hungry yet? 

How about a few more pictures to inspire your Monday Motivation to plan this weeks meals. 

Try this for your meal tonight for a family of 4:

4 - 4 ounce pieces of salmon

1 pineapple cut into 2 x 4 pieces 

1 bunch of asparagus

1 bottle of teriyaki marinade

Salt and Pepper to taste 

1. Marinade the salmon in a plastic bag with teriyaki for 30 minutes

2. Heat grill for 15 minutes to 400 degrees

3. Sprinkle asparagus with salt and pepper

4. Place salmon on the grill, skin side down, grill for about 4-5 minutes

5. Place asparagus on grill and rotate until salmon is finished cooking. 

6. Place pineapple on grill and grill on each side for about 2-3 minutes. 

7. Turn salmon over and grill for about another 4-5 minutes or until salmon starts to flake.  

Happy Dining! ~Crazy

Croissant Crazy

Is there anything better than the taste of flaky and buttery croissants?  Whether you are using it as a medium to get a lunchmeat sandwich in you stomach for a quick lunch or just cream cheese and jelly for a fast breakfast, how versatile croissants can be while being completely delicious.  What if I told you that the Hy-Vee Season's magazine came out with even more ideas to incorporate croissants so that you could enjoy them for every meal?

 

 

Lucky for you, if you don't live near a Hy-Vee and recieve this magazine than I have taken a couple pictures for you to enjoy croissants in maybe a different way that you have never thought of.

 

 

We had one of our Crazy Cool throw down's at work on Tuesday and we decide both decided because everything in the magazine looked so delicious and our croissants are amazing that the theme would be "Croissants."  Looking through the magazine the pictures just make you hungry.  I decided on doing the Mini Baklava Croissants because they were easy and sounded like a sweet treat for a Tuesday afternoon. 

The recipe was my kind of recipe, only 5 ingredients that most of the ingredients were already in the cupboard, and they only take about 10 minutes to prep the filling, and 10 minutes to warm up in the oven. 

I sliced the croissants in 3 layers, made up the nutty filling with walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, and honey, filled the croissants, and warmed them up.

Since we were feeding a crowd I made up 6 large croissants but I have included the recipe at the bottom of the page for any party you will be having.

 

Don't those look like a fun treat?  You could actually have time to have dessert during the week?  Or what a fun after school treat?

 

 

After I picked my croissant recipe of choice, Anne looked through the magazine and saw something that caught her eye.  Two of her favorites put together on a croissant?  Could this even be happening?  It was basically a caprese salad pizza?  Fresh ingredients like a caprese salad, but toasting the croissant and adding a little local Gino's pizza sauce and this was a hit.

 

Yes there is a couple more ingredients but it was ohhh so delicious.  All you need is some croissants, and cut them in half.  Toast the croissants in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5-8 minutes.  Then you just add a small amount of pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, little bit of fresh basil, and top with olive oil and freshly cracked salt and pepper.  Yup, it's as easy as it sounds and not only would this be filling enough for dinner but it would be the perfect appetizer for a party. 

 

 

Well how adorable are they?  They are even more delicious than they look if that's even possible!

 

 

So as we took our two recipes to the customers, we had a winner, Anne's Croissant Pizzas won the majority of the votes.  Even though I'm not a good loser, I knew that the pizzas were absolutely amazing and I was a super big fan of them.  I will definately be putting them on my family's menu next week.

 

 

In case you need some other creative ideas for croissants take a look.  Croissant ice cream cones?  Blackeberry parfaits?

 

Or even a omelet breakfast sandwich?  YES PLEASE!  I will take them all!

 

Enjoy your week with croissants!

 

-Cool