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Grape Waldorf Salad

fuzzles — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:43:30 -0800

I found this recipe at my local Kowalski's Market and am putting it on my "must try" list! Easy and vegetarian. But I would be willing to bet that a little roasted chicken or turkey would also be a welcome savory addition. This salad will serve eight.

GRAPE WALDORF SALAD

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
2 cups seedless green grapes, halved
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup pecan halves, toasted
1 (5 ounce) container of baby spinach

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and honey. Cover and refrigerate.

To serve, combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Gently stir in the dressing, tossing to coat. Serve immediately.

Bornw bag makeover

Keri — Sat, 05 May 2007 13:28:47 -0700

Brown bag makeover
Lunches can be easy with make-ahead recipes
Eric Akis, CanWest News Service
Published: Tuesday, May 01, 2007
If you've had a challenging morning at work, a good lunch can certainly lift your spirits and inspire you to carry on. For some, though, the motivation to prepare such a meal is hard to stir up, particularly at times when relaxing is what you want to do.

It's understandable that after a long day at the office, preparing and eating supper and getting things tidied up, the last thing many people want to do is think about what to make for lunch the next day. But what if some overly keen food writer offered to help stimulate your desire to make a tasty lunch by providing simple, minimal ingredient meal ideas. Would that help you on the road to feastdom at noon on a Wednesday? I hope so, because below that's exactly what I've done.

All recipes serve one or two, take about 10 minutes to prepare, can be made the night before you need them and can be complemented by including a few other simple items, such as flat bread, vegetables or fruit, in your lunch bag.

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Font: ****The soups and curry can be reheated at work, if you're able to, or reheated and kept warm in a thermos.

VEGETARIAN TERIYAKI SOBA NOODLE SALAD

Serves one

2.6 ounces (75 g) soba noodles

3 tablespoons (45 mL) teriyaki sauce

1 teaspoon (5 mL) vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) hot Asian-style chili sauce, or to taste (optional)

8 snow peas, trimmed and thickly sliced

1/3 cup (75 mL) grated carrot

1/3 cup (75 mL) chopped red pepper

1 green onion, finely chopped

Boil the noodles until tender, about five to six minutes. Drain well, cool in ice-cold water, drain well again and place in a bowl. Mix in the teriyaki sauce, oil and chili sauce, if using. Toss in the vegetables. Cover and chill until ready to eat.

SHRIMP STUFFED PAPAYA WITH LIME

Serves one

1/2 small to medium ripe papaya

3.5 ounces (100 g) cooked salad shrimp

2 lime wedges

Remove the seeds from the papaya. Fill the cavity with the shrimp. Top with the lime wedges for squeezing. Cover and chill until ready to eat.

GREEK-STYLE CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP

Serves two

21/4 cups (550 mL) low-sodium chicken stock

1/4 cup (50 mL) long grain white rice

1 small boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes

1 large egg

2 tablespoons (30 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 green onion, chopped

Pita bread

Place the stock, rice and chicken in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat until the soup gently simmers. Simmer until the rice is tender, about 10 minutes. Combine the egg and lemon juice in a small bowl. Slowly mix 1/2 cup (125 mL) of the hot soup into the egg mixture. Slowly whisk this mixture into the soup and cook the soup until it just starts thicken, about one minute. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the green onion; serve with wedges of pita bread.

WHOLE-WHEAT BRUSCHETTA TO GO

Serves one

2 slices whole-wheat bread, halved

Olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 medium to large ripe tomato, chopped

2 teaspoons (10 mL) homemade or store-bought pesto

2 teaspoons (10 mL) olive oil

4-6 pitted green or black olives, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Lunches can be easy with make-ahead recipes
Eric Akis, CanWest News Service
Published: Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Brush one side of the bread lightly with olive oil, set on a baking sheet and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 400 F (200 C) for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Cool the slices; cover and store at room temperature. Combine the remaining ingredients in takeout container; store in the fridge. At work, top each bread slice with the tomato mixture. If desired, for protein, pack a few slices of Italian-style meat to compliment the bruschetta, such as salami or capacoli.

LOW-FAT TURKEY AND CRANBERRY BAGEL SANDWICHES

Serves one

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Font: ****1 whole-wheat bagel

2 tablespoons (30 mL) light cream cheese

1/2 cup (125 mL) baby mixed salad greens

2.6-3.5 ounces (75-100 g) shaved low-fat turkey

1 tablespoon (15 mL) cranberry sauce

Alfalfa or other sprouts, to taste (optional)

Cut the bagel in half and spread with cream cheese. Top the bottom half of the bagel with the salad greens, turkey, cranberry sauce and sprouts, if using. Set on the top half of the bagel; wrap and chill until ready to serve.

SOUTHWEST-STYLE ROAST BEEF WRAP

Serves one

1 tablespoon (15 mL) light mayonnaise

1 10-inch (25-cm) flour, whole wheat or spinach tortilla

2.6-3.5 ounces (75-100 g) thinly sliced roast beef

1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) chili powder

Salt and lime juice to taste

1/2 cup (125 mL) baby mixed salad greens

1/4 cup (50 mL) grated cheddar or jack cheese

1/2 cup (125 mL) salsa

Spread the mayonnaise on one side of the tortilla. Lay the beef in a row down the middle of the tortilla. Sprinkle the beef with the cumin, chili powder, salt and lime juice; top with the salad greens, cheese and salsa. Fold over the sides of the tortilla and tightly roll into a closed cylinder. Wrap and chill until ready to serve.

(Victoria Times Colonist)

Groceries busting your budget? Be a savvy shopper

c0rkie — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 04:02:34 -0700

If you're like me and tend to fill up your grocery cart until it's overflowing, this post might help.

Since I don't have a family yet and tend to just shop for myself, I've realized I don't need a grocery cart. I always ended up buying more than I really need to cause of all the "ooh! buy one get one free" deals. By the time I'd pay for everything and exit the market, I couldn't carry everything home by myself. So my grocery shopping motto since my college days has been: "If I can't carry it, I can't buy it." So I switched and use the basket instead of the cart. It has actually cut down my grocery cost by 50-60%! Oh yeh... don't EVER shop on an empty stomach either. You'll just end up buying everything at the market lol!

So while checking my email, I came upon the following article (pasted below). Good to get some more tips on how to save money while shopping for groceries - although the article seems to be more geared towards family oriented grocery shopping.

Groceries busting your budget? Be a savvy shopper
Robyn Moreno of “Woman’s Day” magazine offers money-saving ideas

If you struggle to stay within your shopping budget, then listen up. Robyn Moreno of “Woman’s Day” magazine offers a few of her favorite tips to save money at the supermarket.

Rethink the list: Plan meals first, make your list second. Consumers with shopping lists spend over 41% more than those who don't use one. When planning meals, make sure the week’s circular is in front of you. To avoid those emergency runs, make a master list of the ten meals your family eats most often and keep those ingredients on hand.

Stalk the markdowns: Markdowns can ring up as much as 50% off the original price, so it’s possible to save $5 to $20 a week on meat alone using this strategy. Ask the store manager when meat, dairy, bread and produce are marked down. Stores often slash prices as items near expiration dates or to make way for incoming stock. Be sure to check labels. Some companies are now labeling products “organic” or “low-fat” even if they’ve always been so. Also, many of the “low-fat” items you pay a premium for may have just as many calories as competing brands without the claim.

Buy frozen produce: Buy spinach, peas and corn frozen rather than fresh to cut cost but not nutritional value. If you can only afford to buy some organic food, make it produce. Organically grown fruits and veggies do not contain anywhere close to the level of pesticides that conventionally grown produce does. Bananas, canned or frozen corn, broccoli, and canned or frozen peas have the fewest residues. Be sure to buy your fair share of apples, pears, bell peppers, imported grapes, peaches, potatoes and strawberries.

Buy vs. use: The biggest mistake at the meat counter is buying too much. You can save money and get more flavor when you use ground chuck instead of ground round in burgers. Due to its high fat content, ground chuck makes a juicer burger. Purchase the large “family pack” and repackage it into smaller amounts for the freezer. Ground round doesn’t yield as much fat when it’s cooked, so there is less shrinkage, making it ideal for meat loaf, stuffed peppers and meatballs. Center-cut bone-in pork loin chops will give you the best flavor for your money. They cost about $2 to $3 dollars less than boneless chops and you’ll often find them on sale. They’re flavorful and juicy. Try to get them thick - an inch and a half is best. Boneless turkey cutlets can be used in many recipes that call for chicken or veal. To ensure the turkey cutlets emerge from the pan crisp and golden brown, lightly flour them first, then sauté briefly in a mixture of butter and oil.

Train little shoppers: Grocery shopping with children can add $100 to $400 a month to your bill. Not only do parents with kids in tow spend more time in the store - which can really add up each time you toss more and more items in the cart - but kids are masters of impulse buying. If you can’t go solo, turn the kids into smart shoppers. Give them some choices: They get to pick one lunch-box treat or two snacks. Or have them use real money (their own, or, say, $5 you give them) for anything not on the list.

Shop around: Toiletries, paper goods and other items are cheaper to buy in bulk at a warehouse discount store. Don’t buy different cleaners that do the same job. The main thing is killing germs and getting a room clean, so one all-purpose antibacterial cleaner will do the trick. Some cleaners come in concentrates that you can dilute. A spray bottle and water extends your purchase.

Check it twice: Grocery stores are not always reset with current sale prices. Your chances of being charged the full price on a sale item are high. To get it right, watch the scanner and speak up if you see a discrepancy. Americans lose between $1 billion and $3 billion a year in scanning errors!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/20164458/?GT1=10252