The husband wasn’t too impressed with the rice but he liked the salmon. The little guy liked the rice, not the salmon. I liked both! ;)

Here’s what I did…

• 4 tbsp lime juice, separated
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 tbsp honey (21g)
• 2 salmon fillets
• About 1/2 lb raw kale chopped
• 3-4 scallions diced
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice (I use the 90 second bagged kind)
• About 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• Kosher Salt

Whisk 2 tbsp of lime juice with 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp of dried cilantro and a pinch of salt to make the marinade.

Pour the marinade over the salmon and let sit while preparing the rice.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. add the kale, 1 tbsp of the lime juice and a pinch or two of salt. Cook for about a minute until wilting.

Add the scallions, brown rice, cilantro, remaining tbsp of lime juice and another pinch of salt. Combine everything well allowing the flavors to merge.

Heat a second skillet over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cook the salmon 2-3 minutes a side depending on thickness. After the first flip pour any leftover marinade over the fillets.

Serve the salmon over the rice with another veggie on the side. I went with broccoli. One veggie all three of us can agree on. ;)

No nutritional info on this one.. it’s 2 salmon servings, 3 rice servings and my brain just can’t handle it right now. lol According to my “Roni Math” I’d count the salmon and 1/3 of the rice as 9 points.

Here’s what I cam up with. Oh! and I didn’t have any red onion although I think is would be great in this. I just decided to skip onion all together.

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 limes
• 1/2 tbsp honey (10g)
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• 1 can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup Fresh cilantro
• 2 oz Feta Cheese

Gather all your ingredients.

Grate the carrots.

Rinse the chickpeas.

Loosely chop the cilantro.

Start by making the dressing.

Remove some of the peel from the limes with the grater. You don’t have to get it all just about a tsp or two to bump up the flavor. Add the peel, the olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and juice from both limes to a bowl and whisk.

In a larger bowl add the chickpeas, carrots, feta and cilantro. Pour the dressing over. Toss and eat!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

So when I saw this box of Quaker Quick Barley at the grocery store I thought I’d give it a try. I picked it up with some fresh cilantro, something I also rarely buy. I know fresh herbs are the way to go but I rarely buy them. I’ve have grown my own but not yet this season. I’m trying though!

Anyway, I decided on a side dish and I made something like my Super Quick Fried Rice. Surprisingly BOTH husband and child liked, no, LOVED the result. The husband said he liked it better then rice and the little guy didn’t even know what it was. I believe his exact quote was, "YAY! I love that rice." I just let him go with his bad self and he ate dinner with no complaints. :)

I have to admit the cilantro made all the difference. The flavor was amazing in this!

Here’s what I did.

• 1 cup (144) uncooked quick barley (I used this from Quaker )
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 sweet onion chopped
• 2 carrots diced small
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• About an inch of ginger root
• 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped

Cook the barley according to the package with 2 cups of water.

In a large skillet heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and garlic. Cook until the onion starts to soften and get slightly transparent.

Add in the cooked barley. Add the soy sauce and grate the ginger root on top (I keep mine in the freezer and grate it frozen. It’s a sinch. Click here to see a video where I talk about it)

Add in the cilantro. Stir to merge all the flavors and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

I served mine as a side dish but you could easily turn this into a meal by adding a protein and/or more veggies. Here’s the nutritional info splitting it into 4 side dish servings.

With the tacos I usually like to make at least one side dish that actually ends up being my taco filler as it’s usually bean based like Spicy Black Beans and Zucchini. Well last night was no different except I had a craving for crunchy chips dipped in salsa. So I decided to make a hearty salsa/taco filler with what I had on hand. This is what I came up with. . .

• 1 15oz can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 15oz can diced tomatoes (preferably petite but I didn’t have any)
• 1 7oz can corn drained
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 2 thinck slices of sweet onion diced
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp tabasco sauce
• 1 tbsp dried cilantro
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried cumin

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

We dipped baked scoops in it and used it as salsa on our tacos. Actually I used it as my taco filling. I didn’t even miss the meat. ;)

I loosely measured out 9 1/2 cups so I’m going to use that as a serving.

So after returning from the gym this morning I looked in the fridge, saw the bulgur. Looked in the freezer, saw the bag of frozen veggies and tadaaaa Asian Inspired Tabouli Salad was born!

It is tasty! A wonderful chilled salad and very filling. You can totally put this out for a party, use it as a side dish or separate the recipe into two servings for lunch!

• 1/2 cup dry bulgur (80g)
• 1 cup of water
• 1 16oz (1lb) bag of frozen Asian vegetables (or stir-fry mix)
• 1/2 tbsp honey (10g)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (14g)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper

In a small saucepan bring the bulgur and water to a boil. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. (note: I did this ahead so mine was chilled when preparing although I don’t think it will make much of a difference) (double note: DO NOT lift the lid. That’s always my downfall.)

Place the bag of frozen veggies in a microwave safe dish and cook until defrosted but not hot. I did 2 minutes stirred and then 2 more minutes.

In a large bowl add the honey, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, cilantro, ginger, 2 pinched of salt, and some cracked black pepper.

Whisk.

Add the veggies and bulgur.

Stir to coat everything in the dressing.

Chill in the fridge until ready to eat.

As you can see the little guy was unwilling to try. :( He said it looked "yucky." *sigh* he’s turning into your typical 4 year old picky eater.

I’m giving the nutritional information for 2 servings but split it up anyway that makes sense for you. The picture above is 1/2 the recipe.

I do have to say I took leftovers to work today and the soup just gets better with age. :)

Here’s what I did… I went a little picture happy.. be warned. :)

• 1 medium sweet onion diced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1 15oz can of corn drained
• 1 15oz can of black beans drained and rinsed
• About 12 cups stock/broth
• 1 lb cooked chicken/turkey meat
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice (I used brown basmati)
• 3 oz tomato paste (1/2 of a small can)
• 1 tbsp tabasco
• Kosher Salt
• Non-stick cooking spray

Prepare the rice according to package.

While waiting for the rice to cook, heat a large stock pot over medium heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add the onion and garlic and cook until just turning transparent.

Add the diced peppers, chili powder, cilantro and cumin.

Stir, combining flavors and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Add the corn and beans cooking for another minute.

Add the broth and crank up the heat to high. We want to bring the pot to a boil.

While waiting for it boil (it’s going to take awhile there’s a lot of broth!) stir in the tomato paste and chicken.

By this time the rice should be done. Add it to the pot (note: if it’s not done just wait until it is)

Add the tbsp of tabasco.

Once the pot boil lower to a simmer. I ate immediately but the soup really did get better as the soup simmered.

Here’s a few more shots. I’m having fun with my new camera. Can you tell? :)

No nutritional info. Soup is just too variable for me and I didn’t measure how many serving I created. I would count a bowl to be about 3 points but that’s just my estimate.

Well make her own… of course! Luckily I just picked up a giant tomato from the farm stand. I had a half of a sweet onion and some other stock items that worked perfectly. It was tasty, spicy and so much better then the jarred stuff! Even the husband liked it! Shocker I know! :)

• 1 large ripe garden tomato diced
• 1/2 of a sweet onion diced
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves chopped up
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp tabasco
• 1 tsp green chili sauce
• 4-5 sliced jarred jalapenos
• 1 tsp of the jalapeno "juice"

Combine all ingredients and let it site until ready to use. I used mine in about a half an hour and it was perfect.

Here are some shots of the boy in the back of the apartment when I took the bowl outside for pictures. Can you make him out on top of the hill? :)

The idea was to make a light meal. What I call a summer "steak" using fresh veggies and extra lean ground turkey. I had some Swiss Chard from a recent farmers market trip but you can easily swap it for some fresh spinach. This was my first bunch of chard and I’m liking it. It’s a hardy green that has a BUNCH of health benefits. I’m just happy I got my family to eat it as I know they would never go for it straight up.

It was a success! well… sort of. The toddler declared he didn’t like "the chicken" but he ate it without much argument. The husband also ate it without any complaints. I’m not sure it was what he expected when he asked for a meat and potato meal but it passed. :)

The Garden Turkey Steaks.

• 1 small zucchini diced small
• 40g of swiss chard (it was about large 3 leaves) chopped small
• 1/2 of a small onion diced
• 1 glove garlic diced
• 1 egg
• 12 oz extra lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup (40g) old fashioned oatmeal
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• Kosher Salt and pepper

The Gravy

• about 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour +
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/4 tsp thyme

Hand mix all the Turkey Steak Ingredients together and form 4 large patties. You could make 6 smaller ones but I didn’t have the pan space.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Once the pan is hot add the patties and cook 4-5 minutes a side until brown.

While the patties are cooking whisk together the gravy ingredients. Remove the patties from the pan and deglaze with the gravy mixture. Bring to a boil. If it’s not thick enough whisk in a bit more flour. Lower to a simmer and add back the patties. Cook for an additional 10 minutes flipping once to coat the ’steaks’.

I served with my mashed potatoes and a side of broccoli. Leftovers are packed for lunch tomorrow! :)

As for the corn muffin topping I used the Golden Corn VitaMix Corn muffin mix from Vitalicious. They send me products from time to time to try and review. This is one of my favorite VitaTops and the mix is just as good. I guess you can call this my "semi-homemade" idea. Of course you can make your own topping or use a different mix but the nutritional information may be different. Note: Vitalicious is a sponsor of my weight loss blog, Roni’s Weigh. If you want to try their products be sure to use RonisWeigh in the promo code field for 10% your order.

• 1 medium sweet onion chopped
• 8 oz lean ground turkey raw (99% lean the best)
• 1 jalapeno pepper diced small
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 large green pepper chopped
• 1 large red pepper chopped
• 1 medium sized zucchini chopped
• 1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes undrained
• 1 small can (6oz) tomato paste
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 egg whites
• 5 oz of water
• 1/2 package Golden Muffin VitaTop mix (185g of the mix)

Heat a medium-large pot over medium-high heat and spray with a bit of non-stick cooking spray. Add the onion with a bit of salt and pepper and cook until just turning transparent. Add the ground turkey and break apart while browning. Stir in the chili powder, cilantro, cumin and garlic powders. Lower the heat to medium.

While the turkey is cooking chop your veggies and add them to the pan as you finish. Once all the veggies are mixed in add the can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste and cocoa powder. Continue stirring to incorporate all the ingredients. It will be thick and may take a few minutes.

Once everything is well combined lower the heat to medium low and continue to cook uncovered for about 20 minutes.

While the chili is cooking prepare the mix. In a large bowl whisk the egg whites and water until just frothy. Weigh out half of the corn muffin mix (185g) and add it to the egg white mixture. Stir until just combined.

Pour the chili into a casserole dish, around 9×7 inches. Spread it evenly to fill the dish. Now plop the corn muffin batter on top of the chili spreading it like you would ice a cake. You should have just enough to cover the chili. Sprinkle with a bit of chili powder.

Now you can bake immediately but I actually made it ahead and baked about 2 hours later in a preheated 400 degree. Bake until the corn muffin mix is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes.

Remove it from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

As for the nutritional information, I’m shocked! I had to double check it as the servings are a nice size but the calories are pretty low. If anyone wants to double check the numbers I’d appreciate, I’m a bit skeptical but excited! lol

I knew I was only making it for me. The toddler has declared his hate of soup multiple times and if it ain’t Chicken Noodle or French Onion the husband won’t bother.

So I decided to REALLY make it only for me. Inspired by a bag of dry pinto beans that have been in my pantry for well over a year and some stock I recently made from a beer can chicken last week, I went to town.

I normally use canned beans but the dry are so much cheaper and they really aren’t that hard to work with if you’ll just be hibernating in the house on a cold Saturday. That being said you could easily replace the dry with a few cans. Remember, it’s just an idea so if it sounds good take it and run. :)

• 2 cups (1lb) dried pinto beans
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 large green bell pepper
• (If I had a jalapeno I think I would have added!)
• 1-2 tbsp dried cumin (I started with 1 and then added more to taste)
• 1-2 tbsp dried cilantro
• 1 can (15oz) stewed tomatoes ran throw the blender quick keeping some chunks
• 8 cups of your favorite broth (chicken, veggie, stock)

Soak the beans over night or do the quick boil method (what I always do as I never know I’m going to use beans the night before.) Bring the beans to a boil in a large pot. Boil for 5 minute. Then cover and simmer for 1 hour. —Go play with toddler. :)

Drain and rinse the cooked/soaked beans set aside.

In a large pot add the olive oil and onion. Cook until just soft. Add the green pepper and spices. Stir to coat everything. Add the blended stewed tomatoes. Stir. Add the broth and beans.

Bring everything to a boil then cover and simmer. Cook until beans are tender, at least 2 hours. If I was prepared I would have topped with green onion like Kalyn did on her version but I didn’t have any. Instead I used a bit of cheese and cilantro to make the picture a little better. :)

Now I stink on the Nutritional Info for soups and anything with beans in it. So this recipe scares the crap out of me! :) Here’s what I’m getting with my cup estimations. Just remember this is approximate and even if we’re off we’re still eating a healthy soup. :)

So as always, take the idea and run with it! :) I’m totally please with how it came out.

• 2 cups (or a 15oz can would work) of our favorite chicken broth or stock (I used some turkey stock I had frozen from thanksgiving)
• 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 2oz (55g) whole wheat couscous (I buy RiceSelect Organic Whole Wheat Couscous)

Toppings

• 1 avocado cut into slices (about 25g for each serving)
• 3/4 oz fancy shredded mexican cheese blend (about 5g for each serving)

Place all the ingredients in a pot except avocado and cheese. Bring to a bowl. Then cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minute until couscous is soft.

Scoop into 4 bowls (each about a cup) top with avocado slices and cheese.

Note: this is the first time I’ve eaten avocado like this and I have to admit it was AWESOME! Produce Pick coming soon on the awesome fruit I was avoiding for some reason. :)

Note x2: Here are two more pics. I couldn’t decide so I let the toddler. He picked the main was as the "best". :)

Note x3: Can you also tell I didn’t know what to call it?

My first experiment , Avocado Lime Dressing, was tasty but this idea takes the cake. Here’s the thought… I don’t like guacamole because of the texture but I like all the flavors that are in it. So why not use them and make something I do like?

Introducing the Guac Chicken Sandwich.

Let me just say… TASTY! and easy to make. I used a precooked chicken breast from Aldi’s (LOVE them by the way) but you could use leftovers or even a take this idea and run with it for a burger!

Here’s what I did…

• 1 cooked boneless chicken breast
• 1 whole wheat English Muffin
• about 1 tbsp avocado (15g)
• squirt of lime juice
• sprinkle of chili powder, cumin and dried cilantro
• 1/4 of a large green pepper
• handful of baby spinach leaves
• slice of tomato (or in my case a few cherrie ones – I was out)

Toast the English muffin.

On one side of the muffin smear the avocado. Splash the lime juice on and sprinkle with spices.

On the other side of the muffin, pile the spinach leaves, tomato and pepper (you may want to squash the pepper flat first).

Place the chicken on top of the pepper and put the avocado side on top.

Serve with a side of carrot sticks! :)

Here’s my 3 steps… now I’m off to make another one! (these pics were from yesterday)