Tag: yogurt

Greek Feta Dip

Greek Feta Dip

We’re heading to a Superbowl gathering this Sunday and I had to look up which teams are playing…ha! That’s how I roll when it comes to sports. Unless my kid is in it, I’m blissfully unaware of the sports world in most cases.  I may 

Beef Gyros with Tzatziki Yogurt Sauce

Beef Gyros with Tzatziki Yogurt Sauce

Ahhhhh. That’s the sound of a happy mom who’s getting a little bit of a break! My two daughters are away for the week spending time with their grandparents on the farm.  They will be showing goats and exhibiting their culinary and artistic creations at the 

Chicken Avocado Lime Salad

Chicken Avocado Lime Salad

chicken avocado lime salad

Happy almost Easter!  I survived having the kiddos home on Spring break last week and also hosted four of my daughter’s nine-year-old friends for her birthday sleepover.  It never fails to surprise me at how rambunctious and LOUD a small group of young girls can be.  And gross… because, of course, they’re at that age where bathroom humor is INCREDIBLY funny so despite my efforts to curtail any mention of bodily bathroom functions, they still managed to crack a bunch of jokes about it and end up in a fit of giggles on the living room floor.  Seriously.  Ugh.   Anyway, this awesome chicken avocado lime salad is nothing to laugh at. It’s light, refreshing and makes a fantastic use of leftover chicken for an easy lunch.

Salads are always a great way to get in your daily dose of greens and this one is no exception.  Pack on a little protein in the form of sliced grilled chicken.   Add a little julienned carrot, diced avocado, cilantro and some slivered almonds. Toss with a yogurt and avocado based lime dressing and you’ve got an awesome answer to spring in a delicious chicken avocado lime salad!

chicken avocado lime salad

Chicken Avocado Lime Salad
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Salads
Serves: 1 serving
Ingredients
  • 4 oz grilled chicken breast, sliced into strips (unsalted for low sodium)
  • ½ avocado, diced
  • 1 small carrot, julienned
  • 1 cup or more salad greens like spinach, romaine or butter lettuce
  • sprinkle of chopped cilantro and slivered almonds*
  • AVOCADO LIME DRESSING:
  • ¼ cup plain greek yogurt (or use mayonnaise for dairy free)
  • ½ avocado
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • ¼ cup water (or more if you want it thinner consistency)
  • ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon pink himalayan salt (optional)*
Instructions
  1. Place salad ingredients in a bowl or layer on a plate with greens on bottom.
  2. Make dressing by combining all dressing ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Add more water if desired for a thinner consistency.
  3. Toss salad with dressing.
  4. Leftover dressing will keep in fridge for about a week.
Notes
Omit salt for low sodium and be sure almonds are unsalted = 140mg per serving
Nutrition Information
Calories: 421 Fat: 23g Carbohydrates: 23g Sodium: 365mg* Fiber: 12g Protein: 35g

 

 

Chicken Shawarma Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Shawarma Lettuce Wraps

After many small moments of chaos last weekend, like the brakes not working properly on our moving truck (kind of a big deal), and then having the electricity taken out by a careless driver running into one of the poles and knocking down the transformer, we finally got moved in.  Normally, 

Strawberry Yogurt Bites

Strawberry Yogurt Bites

After a stressful morning yesterday, we pulled it off and closed on our new house!!  It was a beautiful day to CELEBRATE!!!!!   Now it’s on to more packing as we have about two weeks to slowly move to the new place before we close on 

Roasted Carrots and Radish with Harissa Sauce

Roasted Carrots and Radish with Harissa Sauce

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One week to go until we close on our new house and the process is finally going smoothly so we’re now expecting to close on time. Wheeee!!  I may actually get to plant a garden this year and that makes me VERY happy.  Vacations also make me happy.  This weekend promises to be full of awesome as we’re heading to Wisconsin Dells with my husband’s family in what is becoming an annual tradition.

Know what else equals happiness? Dipping things in sauces and fun new veggie recipes! Have you every roasted a radish?  No?!  Me neither.  I hadn’t ever thought to roast one but for this recipe using roasted carrots and radish, I thought why not?? They add a beautiful color and are perfectly snackable.  Roasted just long enough to be tender crisp,  they become slightly sweeter (as do most roasted veggies) and they lose that somewhat bitter bite to them.  I was craving something dippable (always a winner with kids too) so I’ve created a fun harissa dipping sauce made with quark cheese (or you can use plain yogurt).  Harissa is a Tunisian spice blend of chili’s, paprika, garlic, cumin, coriander and sometimes lemon.  You can purchase it as a dry rub or as a paste.  I used the dry spice blend that I found at my local market as that was easier to find in the bulk spice section.   I’m guessing many of you may have never heard of quark cheese either.  It’s a spoonable German cheese made similarly to yogurt and you can use it in place of yogurt in many recipes.  I had actually never tried it and the company Elli Quark sent me some free samples to try so figured I’d give it a shot!  The plain unsweetened variety has has more protein content and less sugar than Greek yogurt.  The taste was phenomenal as well.  I’d liken its flavor to a cream cheese or cottage cheese type of taste but with the consistency and usability of plain yogurt.  You can find quark cheese in the yogurt section of many specialty grocers and if you can’t but still wish to try it, check out Elli Quark’s website and they can ship it to you in a really neat cooler style package.   I’m actually still in awe of its cooler style packaging. Weird, I know.SONY DSC

Look how pretty these look!!!  So much fun to dip…. perfect for a pre-dinner appetizer or sweet roasted carrot and radish side dish.

Roasted Carrots and Radish with Harissa Sauce
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: vegetarian
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 6 whole carrots, tops chopped off and sliced in half lengthwise
  • 4 radishes, quartered
  • ¼ cup plain unsweetened quark cheese or Greek yogurt (use coconut milk yogurt for dairy free)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon milk (dairy or non)
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt (omit for low sodium)
  • 1 teaspoon harissa seasoning
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Place carrots and radishes onto a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
  3. Roast carrots and radishes 10-12 minutes turning once until they are tender crisp.
  4. While carrots and radish are roasted, mix together quark/yogurt, garlic, lemon, salt, milk and harissa until smooth.
  5. Serve roasted veggies with harissa dipping sauce.
Notes
omit salt for lower sodium = 76mg per serving
Nutrition Information
Calories: 53 Fat: 1g Carbohydrates: 11g Sodium: 148mg* Fiber: 3g Protein: 2g

 

 

 

Spicy Yogurt Dip

Spicy Yogurt Dip

This week is going to be a simple one easy recipe post kind of week. My husband, Jason, and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary on Thursday so we’re skipping out of town to celebrate.  We were married in the Van Dusen mansion in